Evaluation - How'd it go then.

Well how'd you all think it went then?

From what I've heard it was the most successful PCS young trade unionist week yet.

I know it's only been the second one we've ever had but I still think everyone in the young members network can give themselves a big pat on the back.

I've heard stories of people doing events and getting great responses and signing up a lot of young workers to the network and PCS and that's a great effort to be congratulated.

I've also heard young PCS reps tell me that they put on an event in their area, talked to young people in their office and didn't get the response they hoped for.

I am thankful to all active young members who have put the effort in no matter how many members they did or didn't sign up.

I applaud you all!

I believe PCS young trade unionist was a success and something that no doubt the young members network and it's committee next year will build on and make even better.

That said, my tenure as National Young Members Chair isn't finished yet and I'll be throwing my full support into the PCS national campaign. I'll be trying to raise awareness of our Young Members Charter, the Call Centre Charter and campaigning to fulfill their demands. Finally I will be trying to encourage active young members to stand for next years National Young Members Committee so we have a lively and democratic debate as to who should be on the committee next year.

Hopefully I'll also be able to get out and about from time to time to try and meet and recruit young workers in PCS represented workplaces across the country.

That's it for this blog.

I'll finish this post by copying you into a report from our National Organiser, Tracy Edwards, about her experiences during young trade unionist week.

Thanks.

Mark Chisman.

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Lowestoft contact centre Wednesday 17th Sept:

Over the past two weeks, Alan Warner our Eastern region young members' convenor and Glenn Batty area young member convenor for Suffolk have been planning a young member recruitment day in DWP Lowestoft contact centre.

This centre, has the largest concentration of young members in the region - around 40. Mostly working in the contact centre upstairs from the jobcentre, we were shocked to find out that the majority of them are actually on fixed term temporary contracts. Ranging between 6 - 12 months, the young members we spoke to were increasingly concerned about job security. So when we held our meeting on the premises, they were interested to know that PCS campaigns for better pay, terms and conditions for its members.

Dominic McFadden from the NEC joined us alongside Richard Edwards, an experienced rep who has gained a lot of respect within the region and the DWP group over the years. Around 20 people signed our petition against low pay for young workers, four signed up to the network and one new PCS member was recruited.

This won't be the last we here from this workplace. Plans will be underway to organise a local job security campaign in the area - highlighting the fact that there is no reason why these jobs should not be made permanent and that we will not stand for inadequate training anymore. We are also looking to set up a local DWP Lowestoft young member’s network.

HMRC Merry Hill contact centre Midlands Thurs 18th Sept:

Mary McCrory has played a crucial role in establishing a branch young member’s officer position within the branch and has been planning this event with our Midlands regional young members’ convenors over the past few weeks. The majority of the people working there are young and also PCS members so our focus really was to identify people who are interested in becoming active - four young members have volunteered to become local convenors as a result.

HMRC Merry Hill contact centre is stuck in an industrial estate near Cradley Heath. Alongside this massive centre houses the local court, DWP processing centre and an NHS Ambulance service building. The funniest name for a pub I've seen in a while sits next to the complex - The dog and Lampost.

What wasn't as funny, was when I heard about the recent upheavals one of our young members had to endure. After telling me that she became a bit more active following the birth of her second daughter last year, I couldn't believe my ears when she told me about her living situation. For the second time in five months, Kelly and her two daughters had to move house. Two separate landlords within five months had not been paying the mortgage on the properties and were being repossessed. Despite the fact that she had never missed a rent payment, a whole family had to re arrange their living conditions and get used to living somewhere else. I don't have children, but I just barely begin to imagine how difficult this situation is.

Kelly is a reminder of why the trade union movement is so important - It is only us who have the potential to campaign effectively for publicly owned council housing and services for people who need it and eradicating some of the unnecessary set backs our members face to achieve actual equality for all.

