Budget 2009 – MoD Job Slaughter

The budget announcement set out the biggest expenditure cuts and programme of privatisation in the history of our country.

Laughably the Government has described this as a ‘budget for jobs’ and yet buried in the report are plans to destroy thousands of civil service jobs. MoD is particularly badly impacted and thousands of our jobs are at risk.

The Chancellor announced yesterday that MoD has committed to deliver a further £3.15 Billion of cost savings. These are in addition to the job cuts and savings already announced under the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review. The details of how MoD plan to achieve this are vague but it is already clear that: thousands of our jobs are at real risk of cuts and/or privatisation.

The Operational Efficiency Programme (OEP is a Treasury review – led by Gerry Grimstone the former Head of Margaret Thatcher’s privatisation Unit) has opened up the likely possibility of:

· The sale and privatisation of the Defence Storage and Distribution Agency (DSDA) and possibly the Defence Support Group.
· The sale and privatisation of the UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO)
· The sale and privatisation of the Defence Estate's SecurityServices Group.
· The sale and privatisation of the Defence Animal Centre
· £100 million of job cuts from extending the Civilian Costs Programme which will reduce support costs across the department; and
· An additional £6 million cut through ‘continued pressure for efficiency on the Shared Services’
· The entire Defence Estates TLB itself is potentially under threat from the proposal within the OEP to establish: “a central property function to provide assistance and expertise and oversee the efficiency and rationalisation agenda for property across the whole public sector”.

Next Steps

PCS has, encouragingly, had very early dialogue and engagement with the Department on the OEP via a Corporate Service Steering Group. We have also engaged already with management and MPs on the areas likely to be tested for outsourcing. We will be stepping this work in the next period.

We will also, over the coming weeks, arrange PCS members meetings to discuss proposals directly with our members. In some areas, such as PPPA, this planning is already well advanced.

Our position on this senseless job slaughter is clear. We will demand from MoD an agreement that guarantees:

· No compulsory redundancies
· The most generous severance terms for those who choose to leave
· No compulsory relocation
· An end to outsourcing – protect our public services
· Full MoD adherence to the national agreements our union has concluded with the employer – the protocols on jobs and the agreement on privatisation and outsourcing.

Remember - behind the talk about targets and savings are real people and real lives. These disgraceful proposals will wreck lives and cause misery to thousands.

Now more than ever we need stand together and to build PCS, so that we are strong and able to resist the coming attacks.

Members Action Plan

PCS is asking every member to do 4 things:

Recruit a friend – and make sure everyone in your office/area is a member of the union. We appeal to everyone to join us and our fight to save jobs.
Sign up to receive future PCS briefings – so that you know what is going on and can tell other members. Please email paulbba@pcs.org.uk
Attend your local PCS meeting to discuss our response to the cuts.
Get active – PCS needs members to help us build our union.

Over the next period PCS will be the only force strong enough, and with the political will, to challenge this jobs carnage. As ever, our strength comes from the active participation of members.

Yours sincerely

Paul Barnsley
Group Secretary

'Thrift?' At Our Expense it seems!

Dodgy David Cameron has told the Tory spring conference that he will establish a "Government of thrift", if elected. But what does that mean?

It seems he means to go after our salaries and our pensions. His attack is disguised in language that targets the highest earners, consultants and quango chairmen but the real savings will only come from attacking us all... our pay and our pensions.

A vote for the tories is a vote for an Eton Mess!


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/5225786/David-Cameron-to-crack-down-on-public-sector-pay.html

No Such Thing As A Simple Flu Jab

With the news of a possible pandemic arising from the outbreak of Swine Flu in Mexico, it might be well to keep things in perspective.

The article linked from todays Times demonstrates that caution is perhaps the watchword; http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article6175186.ece

Northwest BNP Candidate reveals true colours!

Nick Griffin, the leader of the BNP who is standing for the European Parliament in the Northwest this June, is challenged over his parties Language and Concepts Discipline Manual in todays Guardian.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/apr/23/bnp-nick-griffin-race

If you think you might of heard something similar before, I will remind you of George Orwell's 1984:

Doublethink

The keyword here is blackwhite. Like so many Newspeak words, this word has two mutually contradictory meanings. Applied to an opponent, it means the habit of impudently claiming that black is white, in contradiction of the plain facts. Applied to a Party member, it means a loyal willingness to say that black is white when Party discipline demands this. But it means also the ability to believe that black is white, and more, to know that black is white, and to forget that one has ever believed the contrary. This demands a continuous alteration of the past, made possible by the system of thought which really embraces all the rest, and which is known in Newspeak as doublethink. Doublethink is basically the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.

– Part II, chapter IX - chapter I of Goldstein's book

National pay update: HM Treasury pay guidance finally issued

Last year, following a national campaign and ballot on action, PCS reached an agreement with the government on pay. The agreement meant that extra money from efficiency savings could be used to improve pay in civil service departments and other public bodies.

The government also said that there would not now be a 2% cap. This represented an important change in policy.

The national executive committee (NEC) decided that the agreement would need to be tested in pay bargaining in individual departments and linked bodies, to see if this resulted in more money in members pockets, which remains the key test of any agreement.

To take this forward, at the end of January, PCS and other unions met ministers to discuss the new Treasury remit guidance, which are the rules on pay that every department and other public bodies have to follow.

Serious delays from the government ensued and we exerted maximum pressure during this period on politicians by lobbying hard and by making direct representations to ministers. As a result the guidance was finally published 31 March.

The guidance as it stands is unacceptable as it assumes that the average base pay rise would be 1.5%. This takes no account of cuts in living standards that members experienced last year. It is less than the 2.33% pay settlement MPs have awarded themselves and also less than most other parts of the public sector.

The remit does however conform to the agreement reached with ministers last December in that it includes the possibility of using efficiency savings to improve pay awards, on top of the basic pay rise. The union’s position is that these savings can be made from cutting the use of consultants and other sources, not job cuts or office closures.

In past weeks there had been speculation that the government was considering reneging on all existing multi-year pay deals in the public sector and imposing a pay freeze.

The government’s actual position suggests that it is still seeking to proceed by negotiation. This will now be tested in practice to see whether use of efficiency savings will mean improved pay in reality.

PCS pay negotiators will now approach management as a matter of urgency in every department and employing organisation to open talks on the terms of the detailed pay remits that will be submitted to the Treasury.

These talks will clarify details of any efficiency savings that can be recycled into pay on top of basic pay awards. This will allow us to decide by the time of our annual delegate conference in May or possibly earlier, whether the government is fully honouring our agreement or whether we will need to consult you on measures which would continue our campaign.

We thank members for their support for the campaign to date. The NEC will continue to work to ensure members do not pay the price of an economic crisis not of their making.

Mark Serwotka, General Secretary
Janice Godrich, President

Inflation

The gap between the headline inflation figures and what our members experience is highly significant. Whichever measure of inflation you look at the reality is that food prices are soaring – milk is up 12%, fruit up 14%, and vegetables up 22%. Such increases hit the poorest hardest. An independent analysis shows that inflation for the poorest 20% of households is 5.3%. Many people have not benefited from interest rate changes as they are either on fixed rate terms or don’t have a mortgage. Council house rents are up 6%.

