Pam Cole, Policy Officer
PCS
pamela@pcs.org.uk
IER April 2013 - The Public Sector:
cuts, privatisation and
employment rights
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270,000 members across government and in
privatised sector
National and delegated CS recognition
National Trade Union Committee
National consultation
Delegated bargaining
Delegated facility arrangements
Departmental Trade Union Sides
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Ministerial agenda
Political lobby – protecting the taxpayer?
Cuts - cost (not benefits)
Privatisation – divesting responsibility?
The wider public sector
Austerity perspective – reason or excuse?
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BERR: Workplace representatives – a review of
their facilities and facility time (2007)
TUC: The facts about facility time for union
reps (2011)
NatCenSocial Research report for Unison: The
value of trade union facility time – Insight,
challenges, solutions (June 2012)
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Consultation responses
PCS surveys
Joint projects
Delivering change
Resolving grievances
Agreements tailored to organisations
 Civil Service is not just Whitehall
 Managers’ needs as well as members’ needs
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Long lead in, short consultation
Unilateral document, November 2012
Leading questions
NTUC discussions – cut short
Ministerial announcement
Cabinet Office directive
Cost limits set
Legal constraints - acknowledged
ACAS Code – duties and activities
A fundamental rupture
of industrial relations
in the Civil Service
Ending or changing existing
agreements
 Central control or delegated authority?
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Union democracy and representation
Equality and diversity
Collective bargaining machinery
Statutory responsibilities
Members’ rights
Knowledge and expertise
Individual reps
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Fewer reps?
Less diverse union?
Lower skills and expertise?
Even worse management of change
More stress – members, reps, managers and
organisation
More grievances – less access to help
Lower morale
Erosion of workplace rights
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Preparation for a hostile environment
Organising strategy – Count Me In
PCS national campaign
Departmental agreements?
Tool kit – co-ordinated/tailored
Supporting reps
Supporting members
Legal challenges?
Transition plan
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Wider attacks
 On employment rights
 On trade union rights
 Rest of public sector
Wider campaigning to protect rights and
resist detriments
Working with TUC and IER and others
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“I was helped from the moment I set foot in
the union room. They are a brilliant support
system...My rep was in every meeting ...so I
was assured all correct procedures were
being adhered to”
“Support from my HR department would have
been no substitute for the support I received
from my union rep because I would not have
felt they were ‘on my side’”
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Public and Commercial Services Union