PCS Glasgow & Clyde HMRC And Valuation Branch

AGM PACK

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Contents

3. Introduction/ Agenda4. Branch Nominations/ Group Nominations5. National Nominations6. Annual Report8. Financial Report9. Audited Statement of Accounts11. Motion Guidance/ Standing Orders/ Motions Timings12. Branch Motions/ Group Motions15. National Motions

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Introduction

Thanks for attending the 2016 Glasgow & Clyde HMRC And Valuation Branch AGM. We've got an extremely busy agenda for this year's AGM but hope to get through all business within the restricted time we have available. We look forward to hearing from you in the various debates that will be held on the motions we're putting forward and are also delighted to have PCS Vice President, Kevin McHugh, as our guest speaker this year.

We'd like to thank you for attending and hope you enjoy the meeting.

Many thanks,

Glasgow & Clyde Branch Executive Committee

Agenda

1. Welcome from President2. Apologies3. Elections

a) AGM Scrutineersb) Branch Auditorsc) Declaration of elected BEC membersd) Branch Women’s Advisory Committee (BWAC)e) Group Conference Delegatesf) National Conference Delegatesg) Group Nominationsh) National Nominations

4. Branch Motions5. Group Motions6. Reports

a) Branch Annual Reportb) Financial Report

7. Guest Speaker – Kevin McHugh8. Declaration of AGM Election Results9. National Motions10. Guillotined Motions11. AOCB

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Branch Nominations

Branch Auditors (2): Stewart Donaldson, one vacancy

BEC Members:Secretary: George McIlvinneyAssistant Secretary: VacantPresident: Bobby YoungVice Presidents (2): Greg Houston, Jim McKennaOrganiser: Carolina PerezTreasurer: Simon Dick

BAME Officer: VacantDisabled Members' Officer: Rosie BrannanEnvironmental Officer: David JamesHealth & Safety Officer: Gill ForbesProud Officer: Kirsty BrownTraining Officer: Adrien BoyeldieuUnion Learning Coordinator: Adrien BoyeldieuWomen's Officer: Catherine SomervilleYoung Members' Officer: Taylor Riach

Branch Women's Advisory Committee (5): Gillian Allan, Caroline Kenny, Carolina Perez, Annie Roberts, Catherine Somerville

Group Conference Delegates (3): Mark Fulton, Greg Houston, Bobby Young

National Conference Delegates (3): Mark Fulton, Greg Houston, Bobby Young

Group Nominations

President: Lorna MerryVice President: Hector WesleyTreasurer: Hamish DrummondDeputy Group Secretary: John Davidson

Assistant Group Secretaries: Clive Bryant, John Davidson, Barney Lawn, Mark Leopard, Marianne Owens, Gordon Rowntree, John Smith

Ordinary GEC Positions: Chris Barclay, Tracy Boyce, Laura Bee, Mark Emmerson, Carol Gerrard, Dave Hansford, Mark Benjamin, Amjad Ismail, Leon Kilbourne, Andy Lord, Sarah Malone, Margo McCabe, Kevin McHugh, Dave McNeely, Martin Page, Alan Runswick, Gary Stein, Bobby Young

Editorial Board: Dave McNeelyGroup Women's Advisory Committee: Andrea Britton, Lynne Nicol, Carolina Perez, Catherine SomervilleLGBT Advisory Committee: Kirsty BrownYoung Members' Advisory Committee: Rachel Allan, Laura Bee, Rosie Brannan, James Kane, Taylor Riach

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National Nominations

President: Janice GodrichVice Presidents: Paula Brown, Cheryl Gedling, Kevin McHugh, John McInallyOrdinary NEC Positions: Ian Albert, Mark Baker, Clive Bryant, Martin Cavanagh, Harvey Crane, Alan Dennis, Richard Douglas, Lawrence Dunne, Mary Ferguson, Helen Flanagan, Jackie Green, Sam Hall, Elenor Haven, Fran Heathcote, Zita Holbourne, John Jamieson, Mark Leopard, Neil License, Marion Lloyd, Dominic McFadden, John Maguire, Lorna Merry, Chris Morrison, Marianne Owens, Clara Paillard, Ian Pope, Alison Roder, Candy Udwin, Karen Watts, Hector Wesley Editorial Board: Tracy Boyce, Kevin McCafferty, Dave McNeelyNational Appeals Committee: Vicki SearleTUC Delegates: Tracy Boyce, Angela GrantYouth TUC Delegates: Laura Bee, Sarah SpencerSTUC Delegates: Ruth Henderson, Gordon Thompson-McLean, Steve West, Bobby YoungYouth STUC Delegates: Rebecca Barr, Sarah Spencer

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Annual Report

As you know, 2015 was an extremely difficult year for everyone in PCS. Not only did we see attacks against PCS as a whole, but every member is feeling the full force of the cuts, with worse yet to come.

