A Civilian Covenant?First, may we welcome you to your new role. The SDSR and CSR announcements last month have certainly made this a challenge!
We are writing to you to suggest a measure we believe you should take to assist in managing the very difficult situation you have inherited. In his independent review, Civilians in Defence, Gerry Grimstone has suggested that there is a need to strengthen the corporate identity of civil servants – industrial and non-industrial - working in the MOD. This would include recognition as a Civilian Force, or as he put it, the 4th Force or 4th Service.
The 2009 staff engagement survey (Your Say) suggested two common characteristics of MOD civil servants: while they are strongly committed to Defence (if not to the MOD) and extremely loyal to the armed forces, they believe leadership and change management to be poor. Nevertheless, overall staff engagement in MOD was the second highest of large government departments. We fear that recent events are likely to put this score at risk in the current survey.
In the MOD’s Civilian Workforce Strategy (2009), one of the three focuses for delivery is to “drive business performance, by establishing a new two way commitment between Defence and our civilian workforce, based on individual performance and accountability, in an inclusive and supportive work environment with access to good quality, business focused training and development”.
MOD civil servants face numerous pressures created by the intensity of military operations and pressures on the defence budget plus the irrational, intensely political, drive to cut civilian numbers. They have been reviewed and restructured to the point of exhaustion and the SDSR and further Treasury-inspired cuts now confront them with a pay freeze, attacks on their terms and conditions and the real threat to one in three jobs – coupled with the spectre of compulsory redundancies at a time when the CSCS is being reviewed and legislation brought forward to reduce redundancy payments to a level of parsimony when compared against the terms used over the last 40 years.
Against this background, ministers and the armed forces apparently expect these staff to deliver improved support to the Services while transforming that support to make it more efficient and effective. How is that loyalty and commitment to be preserved?
The Military Covenant is a relatively recent concept and is being recast as part of the SDSR.
The unions believe that there should be a Civilian Covenant on similar lines to the Military Covenant. This would be an important component in recognising MOD civilians as the 4th Service. It would cement the psychological contract that MOD civilians already have to Defence and to the armed forces and, thus, assist enormously in managing the difficult period ahead.
We attach a proposal for a Civilian Covenant. It is deliberately framed as a set of principles and a declaration of intent. We see little in there that could be deemed contentious. The MOD has long claimed to be a good employer. We call on you to agree to adopt this Covenant and we would be happy to meet with you to discuss how it can be put into practice.
Yours sincerely
pp
Sharon Holder
National Officer
GMB
Bob Rollings
National Officer
PCS
Steve Jary
National Secretary
Prospect
Kevin Coyne
National Officer
Unite
The MOD Civilian Covenant: Valuing the 4th Service
Loyalty and commitment: MOD civil servants shall remain totally committed to the Defence Aim; they undertake to strive for excellence in all of their roles but, in particular, in the support they give to the armed forces.
Valuing the 4th Service: the MOD shall enhance public understanding of the role of its civil service through inter alia a defined programme of public awareness briefings, and shall defend quickly, robustly and publicly its civil servants against ill-informed and unjustified attack from the media and politicians.
Job Security: the MOD shall make decisions on the basis of a clear understanding of what the department does and who it needs to do it. It shall plan its requirements on the basis of a proper assessment of the correct balance between contractors and its own staff and between military and civilian personnel. Staffing levels shall be managed in a sensitive manner with due regard to the dignity of employees.
Skills and careers: the MOD shall invest in the training and development of its staff, so as to improve the efficacy of its business and to enhance the productivity and job satisfaction of its staff through the maintenance of rewarding careers. Training and development activity should recognise the need to retain the MOD’s ‘intelligent customer’ capability through the maintenance of specialist skills and effective succession planning.
Recognition and reward: the MOD shall develop and maintain civilian pay and conditions which are fair and enable it to recruit and retain high quality staff. Specifically the MOD shall identify and provide additional reward to the specialists in its workforce who deliver an essential contribution to military capability.
Fair and effective management: the MOD shall establish and maintain a skilled and supportive line management chain, supported by logical and fair personnel management processes. The MOD shall encourage flexible working among its workforce, so as to enhance business efficiency and the achievement of work-life balance for staff.
Occupational health and welfare: the MOD shall ensure that its workplaces and its working practices comply with best practice when it comes to occupational health and safety; it shall invest in its business and thus ensure that staff have the facilities and equipment necessary to do an effective job. The MOD shall provide world class occupational health and welfare support for its civilian staff.
Change without trauma: the MOD commits to rational and transparent decision-making and meaningful consultation with a view to reaching agreement in change programmes, including the use of properly constructed Value for Money Benchmarks. It undertakes to do everything in its power to avoid enforced redundancies or relocations; and it aims to provide staff with the maximum choice about their future when work is privatised or contracted-out.
Dignity and respect: the MOD shall treat all of its employees with dignity, without bullying or harassment (or the fear of these) and with equality of opportunity. The MOD recognises the role of its union representatives in enabling staff to maximise their contribution to Defence.