Pay

Wages have fallen behind prices in recent years. In the three years up to June 2008, prices went up by 12.8%, but basic pay for PCS members went up by only 6% on average.

Civil Service Compensation Scheme

As has been reported to members in past months, talks are under way between the civil service unions and the Cabinet Office on "reform" of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme which includes funding for redundancy payments and early retirement. These talks are still continuing so it was surprising that the Prime Minister has decided to state, in his pay review bodies announcement, that the CSCS is inflexible and expensive. He claims that changes to the scheme could save £500m over the next 3 years! PCS disagrees with his analysis and is determined to protect terms for members facing compulsory redundancy. If the government want to save money there are simple way to do this which PCS would fully support: stop the job cuts programme, stop paying billions to consultants, and lift the threat of redundancy from civil and public services workers. There will be a full discussion on where we are with the CSCS talks at the union’s annual delegate conference in May.

The economy

There is no doubt that the economy is in trouble but decent pay could be afforded.
Billions were found to prop up the banking system. There is a tax gap of £25 billion owed in unpaid taxes, while tax avoidance is estimated at £100 billion by experts. Closing the loopholes and collecting what’s owed could fund decent public services and public sector pay.

Public and private sector pay

The press emphasise differences between average pay in the public and private sectors. But for many years, private sector pay was, on average, higher than that in the public sector. According to independent research, in 2008 public sector pay increased by 2.7% and private sector pay by 3.8%.The union opposes false divisions between public and private sector workers. The real issue is the injustice of making the low paid, wherever they work, pay for a crisis not of their making.

Members Pay Meeting Tuesday 21st April

There will be a members pay meeting on Tuesday 21st April at 10:00am in Tommies to discuss the MoD pay offer as outlined in Pay Update 10.

Paul Barnsley, MoD Group Secretary for PCS, will be here to explain the offer and answer any questions. You may remember that Paul was guest speaker at this years AGM.

Facility time of one hour has been requested for members to attend this meeting.

Pay Update No 12: 60 Second digest – The spin and the truth

At a time when the media is full of stories of spin, it seems the Ministry of Defence senior management do not wish to be left out.

The recently issued 12 page ‘60 second digest’ (which takes about 10 minutes to read!) is full of misleading information.

Our union is happy to let all staff know the truth:

MoD management Claim:
The Facts
Page 2 “Key aim to move all staff from long pay spine to short pay scales applicable to all"
Since 1998 the department had been busily lengthening pay scales to the extent that min to max for E grades took over 40 years. Over the same period our union has been bargaining for shorter pay scales and only the hundreds of equal and age pay claims PCS has lodged has brought about the proposed shorter pay scales. Campaigning and action by PCS members has forced MoD to shorten pay scales to avoid future liability. MoD has repeatedly told PCS that it will not guarantee progression after 2010.

Page 3 “Those on pay scale minima will get even more since minima significantly increased”
Minima’s have increased, though not very significantly. An E2 at the bottom of the new proposed spine will earn £13,881. This equates to £6.36 per hour. This is well below the living wage figure for 2009 (which is £7.45). The PCS pay claim was for a minimum for all of £8.00 per hour. .

Page 3 “Prospect and FDA have voted overwhelmingly in favour of the offer”
What other unions do is a matter for their members. However it is worth remembering that PCS represents more members than all of the other MoD unions (industrial and non-industrial) put together. We represent almost all of the staff in the E1 and E2 pay band who are facing a disgraceful attack on their pay and pensions.

Page 4 “Before 2006 it could have taken 36 years to reach Band E maxima
Pay scales reduce to 6 scale points for both.”
Before 2006 – and before we lodged our equal pay claims - MoD was quite happy to have 36 year pay scales. Now MoD wants to shorten the scales by cutting of the top of the scales and attacking our pay.

Page 4 “New pay scale maxima from 1 May 2009 to better reflect the market”
This claim refers to Cabinet Office pay club data that MoD tabled at the end of 2008. However, MoD has selectively used this data to claim that E1 and E2 staff in their words are “overpaid”. For example at the top of E2 the pay of MoD staff is comparable to thousands of other civil servants in HMRC, DEFRA, Highways Agency, Treasury Solicitors, DIUS, British Council DSA and many others.

Page 4 “Staff currently being paid at or above new maxima will have their pay protected”
This is also untrue. The MOD has consistently refused to give our union any guarantees on pay protection after 2010. In addition we believe that all staff in E1 and E2 will suffer a detriment on the day that MoD impose their proposals.

Page 5 “All Band E staff will receive an increase in take home pay during the life of this Award.”
True, but for some members this will literally be a few hundred pounds of non-consolidated pay over the period. As stated above there are no guarantees beyond 2010 that pay protection will continue and it also has pension implications.

Page 6 “There is no detriment for Band E staff”
If you are above the current max as an E grade, you will not receive a 3% consolidated, pensionable rise like all other members of staff. You will also miss out on the length of service payments that MoD has proposed. This is clearly a detriment!

Page 10 “Higher pay awards than will not be permitted under 2009 Treasury Guidance.”
How does the MOD know this? They refused to wait till the 2009 treasury remit guidance was published! The Treasury remit guidance has now been published and includes, as expected, provision to use savings from efficiencies to improve the pay of staff. This was part of the national pay agreement between PCS and the Cabinet office in November last year. We wanted to test the Guidance to see if we could improve the pay of all staff in MoD. The Department, negotiating in bad faith, has potentially cost every member of staff in MoD money through its tactics and behaviour.

Page 11 “Why are you reducing the band E maxima?
Benchmarking data indicated that MOD pay rates were out of kilter with market and other Government Departments.”
See above regarding MOD pay against similar outside markets. As regards other government departments, we are very much on a par with most other government departments.

We suspect the truth is that MoD has agreed with the Treasury to impose reduced pay as part of an attempt to define national pay rates for civil servants without negotiation or agreement with PCS.

Page 12 “Has MOD broken the Pay Bargaining Agreement? No. MOD and the NITU’s agreed a set of bargaining principles in 2008. The Department held a large number of pay bargaining meetings with the TUs in 2008 and worked hard with the TUs to develop a set of pay proposals to meet TU demands as well as MOD business requirements and affordability. As a result of those negotiations, MOD agreed to significantly increase the level at which the pay band E maxima were set above those originally proposed by the Department.”
MoD has negotiated in bad faith. The Department’s own pay offer states “For staff affected by the creation of the new generic E pay group maxima, during the offer period, we propose further talks with the trade unions to find an agreed way forward on pay protection. A project plan will be devised under the aegis of the Pay Forum and agreed with the Trade Unions by March 2009.” MoD has failed to keep that promise.

We are raising our concerns with the Treasury and Cabinet Office. We have also invited to the MoD Personnel Director and Ministers to intervene and stop this attack on our pay.


Please VOTE NO in the pay ballot.