The good news however, as explained in the introduction, is that we ran an extremely successful campaign to sign over members from Check-Off to Direct Debit, a campaign which saw us switch around 85% of our existing membership - we would like to say thanks to all of you who made the switch. In a broader sense, we're also happy to report that industrial relations across the branch have remained good in all our business units and we've found it easy to work with management where we've needed to in order to resolve things. Similarly, we've had a really successful year representing members who have either faced disciplinaries or taken out grievances - helping members achieve successful resolutions in over 90% of the cases that we took.

We're also happy to report that despite a gradual decline in branch membership over the last few years (due to a decline in departmental staffing levels, plus the loss of some members through the ending of check-off), membership levels have started increasing again. This is largely due to the work that our organising team has done in recruiting new members who have recently been employed by the department - we hope to see some of you at the AGM this year.

On an organisational front, the branch runs three "office committees" (Cotton House Committee (CHC), Contact Centre Committee (CCC) and Portcullis House Committee (PCHC - which covers the non CC areas of Portcullis House)), made up of the local reps who should do the majority of negotiating work with business unit management and the majority of personal casework inside their given work areas. Over the last year, we've only had active reps in the CCC as nobody stood for the other two committees, which has meant the branch has had to allocate Branch Executive Committee (BEC) reps to deal directly with the different business units. Thankfully as we move into 2016, we now have an increased amount of reps in the CCC & a newly-functioning CHC so this should improve our ability to respond to local issues. This type of representation is something we can only do if we have reps who are willing to do it however - there are still vacancies on the CHC and we still have no active reps on the PCHC, so if you are at all interested in getting involved then we would love to hear from you. Similarly, if you would like to be involved but have issues with things like time-constraints due to work etc, then please get in contact anyway as we may well be able to assist with this. Naturally, anyone who does wish to become a rep will receive full-training and support from experienced reps in the branch - nobody is elected then left to just get on with things.

In terms of campaigns, our major local campaign this year has been the closure of the Irvine Tax Office (along with a dozen other tax offices throughout the UK). This process has been ongoing since 2013, when the department announced a round of Voluntary Exit offers - which saw the office numbers initially decrease. 2014 saw the department announce a consultation, which would look into the viability of maintaining a presence in Irvine (plus the other offices). Along with representations made by local politicians, PCS made a full submission arguing the case for the retention of Irvine, which if nothing else, demonstrated that the yield generated by staff in the office was vastly higher than the operating costs. After the close of the consultation, the department delayed the announcement of the future of Irvine until after the referendum, then announced that it would close, furthermore stating that the department was never going to consider maintaining a presence in any of the affected locations (which made everyone wonder why the department had wasted everyone's time with a consultation and gave false hope to the staff working in these offices). Since then, a significant number of staff have taken voluntary redundancy packages, however we still have members who wish to avoid compulsory redundancy and have put forward

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options which could potentially allow them to remain employed within the department, thus avoiding redundancy. However, instead of taking its obligations seriously, the department has once again chosen to ignore all viable redundancy avoidance measures and once more created a ridiculous situation where it is making members redundant in some offices whilst recruiting in others.

The main point to draw however is that all of the language and processes being followed are very reminiscent of BoF - all the members were consistently told that the department's plans considered offices & not staff, that this move would prove cost-effective for the department (despite David Guake being unable to provide figures about Irvine's yield when asked in parliament) and that no staff would be forced out of a job. PCS considers these closures a trial-run for BoF and based on what we've seen so far, it would be fair to say that we're concerned. It's particularly worth noting that when the department claims BoF is about locations & not jobs, this is exactly what members in Irvine were told for two years before they were made redundant...