As we were leafleting outside the building at lunch time, we came across a group of 12 school kids who were on their way back to class. I asked them if they knew what a trade union was and the answers were fascinating - one of them thought we were related to marketing and another thought we were a world wide organisation which negotiates trade agreements between countries. Not the fault of the school children concerned, they were all bright, intelligent and pleasant kids - it highlights the need or trade unionists to be going into schools and talking to kids about us. Never is there a more important time - we are currently looking to organise a meeting with the teachers unions to develop our campaign to get trade union studies included in citizenship classes within schools. Seems to me young members are the best placed to be leading in this area of work.

Despite the sunshine, we made our way back into the office. We had a big presence there and the Midlands have a new Area convenor for the West Midlands - Mary McCrory. I know she will play a great role within an already strong region for young member activity.

Thursday - Visit to Bradford HMRC Contact Centre

I visited HMRC Bradford Contact Centre today.

I met Josh Walsh the local Young Members Rep and Trudy Bates who is Branch President of Bradford Revenue and District branch at 11:00.

Josh took Trudy and I on a tour of the contact centre and introduced me the PCS reps there if they weren't occupied on the phone.

Josh then showed me his workstation and explained how the Contact Centre operated. He explained that calls could be routed to the Bradford contact centre from anywhere in the country and that the contact centre was currently responsible for Debt Management, New Tax Credits and Taxes work.

He then showed me how the aspect code system worked. For every minute of every day the contact centre workers must enter a code which describes their current activity.

These include taking calls, unscheduled breaks and time spent 'wrapping up a call' by recording details or carrying out actions on HMRC systems.

Using this system HMRC contact centre management can identify exactly how much time is being used up on breaks by an individual worker, by contact centre or nationally.

Contact Centre workers are therefore constantly under pressure not just to reduce the time spent on calls so more calls cans be answered within a day to reduce queing but also to reduce anytime spent on unscheduled breaks.

All such times are not just shown on management stat sheets but also on Whiteboards which are dotted around the office.

Josh related a story to me that a member of staff had been disciplined for taking 8 seconds longer than 15 minutes on a scheduled break. HMRC contact centre staff are allowed two 15 minute breaks in a day as well as half an hour for dinner.

After explaining the aspect system, Josh explained that a spreadsheet had to be reffered to in order to book leave. Unlike many other areas of the civil service, in contact centres workers cannot simply book leave whenever they like.

Unless there are the required amount of workers in on a certain day no one is allowed to take any leave.

The whole system in contact centres in designed to run with as little staff resources as possible to answer as many calls as possible with little reference to quaility.

This has consequently led to many people claiming to have been bullied in a staff health and safety survey conduced by PCS and also claim that they are extremely stressed so as to endanger their own helath.

After this explanation we set up stall in one of the contact centres 'break out' areas.

I got the chance to talk to a few young members working in the contact centre and also signed them up to the young members network and asked them to sign the petition.

There was common theme to the workers concerns at Bradford contact centre and that was the stress they suffered and the fact they had to deal with reduced flexible working conditions as opposed to other areas of the civil service.

I told them about the Early Day Motion I am trying to get the PCS parliametary group to table in parliament which will ask for the Contact Centre charter to be enacted into law.

I also told them that I thought contact centre workers to a certain extent had been let down by PCS because we should be demanding that they have the same flexible working conditions as all other civil servants in their department.

I finished by stating that if they had any concerns they wished to raise with me they could e-mail me.

I am hoping the meetings we in the young members network have arranged in contact centres up and down the country during young trade unionist week will produce some great ideas about how we can campaign together in unity for betters conditions for contact centre workers.

After we had tidied up our stall Josh and I talked about what we could do to campaign for contact centre workers.

We both believe a strong motion to conference asking for industrial action to be taken throughout the civil service until true flexibility is granted for contact centres would be a good way forward.

The call centre charter should also include clearer demands for flexible working

and

There should be regular updates from the NEC on what they are doing to secure the objectives of the call centre charter.

