It is the clearest indication yet that our rolling programme of an overtime ban, alongside a work to rule and various periods of full strike action is worrying the department so much that they have now resorted to bully boy tactics by walking away from negotiations that have been running for more than six months.
As you would expect, our union will not bow to intimidatory tactics such as this. Members within our department are covering two or three jobs to fill the vacancies by the tens of thousands who have left and are rewarded with pay cuts, higher pension contributions and a new performance management system that will see 1 in 20 sacked within a year.
Therefore, our union will go ahead with the one-day strike action on Monday 17 June. Whilst senior MoD management might want an unfair deal for civilians working in defence, our union is clear that we will fight long and hard to ensure PCS members get a Fair Deal in Defence.
Can I afford to strike on 17 June?
As we go into the next stage of national strike action in defence of our pay, pensions, terms and conditions it is worth reflecting and considering the position we are in. The statement we are faced with most often at times of industrial action is that members can’t afford to take strike action. Our union knows that it is never an easy decision to take strike action.
Our union knows that members in the Defence Sector group are generally on low pay and for most of us every penny counts when bringing in the bare necessities to keep our households going. Therefore to face the loss of another days pay is rightly deliberated and discussed within families because of the sacrifice we have to make.
We are not born with silver spoons in our mouths. We know that we are not all in this together. However nobody deserves to come to work and get an unfair deal in regards to their pay, pensions, terms and conditions. Unfortunately this is what is happening now and will continue to happen unless we take action to defend ourselves.
Therefore the gains we make and the terms and conditions we defend are fought for every step of the way. This is the reality. It can and does require every one of us to play our part and stand shoulder to shoulder with each other in taking action together.
Every penny counts
How many times in these so called austere times, do we hear the phrase ‘every penny counts’ from Con Dem politicians and their pet commentators in the right wing media. Our union agrees that every penny should count, but it appears that (as always) some pennies count more than others.
Evoking memories of the ‘no such thing as society’ ideology of the 80’s, this government’s attacks on the welfare state are as predictable as they are disingenuous and dangerous. The figures simply don’t add up. UK welfare fraud in the last five years totals approximately £5 billion.
This is undoubtedly a huge sum and, of course, we should try and reduce and if possible cut out all fraudulent behaviour. However, to put this in context, in the same five-year period, more than £600 billion has been lost to the Treasury in tax avoidance, tax evasion and unpaid tax.
Members can make their own minds up if this government is showing the same fervour in tacking tax abuse as it is in tackling welfare abuse?
Defence Sector group hardship fund
However our union does recognise that for some members, taking industrial action does cause them severe financial problems. The Defence Sector group operates a hardship fund to provide assistance to individual members placed under such severe financial hardship as a result of taking industrial action (where strike pay is not paid).
The fund is not designed to help members with debt or other related problems and members may wish to look at the PCS benevolent fund, the PCS credit union or our counselling and support services in these circumstances.
In the first instance, members should speak to their branch secretary and should submit their claim through him/her to the group treasurer who will present it to the finance sub-committee to decide upon.
The hardship fund relies on donations from individuals and branches. Therefore, if you are in a position to help out colleagues at this difficult time please call John Wilson, group treasurer on 01785 787108 for further details.
Conclusion
The action on 17 June is part of the group’s campaign to gain a Fair Deal in Defence and part of our national union’s campaign to get government ministers round the table to properly discuss the attacks on our terms and conditions.
Today we are faced with a choice. Do we simply accept the ripping up of our current terms and accrued rights or are we going to stand up for ourselves? In years to come will people look back and say how PCS members fought to defend their terms and conditions or will they just think how did we come to being worse off?
DEFEND OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS – ALL OUT ON 17 JUNE
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