The above sticker has popped up over at the Ministry of Housing. Guido had to check if it was a joke…
PCS, the civil service union, is taking a break from campaigning for Jeremy Corbyn to ramp up its efforts to have Fridays off for exactly the same pay. Its new petition touts:
“A five day week was introduced 100 years ago – but it’s not fit for our modern working world. Technology has overhauled the way we work, but our working hours remain the same…. A four day week would give us an additional day to spend how we like. For parents or those with caring responsibilities, care costs can be reduced massively, creating a fairer workplace. More time away from work to do the things we enjoy means less burnout, better health, and a better quality of life.”
Surveys of public sector pen-pushers indicate they want a four-day week. Will Rayner be able to resist demands from her own staff to spend more time “running errands”?
Guido is always amused by the ramblings and politics of the civil service union PCS’ various factions. In the run-up to the PCS elections from 18th April to 9th May, the socialist Broad Left Network, whose main opponents are the other socialists over at the Left Unity faction, have started their leaflet campaign. There’s nothing like a bit of socialist on socialist action…
Broad Left’s Marion Lloyd demands 100,000 new civil service jobs “to reduce workloads across the board” and “a new National Climate Service to end carbon dependency and protect jobs” as well as “public ownership and democratic control of energy and the banks“. Sounds difficult to achieve when you can’t be bothered to come into the office…
The proposal that will really swing votes though, is to fund Jezza’s re-election:
“Tories out! For a workers’ voice in Parliament! Members have agreed that the union should have a political fund: we should use this money to back candidates who back our members. Jeremy Corbyn has backed us repeatedly – he should stand as an independent in the general election!“
Guido has been running this campaign for years…
PCS, the civil service union, is gearing up its campaign to strike again this year over being told to turn up to work by the government. Union officials were handing out flashy leaflets to staff at 2 Marsham Street (housing the Home Office and DLUHC) this week. The PCS says its “sustained, targeted” strikes have worked before and will work again to “exert maximum pressure” on the government. With the number of civil servants constantly moaning about having to turn up to the office three days per week, the campaign could get traction…
The union’s pay demands are as follows:
- A cost-of-living rise, with an inflation-proofed increase plus pay restoration.
- Pay equality across departments.
- A living wage of £15 per hour.
- London weighting provision of a minimum £5,000 per year.
- 35 days annual leave minimum.
- A significant shortening of the working week with no loss of pay.
On that last point a bemused and overworked SpAd tells Guido: “Wouldn’t we all”…
Number crunchers over at the Office for National Statistics are being balloted for strike action over a requirement to come into the office for a whopping two days per week. Just over a thousand ONS staff were told late last year that they would need to spend 20% of their time in the office from January, ramping up to 40% in April. PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote is demanding “flexible and sustainable ways of working” instead of actually turning up. The bar for civil servants is on the floor…
In another snub to the government, the civil service’s main union PCS is gearing up for a national strike ballot of 160,000 pen-pushers across 171 government departments from March 18th to May 13th. It’s as if working from home half the week isn’t already enough…
The union’s list of demands include increased annual leave to 35 days, London weighting of a minimum £5,000 per year and of course, “a significant shortening of the working week with no loss of pay.” If only their passion to do as little work as possible could translate into getting on with their actual jobs…
John Glen, the Cabinet Office minister, has swiftly dismissed the proposal for a shorter workweek, reiterating what Guido has said before: “the emerging evidence for a four-day working week is slim at best”. The blob was never going to get back to work without a fight…
It’s no secret that our civil servants hate coming into the office to do some actual work, preferring to shirk from home instead. Now a survey of the pen-pushers, conducted by Ranstad, released yesterday has revealed that the average government staffer wants to spend just 2.1 days at their workplaces. Surprise, surprise…
This comes amid backlash from the PCS (civil service union) over the government’s plan to ensure the blob comes into the office 60% of their working time due to the sound realisation that civil servants are less productive at home. PCS has declared concerns about departments, specifically HMRC, not having enough space in the office to fulfil the initiative, pointing to worries that it won’t be “safe“. The blob has grown year on year, with staff increasing by 3.2% from 2022 to 2023. If there’s not enough room to bring them all into the office, then perhaps an alternative solution would be to cut down the numbers…