Whilst we still don't really know much about the department's BoF plans, we do feel it's important to point out that as things stand, nobody has been guaranteed a job in the new Glasgow office. Whilst members may feel that being based in Glasgow will guarantee them a position in the new office, despite us pressing the issue, the department has given us no such assurances - the only thing we know so far as that the projected FTE for the new office is significantly lower than the current FTE levels across the West of Scotland. Many members are discussing reasonable daily travel (RDT) as a mechanism which will be used to determine who will work in the new office, however what everyone needs to consider is that RDT is a mechanism used to ensure that nobody is forced to relocate to an office outside of reasonable travel - it's not used to guarantee jobs for people who are inside RDT.

However BoF plays out, it's inconceivable that everyone who wants a job in the new office will have one and we can assure you that PCS will campaign against a situation where members are being made redundant against their wishes. Additionally, PCS has never been officially consulted over BoF and has grave concerns over the viability of the department's plans. As such, PCS is demanding that HMRC:

Enters into substantive talks with PCS over the principles & impact of their location & change proposals, sharing all planning assumptions with the union

Subjects its location & change plans to parliamentary scrutiny Opens an internal HMRC-wide consultation, alongside an external public consultation, which

will inform further planning decisions & the parliamentary scrutiny Confirms that no action will be taken on implementing the locations proposals until the

internal, along with the public consultation has concluded & parliament has taken a view on the outcome

Whilst this isn't a particularly warming picture that's being painted, we don't want to panic or scaremonger - we simply don't know what's going to happen yet and feel that the department owes it to all PCS members to tell us what its plans are. We will however keep you fully updated as soon as we hear anything.

Whilst BoF is extremely daunting, it's by no means a fait accompli - but we can only fight it if we act collectively. PCS will campaign against the worst excesses of BoF and we ask that you all get involved as this is a campaign we can definitely win.

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Financial Report

The PCS financial year runs from Jan 1 to Dec 31, with this report detailing activity which took place throughout 2015.

IncomeThe branch's only source of income comes from PCS - we're paid a rebate based on our number of membership/ geographic spread etc (for more info on this you can contact PCS centrally). In 2015, our total rebate was £466.90, which was down significantly from the previous year - one of the reasons being that funding is allocated based on the bank balance carried over from the previous year, so in essence, the lower the bank balance at 31st December, the higher the rebate to top it up. This is coupled with any funding decisions taken by PCS centrally. At the end of 2015, the branch retained a healthy closing account balance.

ExpenditureThis has changed significantly from the preceding year, with the branch spending over £500 less than the year before. There has been a concerted effort to minimise expenditure in line with national concerns over finances due to the withdrawal of check-off. To break it down...

Branch General Meetings - normally there are only two of these per year, in 2014 we were forced to call four due to the necessity of convening off-site meetings in relation to industrial issues that arose late in the year. In contrast, 2015 saw only the regular AGM & Mandate Meeting, so expenditure dropped in this area.

BEC Meetings - all BEC meetings take place in Glasgow - in 2014 we had a rep in Irvine who used to travel to BEC meetings, which necessitated travel expenses claims. As most members have now left Irvine due to the pending office closure & previous exit packages, there are now no active reps in Irvine. Otherwise, all BEC reps are based in Glasgow and as such claim zero travel expenses.

BEC Sub-Committees - this covers costs met by branch of sending reps to various regional bargaining committees. In general, more committees are meeting via telekit where possible, which along with the dissolution of the F2F committee after the Enquiry Centre closures, plus balancing out meeting locations of other committees, expenditure in this area has dropped.

Branch Officers' Expenditure - this is the only area where expenditure has increased - this covers travel expenses brought about through personal case work, but the increase is largely based on the situation in Irvine. The branch undertook a lot of support work in relation to supporting members through 121 processes, various management meetings and the redundancy process.

Printing, Stationery & Postage - this is always fairly minimal & this year there was none.

Other Expenditure - this is again down from 2014, with the only expenditure in 2015 being the branch website costs.

Conclusion & Forecast - 2015 was essentially a frugal year for the branch and based on the remaining account balance, the branch could see out the next eighteen months without receiving any further rebate from PCS assuming things stayed the same. Naturally, we expect expenditure to increase due work relating to BoF and the closure of Irvine. We also plan to do a big recruitment drive in 2016, which may cause additional expenditure, but overall, we expect to be well within our limits again in 2016.

