DWP: Action gets results

STRIKE ACTION by PCS members in the Department for Work and Pensions
(DWP) has brought management to the negotiating table and forced them to
make an offer to settle the dispute.

Jane Aitchison, PCS DWP president, personal capacity

The DWP bosses were surprised by the strong support for the two-day
national strike in January but calculated that PCS couldn’t deliver
again. They tried to take a hard strike-breaking line.

But the even stronger support for the two-day strike in May proved
them wrong and convinced New Labour secretary of state Hutton that they
had to try to get a deal.

The Socialist Party believes it would be possible to deliver further
action.

With hard work the overtime ban will hold. Limited targeted action is
also possible, but less effective than national action.

It is clear, however, that shifting the DWP bosses even further would
take significant escalation beyond the level so far agreed by conference
or members.

General secretary Mark Serwotka and the National Executive Committee
are planning a ballot in the autumn for civil service-wide action on job
security. So now is the right time to bank the gains PCS members have
made.

The offer represents a significant achievement for PCS members in the
face of a hostile employer. It increases job security for members by
strengthening the negotiating position of the union on redundancy and
service delivery.

The job and performance evaluation scheme, PDS, is to undergo a
thorough review on the orders of the National Audit Office.

As well as producing immediate gains for members such as greater job
security, slashing the length of sickness warnings and getting unpaid
special leave back, the offer also opens up the opportunity for PCS to
push for more gains in the future.

The terms of the proposed settlement contain review mechanisms that
give clear negotiating and consultation rights to PCS on job security,
service delivery, attendance management and human resources policy.
These, combined with the commitment to renegotiate the hated Employee
Relations Framework, strengthen the position of the union and could
represent a real turning point for PCS in the DWP.

The real test of the proposed deal is whether it improves the ability
of the union to defend members. This deal does that and that is why the
DWP group executive is recommending it to the membership.


"We’re not robots"

CIVIL SERVICE union PCS members working in Her Majesty’s Revenue and
Customs (HMRC) were on strike on 31 July. Socialist Party members Nick
and Sami spoke to strikers in Portsmouth. The strike was over new
working practices called LEAN.

The strikers realised that this attempt to increase productivity will
be a threat to jobs, especially when the civil service wants to axe
16,000 jobs in HMRC.

One PCS member who had worked in the Cosham offices for 30 years said
it had taken away all the skills of the job. There was anger over the
lack of consultation and the lack of any measure of its effectiveness.
Management at Cosham had resorted to bullying tactics in preparation for
the strike, arguing that a strike would threaten the permanent closure
of the office.

PCS members responded by holding an impromptu lunchtime meeting, with
over 90 attending. Ten people joined the union.

"We’re not robots," said one worker. "Every item we process can be
different, we work as a team to everybody’s strengths." The attempt to
treat the civil service like car production lines has not convinced
anyone. "Not every enquiry is the same, this is not standardised
production."

"If we let them get away with this it will spread across the civil
service. I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s the end of a
reasonable work environment. This won’t mean a better service, the
pressure will just mean people cutting corners."