I am hoping this week will be the start of a campaign for better conditions for contact centre worker and this will gain momentum until our next PCS conference.

Myself and Tracy Edwards are hoping to arrange a cross union meeting on the subject soon and I also hope that we can produce postcards for MP's on the issue once we have an Early Day Motion submitted.

I'll finish by relating to you something which Josh said to me which stuck. He said "Work in this country is changing and it's going to become more like this"

I agree if you are not already in a contact centre or having all your work actions monitored in time and motion studies, you could well find this happening soon.

If we don't defend contact centre workers now it could be you next. I would ask all trade union members to bear this in mind.

Wednesday - Summer of Discontent

Yesterday I went to the summer of discontent social night at the Ruby Lounge in Manchester.

I got to meet a lot of PCS young members in the North West region and I know how hard they must have worked to get a social event like that organised.

The Young members in Yorkshire and I arranged a social event in Sheffield last year with speakers and bands and it was chaos all night! We were constantly on our feet sorting out difficulties and making sure everyone was happy.

It was no different for the young members in the North West yesterday and I appreciate how much work must of went into organising the event because of my experience in trying to do this myself.

I arrived at 8 'o'clock while a band called Blind Atlas played who I must admit were difficult to categorise but at a push I would call them 'indie'.

I had a few drinks with the North West Young members present and then a singer songwriter called John Herring came on. To be honest he wasn't my cup of tea but he was talented at what he did.

Throughout the night I was aware of a lot of people dressed in black and white horizontal stripes being up for seeing the next band called King Kayak and they didn't disappoint.

They played a good line of funky Ska. Helen Flanagan (DWP GEC Member) and myself were so impressed we had a good old dance about to one of their better numbers while Phil Windsor (HMRC Young Members Advisory Committee Chair) looked on in sober awe at the sheer dancing talent on display.

Following King Kayak, Daniel Orlick played who again was diffilcult to categorise.

I left at 11 'o' clock.

The night made me realise that I should get out and about more outside of the Yorkshire and Humberside area because I know there are young members doing great things outside my own region.

On a personal note I would like to say that I have chose to visit offices in my region during young trade unionist week because I hold two young members positions at the moment.

These being National young members chair and Yorkshire and Humberside convenor.

I have always said during my time before this week to my comrades in the Yorkshire region that I have been neglecting them because of my work as national PCS young members chair.

Therefore during young trade unionist week I felt I had to try and fulfil my role as Yorkshire and Humberside convenor and try to get some new blood in my region.

This is because I do not want to put the new Yorkshire and Humberside convenor who will be elected this year in a bad position just because I am also National Young members chair.

I know however from meeting the PCS young members in the North West region that I really should be getting out and about outside my region to meet you all.

I know there is some fantastic work being put in by young members for the PCS union during this week and for that I thank you all.

Please do not hesitate to contact me at: einsterzendeunternull56@hotmail.co.uk if you want me to visit a meeting of young members in your region. I will try to make arrangements to come to your region if you contact me.

That said PCS Young Trade Unionist Week isn't finished yet.

Tomorrow is call centre charter day. I shall be visiting HMRC Bradford contact centre to talk to members about the PCS call centre charter and how we can achieve it aims.

I know in other regions young members have been visiting call centres and indeed tomorrow Tracy Edwards and the Midlands Young Members will be visiting the HMRC call centre at Merry Hill.

I want to convey a message to call centre workers that PCS as a union is campaigning strongly on their behalf to stop them being treated as second class civil servants.

I want to ask them to get involved in the PCS young members network so we can make the demands of the call centre charter a reality.

I know how hard people are worked in Call Centres and how much pressure they have to suffer. The demands within the Call Centre Charter are the bare minimum conditions a call centre worker should expect.

PCS must step up it's campaigning strategy to implement the demands of the call centre charter because no-one should be treated as badly as call centre workers are treated now.

I am hoping to galvanise support among call centre workers tomorrow and tell them about what steps the young members network is taking.