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Audited Branch Accounts 01/01/15 - 31/12/15

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Motion Guidance/ Standing Orders

Given the fact that we have fifteen motions to be discussed at this year's AGM, we've decided to impose time limits on speakers so we can hear as many motions as possible. As such, the mover of the motion gets three minutes with all other speakers getting two minutes. The mover has the right to reply to any point raised during the debate, although has to do this within their two minute limit after everyone else has spoken. Should there be a lot of discussion, the chair has discretion over how many people are called to speak - this allows the chair to ensure that the AGM hears as many motions as possible. When each speaker has thirty seconds left, the chair will indicate this to the AGM.

All motions need to be seconded. Movers and seconders can either speak to the motion or move it "formally" - to do this, the mover or seconder just has to say "formally" and makes no other contribution to the debate (expect where a mover is exercising their right of reply).

There are two different types of motions to be discussed at the AGM. One is "branch motions" which effectively allow you to amend the branch rules & set branch policy. Where constitutional amendments are carried, these need to be ratified by the PCS National Executive Committee (NEC) before they can come into force. You can vote in four ways...

For - where you support the carriage of the motionAgainst - where you oppose the carriage of the motionRemit - where you ask for the Branch Executive Committee (BEC) to consider aspects of the motion but don't outright support or oppose this (for example, where you agree with some aspects but not others) - NB. you cannot remit a rule changeAbstain - you have the right not to vote on the motion in any way

Rule changes require a majority of at least 2/3 of voting members present at the AGM to be carried.

In addition to branch motions, the AGM will also be asked to vote on motions for the branch to submit to both group & national conference. Where motions are submitted to group/ national conference, they will be discussed and voted on by delegates attending each conference. In this instance, you can either vote for or against a motion, or you can abstain.

Lastly, you have the right to raise points of order at any time during the debate. This will be done where either you believe these standing orders have not been followed correctly or where you believe language has been used which is inconsistent with PCS' principles. The chair will rule on these points of order.

We hope this guidance makes sense but please get in contact if you have any questions.

Motions Timings

Branch Motions - 10 minutesGroup Motions - 30 minutesNational Motions - 25 minutes

Any motions not heard during the above timeslots will be heard during the guillotine section in the order they appear in this motions booklet.

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Branch Motions

B1. Women's Officer

Subject to NEC ratification, that this AGM agrees to amend the branch constitution to remove "Women's Officer" from B15 and add "Women's Officer" to B14 after the "Treasurer" bullet point.

B2. Duties of Women's Officer

Subject to NEC ratification, that this AGM agrees to amend Appendix A, rule 14 of the branch constitution to add a bullet point stating "work to provide a safe environment where women can raise concerns on issues that may affect them both inside and outside the workplace" and to add another bullet point stating "work to ensure women feel safe in the workplace".

Group Motions

G1. Group Organisation

That this conference instructs the GEC to carry out a review of the make-up of the group going forward - and how it should be structured, based on the department’s proposed location plans. Whilst conference does not wish to presuppose that the department’s plans will come to fruition and moreso, believes that PCS should do everything it can to ensure that it campaigns effectively against the department’s location strategy, conference also agrees it would be remiss of us not to prepare for the eventuality that the department is significantly restructured.

Significantly, PCS national rules outline rules for conference delegates which favour smaller branches in so much as the first thousand members allow for more delegates than the next thousand (and so on). Whilst this is sensible given current structures, if the entire branch structure of this group is concentrated around large branches in large regional centres, this will have a disproportionately negative impact on the number of delegates this group sends to conference. At the same time, having multiple branches operating out of the same location may not be sensible for the year-round administration of PCS functions.

The proposed review should consider the following points…

Number of branches based on currently known information How to ensure a continued, fair democratic process for the group considering potentially

significantly varying sizes of branches in the new regional centres How to ensure the group’s contribution to national conference is not diminished by the

potentially disproportionate reduction in number of delegates

A full consultation of branches and members should be carried out to form part of this review.

Conference instructs the GEC to publish a report of its findings by the end of this calendar year, which will allow members to review in time for conference 2017, where any further direction may be debated and set.