Yours sincerely

Paul Barnsley Chris Dando KC Jones
Group Secretary President Vice President

Pay Update No 11: MoD Pay Petition

PCS Pay Update No 10, asked all members to write to John Hutton, the MoD Secretary of State regarding the potential imposition of the MoD pay offer from 1 May 2009.

We have also arranged pay meetings across MoD so that we can discuss with members the latest developments on pay and urge members to Vote NO in the pay ballot. Please contact your branch secretary for details of your branch’s meeting.

We have now also set up an online petition to the prime minister and would urge all members with Internet access to sign this petition. The petition is available at http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/MoDpaycuts/

For those members without Internet access, the petition is replicated below at Annex A. We would ask that members sign this and pass it to PCS colleagues around your workplace.

The MoD pay offer is unacceptable for many reasons. These include:

· An attack on the pay of the lowest paid staff with huge cuts to pay at the E1 and E2 pay band maxima.
· A disgraceful attempt by MoD to cut the future pensions of all staff, particularly at pay bands E1 and E2.
· A series of cuts to the pay and allowances of civil servants serving overseas
· MoD scale shortening has pushed many members back down to their pay band minima – this after member’s have spent years moving away from it.
· Freezing pay band maxima at senior pay bands
· The offer is divisive and does not meet the terms of the PCS National and Group pay claim.

PCS is asking every member to VOTE NO in the pay ballot. We are actively considering legal action, possibly on behalf of all members at E1 and E2, if our legal advice is that the MoD imposed cuts are potentially unlawful.

We also need to make the department aware that bad faith negotiations are totally unacceptable. The MoD pay offer stated “For staff affected by the creation of the new generic E pay group maxima, during the offer period, we propose further talks with the trade unions to find an agreed way forward on pay protection. A project plan will be devised under the aegis of the Pay Forum and agreed with the Trade Unions by March 2009.” MoD has failed to keep that promise.

We cannot accept a pay cut now – if we do MoD will have carte blanche to cut our pay again and again in the future,

Please Vote No in the ballot and look after your own pay now and in the future.

Yours sincerely


Paul Barnsley Group Secretary
Chris Dando President
KC Jones Vice President

PCS MoD Pay Ballot 14-28 April

The MoD pay offer is unacceptable for many
reasons. It:

• Attacks the lowest paid staff with huge
cuts to pay at the E1 and E2 pay band
maxima.
• Threatens to cut the future pensions of
all staff.
• Pushes many members back down to
their pay band.
• Is divisive and does not meet the terms of
the PCS national and group pay claim.
• Does not include provision to use savings
from efficiencies to improve the pay of
staff as per the national pay agreement
and the Treasury remit guidance.

Please vote NO in this ballot.

MoD pay update number 10

7 April 2009 - MoD/MB/23/09

Pay update no 10: MoD Pay Offer - PCS GEC recommends ‘no’ vote in forthcoming ballot


As outlined in MoD/MB/20/09 there was an emergency meeting of the PCS MoD group executive committee (GEC) on 6 April. At that meeting the GEC received a report from pay negotiators on the recent meeting on pay that PCS had with MoD.

On the basis of that report the GEC has agreed to proceed to an immediate ballot of members on pay – with a unanimous GEC recommendation to urge members to vote NO in the ballot. The ballot will run from 14 April until 12 noon on 28 April.

Negotiations

Members will be aware that PCS noted the implementation of some elements of the first year of the MoD pay offer in February.

We did not ballot members at the time for two reasons. Firstly so members could receive additional money and back pay immediately and secondly to allow us to seek to resolve serious concerns our members had with the offer on the table. We set out plans to engage with MoD and promised to ballot members on any final offer.

We have, since then, sought to engage MoD in serious negotiations. However we have now reached the point where our union has had to conclude that MoD has been negotiating in bad faith and has no intention of trying to address the legitimate concerns of our members on pay. PCS negotiators have put forward a series of proposals particularly on the pay/pension cut at E1 and E2 but MoD has failed to negotiate seriously around these.

Despite assurances to the contrary MoD has decided to impose the cuts at E1/E2 on 1 May and in advance of the Treasury remit guidance for 2009. This guidance has now been published and allows department to make the case for using efficiency savings to improve pay. MoD has effectively prevented us from doing this by rushing to impose pay and pension cuts.

Why you should vote ‘no’ to this offer

The MoD pay offer is unacceptable for many reasons. These include:

An attack on the pay of the lowest paid staff with huge cuts to pay at the E1 and E2 pay band maxima. A disgraceful attempt by MoD to cut the future pensions of all staff, particularly at pay bands E1 and E2.

A series of cuts to the pay and allowances of civil servants serving overseas

MoD scale shortening has pushed many members back down to their pay band minima – this after member’s have spent years moving away from it.

Freezing pay band maxima at senior pay bands

The offer is divisive and does not meet the terms of the PCS national and group pay claim.

Other issues

1. We are aware that MoD and other discredited elements are claiming that, unless PCS members agree the pay cut, then the MoD or the Treasury could take the money already on offer away. This is untrue – the recently published Treasury remit guidance makes clear that all multi year deals (including the MoD pay offer) will be paid.

2. Another lie being peddled is that PCS members will have to pay back the money paid in back pay in February and other elements of the 2008 pay offer which have already been paid. This is nonsense.

3. Please note that a series of briefings on pay and members meetings are being arranged. You may wish to cast your vote after hearing what we have to say at these meetings. The Norcross pay meeting is scheduled for Tuesday 21st April, in Tommies at 10AM – with guest speaker Paul Barnsley, facility has been applied for. VWS staff are recommended to contact the MoD Group at PCS HQ for details of the geographically closest pay meeting.

PCS is asking every member to vote ‘no’ in the pay ballot. We are actively considering legal action, possibly on behalf of all members at E1 and E2, if our legal advice is that the MoD imposed cuts are potentially unlawful.

After the vote what happens next?

A massive NO vote will mean that MoD cannot claim that MoD staff are collectively agreeing to a pay cut for the lowest paid staff in MoD. PCS will be seeking to invoke ‘status quo’ meaning that no changes can be made to the E1 and E2 Max whilst we are in dispute.

We will also be seeking meetings with MoD ministers to ask them to overturn the appalling proposals on the table. Nationally we are raising MoD pay proposals with the Treasury and Cabinet Office.

In the meantime we need to alert ministers to our concerns. Attached to this circular is a letter that we urge you to send to the secretary of state on behalf of all members.

When you vote, please consider not only your own but other members circumstances.

Not only is an injury to one an injury to all but if the MOD gets away with slashing max’s now, it could be your pay that suffers next. In the current economic climate we need to protect our pay, our future earnings and our pensions – all of which are under threat from these proposals.

Paul Barnsley, group secretary
Chris Dando, president
KC Jones, vice president

Text of PCS members letter to John Hutton

April 2009

Rt Hon John Hutton MP
Secretary of State
Ministry of Defence
Main Building
Floor 5, Zone B
London
SW1A 2HB

Dear Mr. Hutton,

MoD Non Industrial Civil Service Pay 2008-2010

I am writing to you to express my concern at the MoD proposals to cut the pay and pensions of the lowest paid staff in MoD.