I have already submitted a proposition to Tracy for the PCS parliamentary group to submit a early day motion on implementing the PCS Call Centre Charter and hopefully with more commited contact centre activists we can go further and organise more actions to win the decent working condition they so rightly deserve.

Here's to a great remaining Young Trade Unionist Week.

Thank you all for your hard work, Please keep either myself (einsterzendeunternull56@hotmail.co.uk) or Tracy (tracy@pcs.org.uk) informed of any events, work or actions you have held this week.

Mark Chisman.

Tuesday - back at work.

Hello again.

Sorry about this but I haven't got much to report about today because I was back at work.

If however anyone wishes to report back about any events they have attended related to PCS young trade unionist week, please post them here.

I am at the summer of discontent social gig for young trade unionist week in Manchester tomorrow. it's at The Ruby Lounge, 28-34 High Street, Manchester between 7:30 and 2:00.

Please attend if you can.

Cheers.

Mark Chisman.

Monday - Visit to Hull DWP members

I visited Hull today and was introduced to a lot of young members by Miranda Harr the Chair of DWP Hull and East Riding branch.

We visited Oriel House first which is a DWP Benefit Processing Centre.

Miranda showed me round the processing floors and to be honest Miranda did most of the talking as I was a bit shy being in a new office to be honest (If you were a young member who I talked to early on and didn't introduce myself, HI my names Mark!)

We got a good reception for the most part and I think a few people will join the young members network as a result.

The thing is though Miranda and I found it difficult walking round an office with employees of all sorts of different ages there and trying not to offend anyone by presuming they were either too old or too young.

Miranda handled it well though by stating clearly before approaching each bank of desks and stating "Hello, We're here to talk about the young members network today is anyone 27 and under" We also handed out PCS membership leaflets out to those over the age requirement and not members of PCS.

After covering the processing sections we moved onto the telephony sections. There were a few young members down there and hopefully after speaking to them about PCS and the young members network they have decided to join up.

I tried to draw their attention to the call centre charter which I think will be a brilliant tool for recruiting young members who conduct most of their work on the phone.

It's an excellent charter and in the young members network we will be stepping up out work to being it's demands into reality.

We encountered one young person in the building who didn't want to join. He said that he didn't agree with PCS's strategy in DWP regarding the recent strikes, that the DWP GEC has chosen the wrong day which would cause the least damage to management.

Miranda stated that if he was part of PCS he would of be able to express his opinion so maybe next time it would be done his way.

He still however wasn't interested but still took a flyer and application form.

What Miranda said afterwards was right. Too many people both outside and inside of the union still think the leadership simply give instructions to them instead of make decisions based on feedback from them.

I think our union is the most democratic organisation (let alone union) in the UK. Before we even launched this current strategy on the pay strikes we had a series of workplace meeting covering nearly every workplace represented by PCS to ask members what they thought.

I also seriously believe what will be proposed by PCS for the national pay strikes will have taken into account that opinion. We therefore need to continue to bang the drum when recruiting into the union that members can effect what strategy and line the union takes.

It isn't some conspiracy as some 4 the members activists would have you believe. I truly believe most of the decisions taken in this union are based on the prevailing opinion of most members. It may not match every single members wishes exactly but it's pretty near in my opinion.

After some dinner myself and Miranda moved onto the Britania House. This building houses Jobcentre Plus workers within DWP.

I didn't get to talk to many members within Jobcentre Plus because of the customer facing work they do. I did however talk to some members with the Child Support Agency section there.

Most people 27 and under were very receptive. I introduced myself properly this time and stated that as chair I would be very interested in any comments or ideas they wished to send me by e-mail.

We started much hilarity within the office with some members proudly stating they were still 'young' and other weren't.

We then encountered a young person who wasn't interested.

Their only reason was that they did not see the point in unions.

