Fair Deal in Defence update

Consultative ballot launched

In meetings up and down the country in support of our Fair Deal in Defence campaign, members have been telling us of the impact of defence cuts.

They speak of having to cover for staff that have left the department, on VERs or through resignation. Having to work longer hours, unpaid overtime and work out of grade and having to cut corners to get the job done, now that they can no longer work in a safe and professional manner whilst maintaining support to the front line.

They tell us of their pride in supporting our armed forces, tempered with a growing realisation that their loyalty and commitment is being ruthlessly exploited. No longer are they treated with respect, and a critical component of the defence effort.

And they record a growing sense of anger that their concerns are going unanswered while Ministers and others show them contempt by cutting their pay, terms and conditions whilst lining them up to be sold to the lowest bidder or moved to the other end of the country at the stroke of a Ministers pen.

It’s time to fight back

Our union’s Fair Deal campaign offers an opportunity to start the fight back. We can demand to be treated with dignity and respect, be paid a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work and be free from the threat of enforced redundancy or mobility.

We can demand a living wage, with a return to inflation proofed increases and pay progression, so that all staff earn a decent salary without the need for other jobs. We can demand the return of our bonus monies, stolen by the Secretary of State.

We can demand fair treatment at work, with objectives and targets that are matched to our resources and training to help us progress and improve our performance.

We can demand an end to privatisation, where the interests of defence and those of staff are secondary to the need to make ever increasing profits.

Make your voice heard

Please make sure that you vote in the consultative ballot and attend any meeting organised by your branch to talk about Fair Deal. If your branch has not organised a meeting demand that your branch secretary does so, or contact the group office on the number below to ask a regional liaison officer to chase up arranging a meeting.

Experience from other PCS members shows that when we stand together in support of common objectives, with a determination to back those demands with action, then we will win significant concessions from our employer. That’s why we are confident that we can win for members in the Ministry of Defence.

Vote Yes/Yes

The group executive is asking all members to vote Yes to support our campaign objectives and Yes to backing those objectives with various forms of action, if asked in a subsequent ballot.

Meanwhile we have asked the other defence trade unions to join our Fair Deal campaign, alongside Unite who we believe will also be holding a ballot in October.

Our ballot closes on 18th October. If you haven’t received a ballot paper by 5th October, then please contact the group office.

Have your say

The department is also launching their annual ‘Your Say’ attitude survey on 1st October. Last year’s survey results made grim reading for senior management, with only 17% having confidence in the decisions of senior management; 12% believing that change was well managed and 9% believing that any changes made were usually for the better. Only 32% would recommend the MOD as a place to work, while only 28% believed that the MOD motivated them to meet their objectives.

This year, we are told ‘to save money’, the department is not sending a link to the survey to all staff; rather staff will have to find the survey through a link on the Defence Intranet and then find a code relating to their business unit to enter.

Despite this inconvenience we would urge all members to take the time to complete the Your Say survey and not to hold back on their responses (even though only 18% had any confidence that senior management would listen and 14% saw any changes from the previous survey). Let’s give the new PUS a chance to make a difference!