As you might be aware the Department intends to reduce the pay band maxima for non-industrial civil servants at E1 and E2 pay bands. I understand that MoD plan to impose these cuts on 1st May 2009.

I believe that it would be completely unjust to penalise the lowest paid staff in the department by cutting their pay in such a manner. I am dismayed that my employer would propose to cut consolidated – and contractual – pay and replace it with a non-consolidated allowance.

It is equally wrong to force thousands of hard working staff to accept non consolidated pay awards and also miss out on proposed additional progression payments based on length of service that staff with less service will receive.

The proposed pay ‘protection’ allowance is only guaranteed until 2010 and many staff are extremely worried that these proposals will have a detrimental impact upon their future earnings and pensions.

I ask that you personally intervene in this process so that we can find an acceptable solution to this problem. I know that my union, PCS, has proposed a number of ways to resolve this issue and I would hope that my employer would seriously consider these. I hope that you will agree that low paid government employees should not have to take a pay cut.

Yours sincerely

G20: Unions must show their muscle

There is an interesting article in todays Guardian in which Gregor Gall highlights the position of unions in the UK in relation to the G20 demonstrations and against the backdrop of the activity of our opposite numbers in Europe, his article ends;

"Unions in Britain could learn a lot from their mainland European cousins. In France, Greece, and Italy in particular, the unions do not just call demonstrations of hundreds of thousands (although that would be a start in Britain). Rather, they organise general strikes – sometimes consecutive general strikes – from which the demonstrations then allow the power of the strike to be clearly made visible and its demand loudly articulated. This means their arguments become a force to be reckoned with.
And, although not all these general strikes have won all their demands, their success rate should be enough to make workers in Britain sit up and take notice. Certainly, our European cousins' actions make the welcome initiative by Unite to hold a "massive" demonstration in Birmingham on 16 May 2009 against job cuts look like child's play. Unions need to understand there has to be obvious and demonstrable muscle behind their arguments. Isn't it about time unions in Britain took a leaf from their French, Italian or Greek counterparts' book?"

The full article can be viewed here;

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/mar/31/g20-france

Pay Update No 9 – Emergency Group Executive Committee Meeting on MoD Pay

Many of our union’s members have contacted us asking what is happening with the pay negotiations. The majority of these members are at the E1 and E2 max who face getting their max’s slashed on 1st May 2009.

What does all of this mean for members in the MOD?

A special PCS MoD Group Executive Committee (GEC) has been called for Monday 6 April. At this meeting the GEC will receive a detailed report on pay negotiations in MoD and will discuss what action should now be taken. The GEC will also receive an update on the status of national agreement that was agreed in December last year. The national agreement allowed money from efficiency savings to be put back into departmental pay pots to improve pay.

MoD negotiations

Members are starkly aware that in 2002 and 2006, the MoD imposed their pay offers on our union’s members. As you know our members were so angry we felt the need to take strike action in March 2007. This was the first such strike action, outside of national action, in MoD history.

When our union negotiators started the 2008 pay negotiations, we insisted on a set of principles in which these negotiations were conducted. This is called the Pay Bargaining Agreement. The Agreement should mean that both sides conduct the negotiations in good faith. The department agreed to this set of principles as it is in all parties’ interests to work together.

As part of the process MoD gave PCS assurances that they would engage with the union – in good faith - on a number of issues where we were not in agreement:. On that basis the Department proceeded to pay the first tranche of 2008 award. The areas our union have sought to make progress on since then are:

· Pay proposals for E1 and E2 max and the pay protection allowance
· Removal of ILW for overseas Staff
· Agreed process for ongoing pay discussions
· Additional progression and the application of the payments
· Equal pay and age discrimination issues
· MoD admin costs budget
· 2009 Treasury Remit guidance

Our GEC will receive a report back from our pay negotiators against these headings next week. We will report back to members following that meeting.

What can I do?

Pay is the one issue in the MOD that is generic to all members. PCS wants all union members to get involved in our union and especially in our pay campaign. There are many ways that you can get involved and it doesn’t have to take up a lot of your time:

Attend all members meetings – Our union will always be a democratic organisation. Once we have further news on MOD pay, as well as issuing pay circulars such as this, we will be convening all members meetings in MOD branches. Please contact your branch secretary for details of your branch meeting.

By being an active member - maybe you don’t want to get too involved. You can still play a really important part in your union by just being an active member and recruiting others into our union, attending union meetings and have your say, and by telling us about problems in your office and ask what you can do to help.

As a workplace union rep - being a PCS rep in your workplace is not as complicated as you might think. The main jobs of a rep are to listen to members and make sure that their views are represented, to keep members informed and to tell new staff about the union and ask them to join.

As you gain experience and confidence you can get more involved in dealing with management and helping members with problems if you want to. You would get time off work and full support and training from PCS.

As a contact or a distributor - You don’t have to give up too much time. You can help, get involved and keep yourself up to date about what is going on by just being a contact point or a distributor and giving out some union circulars in your work area. You will get time off away from your desk to do this.

As a young member’s rep - PCS has a young member’s network. All branches are being asked to elect a young members rep. If you are 27 or under and have ideas about building a better union this could be for you.

As an equality rep - PCS campaigns on a wide range of equality issues.

As a health and safety rep - Union heath and safety reps do a really important job. Carrying out workplace inspections and risk assessments. You would have to be trained and get time off for training.

As a union learning rep - Union learning reps get time off to help staff develop and take up learning opportunities. ULRs cover everything from basic skills to computer skills and CV writing.

Next Steps on MoD Pay

As we have stressed on numerous occasions: our union has not accepted the MOD pay offer. The current position therefore is that nothing has changed - the pay offer has not been accepted by PCS and once we believe negotiations can go no further, we will ballot members at that time.

A further update on pay for PCS members will be issued immediately after the 6 April GEC.

Yours sincerely

Paul Barnsley Group Secretary
Chris Dando Group President
K C Jones Vice President

200,000 WILL DIE IN ASBESTOS TIMEBOMB

Can you please check that you have signed the petition below which is being sponsored by the Daily Mirror but comes from the Asbestos Victims Support Group Forum, and that you circulate it widely to members, to friends, to any networks you have, urging people to sign up. Please remember that we have worked many of us, on sites such as Norcross and Ilford Park in buildings that have in the past, and in some cases still have contained asbestos in their structures.
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/AsbestosTimebomb/

Your petition reads:

"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Support the aims of the Daily Mirror's Asbestos Timebomb campaign. We urge the Prime Minister to work towards implementing the five campaign demands. These are: A £10 million National Centre for Asbestos Related Disease to find better treatment, alleviate suffering and find a cure for mesothelioma. Compensation reinstated for victims of pleural plaques scars on lungs caused by asbestos after it was scrapped two years ago. Fair and equal compensation for asbestos disease sufferers who can't trace the insurers of the bosses who exposed them, through a new Employers Liability Insurance Bureau paid for by the insurance industry. A public register of all asbestos surveys carried out on public buildings. The Health and Safety Executive must be given the resources to meet its own targets for inspecting asbestos removal work."

