Information on CSCS, Annual Leave and the Credit Union

Copies of recent circulars can be accessed
at the following link: Here

Briefing to right of us,

Briefing to left of us
Briefing behind us
Volley'd and thunder'd;
And yet again attacks come upon civillian staff in the MoD as the Telegraph reports "Two troops for every civil servant in the MoD" Read here
What they of course fail to mention are the massive cuts already made in staffing over the past few years, nor do they point out that many of the civillian jobs are in fact staff employed at significantly reduced rates doing work previously undertaken by service personnel.

As members today heard about and discussed the attacks upon the Civil Service Compensation Scheme, briefings continue in Whitehall against MoD civillian staff in particular. It is certain that a campaign aimed at softening public opinion over major manpower cuts is being played out in the more than co-operative capitalist media. This campaign alongside startling unanimity of opinion amongst the main political parties over pay freezes, cuts, and pensions reform (i.e. plundering) alerts us to the coming battles to be fought over our incomes, our jobs and the security of our retirement benefits.

Sub Sunk!

Trident fleet to be cut Gordon Brown to announce

The surprise move will inevitably be seen as an opening salvo in the battle to find Whitehall savings to help pay off the record deficit built up by Labour.
However, the Prime Minister will claim the move is part of a nuclear non-proliferation deal that Mr Brown hopes to engineer on his four day trip to America. Read the article here

Liberal's also attack our pensions and pay

Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat treasury spokesperson laid out their public sector plans at their party conference.

He talked about “too many unaffordable defence commitments” and further advocated freezing public sector pay and abandoning civil service bonuses. Our union will welcome any move to get rid of bonus schemes in the civil service, but not in conjunction with pay freezes!

Rather than looking to improve pension provisions across the board, he advocated a race to the bottom as he talked of “very generous subsidised public sector pensions which desperately need reform” whilst “occupational pensions in private firms have been cut to shreds.” Our union will make no apology for fighting to retain our existing pension rights.

Addendum: This from the man who dropped a clanger yesterday, embarrassing himself and his colleagues over his ill thought out £1million pound house tax - Read the article here

Tory priorities for Defence?

Liam Fox, the Conservative shadow defence secretary outlined his priorities for defence. He asked why “the military seems consistently to shrink while the civil service keeps growing?”

According to the DASA statistics, the Ministry of Defence civil service population has shrunk from 266,000 to 69,000 in the period 1975-2008, a drop of 197,000. In the corresponding period, the service figures have gone from 338,000 to 187,000, a drop of 151,000.

Not only is Mr Fox wrong in his assertion, but the MoD civilian workforce has as you can see already been cut by almost three quarters in less than 35 years. Our union did agree with one statement Mr Fox made – “You can delegate authority, but not responsibility. Labour Ministers are to blame for the failings at the Ministry of Defence - not the Civil Service or the Armed forces.” – we are not to blame, and should the Conservatives form the next government, we will be asking Mr Fox and his party to honour this statement by not seeking to push the blame onto civil servants.

Extraordinary General Meeting - Yesterday

There was a branch Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) yesterday, 17th September 2009 held in Tommies.

The following motions were discussed and voted on at the meeting and both were carried unanimously and become branch policy.

Motion 1
This EGM is aware that General Secretary elections will take place in PCS this year. This EGM agrees to nominate Mark Serwotka as General Secretary of PCS and agrees that Mark Serwotka should be supported by the Branch Machinery in his bid to be re-elected and pledges to support the Serwotka campaign.

Motion 2
In a bid to reduce the amount of paper used in the union office which will benefit the environment and be a time saving initiative, this EGM agrees that, where possible, e-mails will be sent to members instead of paper distribution. To accomplish this, all members will be put onto the members’ mailing list as soon as possible regardless of whether they have previously ‘opted-in’ to this system or not. This EGM also notes that in some circumstances e-mail cannot be used and so paper distribution or desk dropping will need to be used instead.

The illness that dare not speak its name

Poor mental health is becoming as big a problem as heart disease. It must not be taboo in the office

It is known in medical circles as the Oscar Pistorius question: if an athlete with no legs can compete at Olympic level, why should an employee with a history of mental illness not be allowed the chance of holding down a decently paid job?

Richard Saville-Smith is posing precisely this question at an industrial hearing in Edinburgh, where he claims that he was dismissed from his high-powered public relations job with Scotland’s tourist agency, despite a track record of achievement at executive level, because of an onset of bipolar disease, or manic depression.

The case is continuing, and the facts have not yet been established. But it is an important test not just of discrimination law, but of civilised values. There is no justification for bias these days against those who carry the burden and the stigma of mental illness.

Indeed the law forbids it. The Disability Discrimination Act specifically protects job applicants or employees from discrimination on the ground of serious mental impairment up to and including schizophrenia. The European Convention on Human Rights included it as recently as this year: no personnel office is unaware of the implications.

Read the full Times article here