Miranda tried to debate the point with him but in my opinion some people are closed minded to the issue because of what they have been told about unions in the past and the (in my opinion) false image they have of them.

I guess the only thing you can do with this sort of member is go back in a few months time again and point them in the direction of a success the union has had and ask them again.

It's diffilcult when someone is against unions but doesn't give you a definable reason but it happens.

Myself and Miranda then sat in the tea break area and met a few more young people to sign up there.

All in all it was a successful day and I hope Tracy will be in receipt of lots of applications to join from Hull.

In finishing Miranda Harr the branch chair of DWP Hull and East Riding branch is everything you could hope for in a PCS activist and I'm glad PCS has someone like her in such a responsible position.

She was courteous to all the people she met, all the time and tried to answer their concerns. She is also trying to encourage all people in her branch to become more active in the union.

This is why her branch has seen more women and young people coming onto the branch's BEC than ever before. It's also a success for PCS that Miranda holds the position of Branch chair. This would have been fairly rare even 15 years ago.

I'd like to thank her for inviting me to see members in her branch and wish her every success in the future.

Mark Chisman.

TUC conference

TUC conference, Either the BBC reported it inaccurately or most of the delegates to that conference were really THAT spineless.

How a room of delegates can be told by Alistair Darling that no he isn't listening, no he doesn't care and accuse them of causing inflation and sit and politely clap him, I don't know!

Another opportunity wasted at TUC conference for trade unions as a united group to meet the Labour government with silence and derisory booing for their complete disregard of our concerns.

I really wish supercilious fawning patsies like Brandan Barber and Dave Prentis would wake up and realise that there is no light at the end of the tunnel Brown nosing.

All we can expect from another labour government is more privatisation, more real terms pay cuts and an even greater group of upper class twits to thumb their noses at us.

I have never understood what strategy or plan labour loving union leaders like Dave Prentis have but I really wish they'd let me in on it.

PCS got good coverage I was happy with. The BBC showed PCS highlighting concerns over inflation by showing how much staple food goods like bread and milk have went up.

It's going to take a hell of a lot more work from us though to persuade the public of our just cause for a bigger pay rise and a government U-Turn.

Although it isn't right, Many low paid private sector workers would have looked at the 6 'o' clock BBC news today, saw the £26,000 to £28,000 wages that teachers and firefighters get and thought to themselves "I earn far less than them, Why should they get paid more money out of my taxes!"

In my opinion we need to make our case with the public better so we can counteract this type of argument.

First of all we need to shout as loud and as often as possible about the fact that AA's and AO's in the civil service are lucky to earn £16,000 let alone £28,000. Often to do important work with little or no apreciation, often with a negative social conatation.

Secondly we need to argue that if taxes were collected properly and HM Revenue and Customs resourced properly we would have the money to pay us a decent pay rise.

We don't need to put up taxes (although in my opinion we should do for high earners) we just need to administrate the system properly!

Anyway enough of me and high horse.

I shall hopefully brighten up this page soon with a decent picture or myself and a better layout.

Until my next post, do what Dave Prentis does and keep thinking "it can't get worse than this, it can't get worse than this, The Tories will be worse, the tories will be worse...."

Events in Yorkshire

In Yorkshire and Humberside for young trade unionist week I'm aware of loads of things going on.

This includes events in workplaces in Hull on Monday the 15th, Rotherham on the 17th, Bradford on the 18th and Barnsley on the 19th. There will also be an event in Northallerton during the week as well.

I will be attending most of these events and I'm excited that I'm going to be out and about meeting as many young members as I possibly can during the week.

Hopefully we can sign up more members to PCS and more activists to the young members network during young trade unionist week.

God knows we will need them for the PCS national campaign ahead.

PCS announced its national ballot on the civil service pay cap yesterday, details of which can be found here.

It's likely to be a long campaign so we'll need all the PCS young members we can get on board.

Here's to a great young trade unionist week and hopefully I'll see you at some point soon!

Cheers.

Mark Chisman