The Cost of Living?

These are some of the costs of of keeping our representatives in parliament.

Bear in mind that these figures are tax free...

... and remember them when you are next asked to curtail your travel expenses whilst on official business.

Soldiers in £250m MoD pay shambles

We publish below an article from todays Metro without comment.

"Thousands of soldiers, sailors and airmen were shortchanged on their salaries because of a 'catast­rophic' new computerised payroll system, an MPs' report has found.

The servicemen and women were left out of pocket – and thousands more were overpaid – through 'truly reprehensible' mistakes made by the Ministry of Defence in bringing in the £245million system.
Some were underpaid by as much as £345 a month while a total of £28.9million was overpaid to others – money which the ministry has struggled to recover, the report said.

Liberal Democrat defence spokesman Nick Harvey added: 'Most disgracefully, service personnel themselves have sometimes been blamed for the errors that have made their own lives a misery.'

The Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) system, introduced in 2006, was inten­ded to replace separate payrolls for the Army, Navy and RAF. But it was found to hold incorrect details for one in ten service personnel – nearly 20,000 people. As a result, their salaries were paid wrongly and troops, including some on duty in Afghanistan, were left short in their pay packets for months. Others complained they defaulted on their mortgage payments as a result.
In a report published today, the Commons defence committee blamed 'basic and fundamental' errors. 'It is difficult to exaggerate the magnitude of the failure of the joint personnel administration,' the report added. 'It is, in our view, truly repre­hen­sible that such mistakes were allowed to be made by those charged with oversight of the JPA programme.' The problems might have been exacerbated by the cutting of 300 human resources posts, the MPs said.

The JPA was supplied by the Texan computer giant EDS, which has been involved in problematic public sector IT schemes including the Child Support Agency system. However, the company has paid just £516,000 in compensation for the failure of the system, the report added.

The MoD apologised for the problems but insisted the system was now working better.
It added 'We have ensured that any repayments were made in a way and at a level that minimised impact upon them.'"

WW1 Veteran Britains Oldest Man

Mr Allington will become a 'teenager' in June, when he reaches 113 years. He turned 112 years and 296 days on Sunday, surpassing Welshman John Evans who died in 1990 aged 112 years and 295 days.
It marks another record for Mr Allingham, who is one of only two surviving First World War veterans in the UK and is the oldest Royal Navy veteran.

He spent the day quietly with a few visitors at St Dunstan's care home for blind ex-service personnel in Ovingdean, near Brighton, East Sussex.
Mr Allingham, who has dedicated much of his time in recent years to giving talks to schoolchildren about his experiences, will reach 113 years on June 6.

Dennis Goodwin, his close friend and founder of the First World War Veterans' Association, said: "He has achieved another milestone in his long life and is raising the bar of longevity.
"To be honest the last two years have been littered with milestones but this one is nice for him.
"The next one will come when he becomes a 'teenager' again when he reaches 113 in June."
On Monday Mr Allingham will be made an honorary member of the Royal Naval Association during a low-key presentation at St Dunstan's.
Earlier this month he received an upgraded Legion d'Honneur in London, six years after receiving his first one.

He has held the rank of chevalier, or knight, in the Legion d'Honneur since 2003 but was promoted to the rank of officer by French ambassador Maurice Gourdault-Montagne.
Clapton-born Mr Allingham, who has lived through the birth of his first great-great-great-grandchild, joined the Royal Navy Air Service in September 1915 before transferring to the RAF in April 1918.

As well as being the last founder member of the RAF, he is also the sole survivor of the Battle of Jutland.

Story published in The Daily Telegraph

Equality and Human Rights Commission propose cuts to public service

PCS members at the EHRC are fighting plans to cut 50 posts from its public helpline, and close the Manchester helpline altogether, where 36 highly trained staff are at risk of losing their jobs.
Helpline and knowledge staff would be reduced from 115 to 65 staff, with a planned restructure in Birmingham, Cardiff and Glasgow. All staff would have to compete for jobs - no-one’s job would be safe. The plan was kept secret from the union until a 90 statutory notice of formal redundancy consultation was served on the union on 12 February, the day after staff were informed. This was a bombshell.
Helpline workers are the lowest paid in the EHRC, but they provide an essential public service advising ordinary people of their rights if they are suffering from discrimination at work or in society.
Since the recession has deepened calls to the helpline have increased, particularly from workers facing redundancy because they are on maternity leave, are disabled, black or have caring responsibilities.
Voluntary advice bodies are already struggling to cope with increased demand as the recession bites, employment tribunal claims are rocketing and there is no legal aid available. The EHRC helpline is an essential public service.
The plans come at the same time as Harriet Harman urging women to seek advice on their employment rights, as well as James Purnell looking at whether minority groups are suffering disproportionately in the recession.
The EHRC’s first response to the recession was to produce a pamphlet for small businesses on how to follow the “right processes” when making staff redundant. (But not how to retain them!)
In contrast, until recently the EHRC has refused to advertise its public helpline. A recent promotion on a small part of the service has shown call volumes triple, yet this has been ignored in the plans to cut the service.
A full Equality Impact Assessment of the proposals has not been completed, in breach of the equality duties to which the EHRC is subject. EHRC is the statutory body charged with enforcing the equality duties - so who enforces the enforcer?
Stakeholder groups, service users and staff opinions and expertise have not been sought when drawing up the proposals to cut jobs and the service.
PCS at the EHRC is well organised with a very high membership. There have been angry union meetings at every EHRC site, and we shall ballot immediately for strike action if even one redundancy is announced. A public campaign has already been launched.
We work for the Equality and Human Rights Commission. We believe in fairness. Our employers don't.

What you can do?

Raise in your trade union, community group, equality group, and ask them to complain to Trevor Phillips at EHRC, Harriet Harman, Minister for Women, Maria Eagle, Equalities Minister, and Hazel Blears (Salford MP and minister with responsibility for race equality).
Write to your MP and ask them to sign the Early Day Motion (to be laid in the House of Commons next week).
Refer people to our helpline. The contact details are: Telephone: 0845 604 6610; Textphone: 0845 604 6620, Email: info@equalityhumanrights.com

Tax justice, not tax havens

Tax dodging costs the UK £100 billion a year - enough to fund the NHS twice over. Developing countries lose an estimated £250 billion every year as a direct result of corporate tax dodging - money which could be used to reach the UN's Millennium Development Goals several times over.
Companies should pay their fair share of tax not only here but in the developing world. Taxes collected should be used to help fund vital public services such as healthcare, education and housing in developing countries as well as in the UK.

Click on the following link to urge your MP to join the call for tax justice, not tax havens!

http://e-activist.com/ea-campaign/clientcampaign.do?ea.client.id=103&ea.campaign.id=2948

HOOT - Hands Off Our Tax offices

Reasons to give a HOOT

Office closures will leave large parts of the UK without a tax office.
The closures have a disproportionate impact on female staff who have childcare or other caring responsibilities.
Services for the public will be harder to access particularly in small towns and rural areas and any financial savings for taxpayers are at best negligible.
Better resources in HMRC could help reduce the tax gap and release billions of pounds that the government could spend on improving public services.
You can support the campaign by sending a HOOT message to your constituency MP at the following link:
http://e-activist.com/ea-campaign/clientcampaign.do?ea.client.id=103&ea.campaign.id=2493

PCS Pay Update

All members should have received their February pay packet which contains back pay to August 2008. Members will also have noticed that new MoD pay scales have been introduced where each spine point (or progression step) is worth 3%

All staff have therefore now migrated onto the new pay scale and been moved to the next highest spine point.

Following the recent round of annual general meetings, it is clear that there is some confusion about the status of the pay process. Reportedly some members wrongly believe that, as this money has now been paid, the pay offer has been agreed and implemented.

It is therefore worth stressing again that our union has not accepted the MOD pay offer.

The current position therefore is that nothing has changed - the pay offer has not been accepted by PCS and we will ballot members on the offer in due course.

The key driver over the next period will be the 2009 Treasury remit guidance. This guidance, which will be used in all civil service departments sets out the government parameters and guidance to departments on pay.

It is also worth stressing that we in the MOD group are very much part of the PCS national pay campaign and that this not solely an MOD pay campaign.

Following the change in government policy on pay agreed last December, talks have been taking place with the Treasury and the Cabinet Office about the detail of converting efficiency savings into pay improvements and the contents of new Treasury pay guidance for 2009 / 2010.

As part of the talks our union has been discussing the kind of pay changes which efficiency savings could bring about; the timing of making pay improvements and other pay reforms.

Our union is also putting to the Government proposals for the separate funding of pay progression (to achieve a level-playing field with other public sector organisations), tackling equal pay problems and unjustified pay differences, and making use of unacceptable performance pay arrangements for other pay improvements.

The key test of the new policy will, of course, be extra money in members` pay packets. When the proposed 10th November day of industrial action was postponed last year, it was done so on the basis of testing the national agreement on pay and on the basis of assurances that new efficiency savings were available to improve departmental pay awards.

The 2009 Remit Guidance is now overdue – this delay is extremely frustrating for both our union and for members who rightly want to know what is happening in terms of their pay.

The PCS National Executive Committee (NEC) met last week to discuss progress on the national pay agreement. That meeting of the NEC made clear that we are very concerned that a planned meeting to talk about new pay guidance had been postponed by the Treasury several times.

This had led to a further delay in holding a PCS pay forum for our pay negotiators. This meeting will provide critical advice for PCS pay departmental negotiators, including MoD pay negotiators. Our union will be watching the situation carefully and a special NEC meeting will take place soon to review the situation.

Once the 2009 Treasury remit guidance is released we intend to seek further dialogue with MoD.

A further update on pay for PCS members will be issued shortly.

Yours sincerely

Paul Barnsley Group Secretary
Chris Dando Group President
KC Jones Group Vice President

Where's the Justice?

It is International Womens Day on the 8th of March.

This year the PCS focus is to take action to close the gender pay gap. Women who deliver government services and contracts have a pay gap above the UK average. Please take a few minutes to email your MP via the following link and ask them to end this injustice: http://e-activist.com/ea-campaign/clientcampaign.do?ea.client.id=103&ea.campaign.id=2723

Find out more about IWD here: http://www.pcs.org.uk/en/equality/womens_equality_toolkit/index.cfm
and here;
http://www.internationalwomensday.com/

Update on the National Pay Campaign

A message from Mark Serwotka








http://www.pcs.org.uk/en/campaigns/national-pay-campaign/pay-campaign--members-briefings/

The Cost of Eating

It has come to our attention that as from Monday 2nd March, the price of all chocolate, crisps and some cans and bottled drinks supplied on the trollies have been increased suriptitiously. We think this is particularily outrageous given that the economy is effectively in stagnation... meaning inflation is a thing of the past, and given that prices had already been raised and only a few months ago!

The trolley ladies have asked us not to blame them and we do not. We put the blame firmly on the shoulders of the greedy catering company that is exploiting our members. If like us you feel agrieved at this outrage you can make your feelings felt by faxing Mr Andrew Holt the catering manager on 63325. But please, spare the ladies.

Give Us A Break.... But In Our Own Time.

Part time staff will be aware of a recent change to the MOD Statement of Civilian Personnel Policy on Working Patterns and Defence Instruction Notice 2008DIN01-231 in which it stated:
"Part time staff are not entitled to a paid meal break (except MDP part time officers). If you work over 6 hours in a day you must take an unpaid break of at least 20 minutes in accordance with the Working Time Regulations."

Members had raised this as a matter of some concern as it impacted directly upon their childcare arrangements. The branch is pleased to report that this issue has been (temporarily*) resolved and SPVA HR Business Partner team have issued a new note to procedure which states the following:

"All part time staff are entitled to an unpaid break and staff should be encouraged to take a break if at all possible. However, taking care arrangements into consideration and to offer flexibility, it has been agreed with Director CTLB HR Business Partner Team and supported by Kim Humberstone DCS, that SPVA can adopt a pragmatic approach in the interim, pending a review of the MOD policy. This means that if you work part time in SPVA, you are not required to take a meal break. However you are entitled to take an unpaid break of at least 20 minutes if you work more than 6 hours per day. There is no change to the arrangements for full time staff."

*Motion A11 'Part Time Lunch Breaks', agreed at the AGM refers. The motion calls on the GEC to ensure that the rules are changed to become compliant with the law and that lunch breaks for part time staff below daily full time hours are an entitlement but not obligatory.

Everyman Theatre Ticket Offer

The Everyman Theatre on Hope Street, Liverpool (opp. Metropolitan Cathedral), would like to offer all PCS members a 2 for 1 offer on all tickets to see the Hounding of David Oluwale showing between the 3rd and 7th March at 7.30pm.

Any PCS member can call their Box Office on 0151 709 4776 and quote PCS Offer - and they will get 2 tickets for the price of one. This works out at about £6.25 each ticket.

http://www.eclipsetheatre.org.uk/

Goodbye Pat! Goodbye Royal Mail?

It seems that our current government is conspiring with the future one to the disadvantage of us all! (Not that this is surprising I suppose, given the Tories quick agreement with Jack Straw over the non disclosure of Cabinet minutes under FOI last week.)

If it is possible to do this with the post, what price OUR pensions and OUR jobs?

Meanwhile hundreds of billions of pounds of our money have been handed over free gratis to the bankers to pay their debts, their bonuses and their pensions. Yet apparently, £1.5 billion over the next 5 years is too much for us to invest in OUR Royal Mail?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/mar/02/royal-mail-privatisation-unions

If you wish to show solidarity with colleagues in the Communications Workers Union in their campaign "Keep The Post Public", they are holding a public rally on Friday 6th March in Albert Square, Manchester:

10.15 - Event Starts
10.30 – Speeches
11.00 - Balloon Launch
11.15–13.30 - Campaigning To Keep The Post Public

Are such things done on Albion's shore?

To mark the Convention on Modern Liberty, the children's author Philip Pullman has written this article:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article5811412.ece


A further article here refers:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/mar/01/civil-liberties-conference

Annual General Meeting

The branch held its Annual General Meeting yesterday at the Briar Dene Hotel, Cleveleys, and around 40 members from Norcross, VWS and guests from local PCS branches attended.

Andy Boylan chaired the meeting and welcomed the attendees.

Paul Barnsley, MoD Group Secretary was the guest speaker and gave the keynote speech of the AGM. Paul is a PCS pay negotiator and gave members a great deal of information regarding the current pay offer and the unions position of opposition to it until various key elements are addressed.

The AGM then moved on to consider motions to MoD and National Conferences on a number of subjects. Some lively debates ensued.

Most of the motions were agreed by the AGM and where debate had taken place the decision was taken by a show of hands.

We also had a motion to change the name of the branch to SPVA National Branch. After much discussion the motion was defeated, therefore we retain our name for another year at least!

Paul Barnsley's keynotes to the AGM

2008 was a challenging year for us all in MoD. However, by working together we have responded to the threats that we face.

* On Protocols on jobs. The protocols are a national agreement that offer important new protections for PCS members from compulsory redundancy.
* On outsourcing Agreement on people consequences of outsourcing and privatisation. Protection from redundancy in an outsourcing situation + in-house options. Both of these agreements were won as a result of PCS member’s willingness to take action and demand fairness at work
*on the bonus New system, supported by over 96% of PCS members in the ballot. We are aware that over 97% of members got a bonus this year. There is more to do and we have agreed with MoD a fundamental review which will we hope see important improvements in the system for the 2010 reporting year...
*on conduct Major work on new PRG. Negotiations ongoing. PCS aim is to ensure that people are treated fairly and with respect. End bullying in MoD. Together we can tackle poor line management. Our reps are working very hard on personal cases to ensure that the agreements that we have are adhered to and that every member is treated fairly at work.
Promotion
/advancement Ongoing review. This will specifically look at promotion from E1 to D and also at promotion/advancement in the senior grades. PCS believes that the A&DC should be looked at specifically. We will also be seeking to make changes to LTTP reward arrangements and to the operation/award of LTTP
*on site closures Wins at Telford, SPVA Gloucester and elsewhere.

The key point is that together we can change things. We have learnt that through a mixture of hard bargaining, campaigning, lobbying politically and being prepared to take action where necessary, that we can win. We need members to be engaged in their union, we need more of you to volunteer to help us (whatever time you can afford) and we need to maintain our unity to win better terms and conditions at work.

Pay
The biggest challenge – as ever – is on pay.
You will by now have seen the Department’s offer. We believe that we have made good progress in most areas:
· Structure pay scales:
o E1 + E2 5 step min to max, D – 6 steps, C2 + above 7 steps. Contrast with 1999 where it was 132 steps from min to max at E1 for example.
o Scale shortening is vital because the pay band maxima is the rate for the job and we want all members to receive the rate for the job as quickly as possible. It also means less money has to be spent on progression and that new money can be focussed on improving the max/rate for the job.
· We have also achieved the end of overlapping between scales
· Significant minimum increases across the pay bands
· Additional progression payments – 8 years + 5 years in pay band worth an extra 3% in year 2 and 3 of the deal.
· 70-90% of our members will receive above inflation awards
· End of HSP/RRA from next year
· LTTP review – new rules on reward + appointments
· Performance pay review – new arrangement for the 2010 reporting year. We want to see a flatter reward structure and fewer bonus tiers.

So from where we have come, our union believes that we have made huge strides – again directly as a result of the action we took in MoD. The action we took has forced the employer to take our concerns seriously.

However, the MoD pay system is so poor we could never hope to fix all of the problems in one go – our GEC know we have more to do on pay and the offer remains rightly unacceptable to many members .

Problems
1. Not all members receive an above inflation award – this cannot be accepted considering the pay restraint that we have all suffered over the previous years.
2. The major problem however is the proposals at the E1 + E2 max. PCS totally opposes the current MoD proposals for staff in the E1 and E2 pay bands. We believe it would be completely unjust and unfair to penalise the lowest paid staff in the department by cutting their pay band maxima. It would be equally wrong to force thousands of hard working staff to accept non consolidated pay awards and also miss out on additional progression payments based on length of service. We will not recommend any offer that penalizes members in this way.
3. Overseas staff – removal of ILW proposals

Where we are
1. Department have notified us of their intention to pay first year of the offer. First payment will be in February pay packets including back pay
2. All staff will migrate to new 3% pay scale. So 2.5% + whatever it takes to move up to next highest spine point
3. Changes to E1 + E2 max will not take effect until May so we have some time to sort issue out

MoD has agreed to continue discussions in two areas:
1. On current offer
2. On the national agreement on pay between PCS and Cabinet Office/Treasury
The national agreement is crucial. Again, won through our members and union standing up for what is right. Signed on 1/12/08 after strike planned for 10/11/08 was called off to allow talks to take place.

The agreement for the first time:
· Says that there is no 2% limit on pay
· Allows departments to use money saved through efficiencies to improve pay. What this means. Talks will start as soon as remit guidance is published
· Allows us to directly improve the pay offer on the table
Over the next couple of months we will be testing the new national agreement.

For us the agreement must:
1. Allow us to resolve the E1 + E2 max issue
2. Put more money into members’ pockets
3. Allow all members to receive an award in line with inflation.
Some members have asked why Prospect and FDA have balloted members and we haven’t.
The reason is that we believe that we can improve the offer further. Whether we improve it enough you will decide in a ballot once we have completed talks.
If Government abides by the deal we are confident that the agreement will deliver significant sums of money. If it does not we will step up our campaign again until we win.

We will report back to members as quickly as possible.

To Sum Up
1. We have made great strides this year – but there is more to do.
2. Threats we face are huge:
o ACR/PLP/corporate services
o Change – EMR, TLB programmes etc
o Poor management
o Low pay and morale
3. Economic downturn - impact on government + media telling us we are lucky to have a job.
4. But we have proven that we can win when we work together - active involvement of members is vital.
5. Please actively support our union –the members are the union and we really need more people to step up and get involved. We will do everything we can to support new people.

Ammendment to Motion A13

Members at the AGM will recall that Motion A13 was debated and passed on proviso that it was re-worded. The following is the revised version:

A13 Motion to MoD Group Conference
Defence Training Provision

Since the machinery of Government change that moved WPA into MoD, without consultation, the Agency, in its many guises, has managed to maintain a Satellite Training Centre at Norcross. Conference applauds this as it believes that having training close to hand for all staff in the MoD is part of the Department’s equality duty.

Conference believes that staff who have caring responsibilities, be it for children or elder care, should not be forced to travel for training. Further, it might be that travel for training could constitute a breach of contract for any staff who are deemed non-mobile.

It is with grave concern, therefore that Conference notes the fact that the Defence Academy are reviewing the Defence Training Estate and that SPVA management have warned Norcross based staff that the satellite training facilities might be removed in this review. Conference are concerned that staff are being informed, at Norcross, that they may have to make round trips of either 391 miles (Glasgow) or 408 miles (Shrivenham) for compulsory training. The irony that this includes Equality Training is not lost on Conference. Conference fears that if it is threatened for members at Norcross then it will be happening in other parts of the MoD

Conference instructs the incoming GEC to:

1. ensure that the Defence Training Estate Review includes equality and Diversity Impact Assessments
2. ensure that a Satellite Training Centre is maintained at Norcross
3. ensure that provisions are made for all MoD staff that, for any compulsory training/management instigated training, the trainee has to travel no more than 1 hour, by public transport, from their base office
4. work with branches to create model grievances for members who, if forced to travel more one hour, feel that compulsory training is negatively impacting their work/life balance and publicise such grievances.

Hope Not Hate

The branch received this email over the weekend:
"I wanted you to be one of the first to know - the BNP have cancelled their march in Liverpool. Thanks to your support thousands of people signed our petition demanding the BNP cancelled their event. It worked - and was even mentioned in the Guardian yesterday. This just shows what we can do together. We won this time - but we need to grow our campaign so that we can respond to the next challenge faster and stronger.

We've won an important victory today - together we'll make sure that we can win tomorrow as well.Please invite your friends to help us - we've seen that it really works -http://action.hopenothate.org.uk/buildcampaign

Best wishes
Nick

'Hile!' on the Golden Mile?

How different our world might have looked!



http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/feb/23/hitler-blackpool-resort-plans

You've Got The X Factor

Make Your Vote Count
www.pcs.org.uk/myvc

The European Parliament is the only multinational parliamentary assembly in the world that is elected by universal suffrage and the next election to decide who will govern Europe will take place in the UK on Thursday 4
June 2009.

All in all, 27 member states will take part in these elections and some 500 million EU citizens will choose 736 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs).

The UK is divided into twelve regions for the European elections.This election will also include some unitary and county elections in different parts of the UK meaning that everyone has at least one vote on election day.

The first task we face is to encourage every member of our union, as well as our friends
and families, to register to vote and to take part. This is the only way we can stop the growth in electoral support for the far right.

The British National Party (BNP) and other far right parties already have an unprecedented number of elected representatives across the UK. Now their sights are set on winning a seat in Europe. The BNP want to push forward their own politics of hate and they pose a real threat to
all of us.

Our movement should always be proud to have taken part in defeating the fascists in the
past and we are still committed and able to defeat them again now.

But to be successful – people have to vote against the BNP and we all have to play our part in organising the campaign to mobilise the majority who agree that fascism is wrong and should have no place in our society.

Register to vote so we can defeat the BNP at the ballot box.

The voter registration deadline is 19 May.

If you need to register or want to apply for a postal vote visit:

www.aboutmyvote.co.uk

Hope Not Hate

Please take the time to follow this link and sign Hope Not Hate's petition against the BNP's planned march through Liverpool city centre on March 14th. Please also circulate it as widely as possible to friends and colleagues.

http://action.hopenothate.org.uk/page/s/stophate

Hope Not Hate intend to present the petition to Merseyside Police on 27th February as so far attempts to stop the planned march through discussions with the police have failed.

Don't allow the BNP to take over one of our city centres! Please sign the petition.

Branch meets with USoS and Minister for Veterans

Your branch representative met with Kevan Jones, the Under Secreatry of State and Minister for Veterans on 17th February. Although only a brief meeting, your representative was able to put before the Minister members concerns regarding what is the effective ongoing restructuring of the VWS and issues arising therefrom: staffing, accommodation and IT support. Additionally the issue of the increased MoD security impacting members ability to do their jobs effectively, in particular in communicating with stakeholders via

external internet connections was raised. The Minister agreed that a common sense approach should be taken in regard of handling personal information and has undertaken to take the issue away and look into it.

Learning For Life

The BBC have just launched a new website designed to assist adults to learn skills for everyday life.The site can be found here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/raw/

The branch also has a small supply of 'quick read' books for loan. 'Quick read' is a scheme designed to encourage people to start reading as the books are fairly short and so aren't too off putting. They may also be of interest to those people who do enjoy reading and would like to borrow one to read during their breaks. If anyone is interested in borrowing a book please contact Rachel by e-mail (rachel dot wallace-dand at spva dot gsi dot gov dot uk)
or phone (62858).

MoD seeks to gag PCS representatives from speaking to the press.

PCS responds.

Introduction

The MoD press machine has long been accustomed to achieving media coverage favourable to the Department. But over the last year or two, the MoD has been put under pressure by PCS campaigning strategies that have included some notable successes of its own- this type of campaigning is part and parcel of what an "organising" union does, and PCS is committed to continue to keep up the pressure.

In the face of questionable MoD decisions to pursue privatisations, relocations, cut jobs and impose below inflation pay rises it would be grossly irresponsible of our union not to use all forums available to express the views of our members. The media is clearly one key forum. PCS is proud to be a membership led union and we will not apologise for highlighting the concerns raised by our members or for bringing them to wider attention. It is against this background that PCS media work takes on even greater importance.

The apparent initial strategy of the MoD in response has been to try to remain aloof from what it likes to call "press speculation" that has emerged as a consequence of certain stories being taken up in the media. However, as everybody knows remaining silent passes the initiative to those who have a different story to tell.
We are not surprised therefore to learn - from various parts of the Department - that the MoD has now unwisely begun to seek to gag PCS representatives under the guise of DIN 03-020.

We wish to the attention of all PCS Representatives the MoD Policy Rules and Guidance on this matter. "The Standards of Conduct and Behaviour" PRG - under the heading of Trades Unions Paragraph 19 and 20.

The paragraphs of the relevant PRG- under task 3, the section headed "Trade Unions" says:

19. If you are an elected official of a recognised trade union or staff association you do not need to obtain MoD authority if you are publicising your association’s or union’s view on an official matter which, because it directly affects the conditions of service of members, is of legitimate interest to them. (PCS underlining) This exemption does not apply to the (probably rare) case where the official duties of the union or association representative as a public servant are directly concerned with the matter in question.

20. You do not need permission to take part in activities organised by, or on behalf of, unions or staff associations, although conduct in public should still be consistent with the principles set out above. You must not comment on issues of a politically controversial nature and should obtain permission from a senior line manager (minimum B2 or equivalent) before attending conferences of a political nature in an official capacity.
The PRG makes specific mention of trade unions which lie outside the PRG’s general advice and instructions to MoD Civil Servants. It has never been the case that PCS representatives cannot talk to the press. It has always been understood that representatives need to make clear that they are speaking as accredited trade union representatives, not Civil Servants.

Conclusion

PCS will continue to represent its members through negotiations, consultations and by campaigning. PCS will not be gagged by anyone because our views - and that of our members - do not accord with the official line.

Local representatives are urged to continue to campaign on behalf of our members using the paragraphs of the above PRG as guidance. If representatives are unsure of how to proceed they should contact their Regional Liaison Officer in the first instance.


Paul Bemrose
Negotiations Officer