G2. FLM Workload

That this conference recognises the completely unreasonable workload & generally unacceptable working conditions imposed on members who are first line managers in HMRC’s contact centres,

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and the unacceptable risk this poses to their health, work-life balance, stress levels, and ability to adequately support and develop their staff. Conference instructs the GEC to launch a high-profile consultation of these members to canvass their views on how a more reasonable workload and improved working conditions may be delivered including but not restricted to examining the following areas:

The size of the workload in general and any ways in which it can be reduced The exhausting, complex, and ridiculously bureaucratic administrative work involved in

administering the hated PMR system, not to mention the de-moralising effect of delivering a system which is fundamentally discriminatory

The inefficient, wasteful Pacesetter exercises which waste forests of paper, involve hours of meaningless box-ticking for no purpose other than satisfying the departments fanatical worship of Pacesetter

The endless Management Assurance Framework exercises which are needlessly repetitive and take away from time which would be better spent discussing quality, performance & development with teams

The role of non-management band O staff and whether some of the aforementioned administrative tasks could be done by them if indeed they are necessary at all

Whether non-management band O roles, e.g. “Pacesetter Advocate” actually provide any meaningful support to first line managers or the business at large as they are alleged to, or if it would be more productive simply to re-deploy them as first line managers.

The pursuit of smaller team sizes, perhaps by demanding a maximum number of staff per manager.

The inefficiency as a performance monitoring tool of Exony which is far more complex, time consuming and less automated than its’ predecessor, even for the simplest of tasks such as retrieving sign in times.

The aggressive interference of senior management into Attendance Management to the extent where some Ops Managers are actually managing cases by proxy

The lack of emphasis in Attendance Management guidance on compliance with the Equalities Act 2010 and absence of quality training on same

Whether PCS can more effectively engage with and support these members, including how PCS can improve membership density amongst staff in these roles and also recruit more of these members as reps

That the department publishes the Contact Centre Agreement and enforces it with as much ownership and vigilance as PCS reps do.

This consultation should be PCS-led, in contrast to the First Line Manager project; promoted and delivered by branches. Its outcomes should inform the GEC’s future bargaining aims.

G3. BTUS Structures

That this conference recognises the positive effect that formalised BTUS structures have had in the various business units where they've been set up (e.g. within PT Ops etc). Formalised BTUS structures serve as a means of bridging the gap between branches & the GEC as branch reps can ensure the GEC is progressing bargaining aims in line with conference policy, whilst the GEC can ensure that branches are doing the local and regional work necessary to support the pursuit of those bargaining aims. Thus, conference instructs the GEC (in consultation with branches) to review all business areas where there are no extant formalised BTUS structures, with a view to establishing properly constituted BTUS structures in such areas and with such structures as the GEC deems appropriate, within three months of the close of conference.

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G4. AGS Numbers

That this conference agrees that due to recent reductions in AGS numbers on the GEC, coupled with the 50% FT cap, AGS's face an unacceptably large workload.

Conference therefore agrees to amend paragraph 6.1 of the Group Constitution to delete '8 Assistant Group Secretaries' and insert in its place 'twelve Assistant Group Secretaries'.

G5. Equality Act Training

That this conference condemns the situation in 2015/2016 in which new First Line Managers in PT Operations have started in their roles without having been given any substantial training on how to manage disabled jobholders in compliance with the Equalities Act 2010, or even training in how to apply the department’s own attendance management policies. Examples can be provided where people have been in these roles for more than 8 months before being provided with any such training.

This has led to worrying patterns of failure to make reasonable adjustments for disabled members, and also leaves members in management roles, even if they bear no malice towards their staff, open to the risk of grievances due to their lack of understanding and knowledge of the basic principles of the Equalities Act 2010.

Conference instructs the GEC to make the following demands to PT Operations:

That they provide substantial & high quality training on these areas prior to new FLMs are given responsibility for managing any staff.

That PCS has full input into the content and delivery of this training That PT Ops provide unequivocal guarantees that new first line managers will not be given

responsibility over staff until they have had this training.

G6. Probationer Guidance

That this conference instructs the GEC to negotiate with the department to remove the unfair guidance in place for managing attendance for probationers within HMRC, and ensure that all members are treated equally in respect of how their attendance is managed.

These members are effectively second-class citizens and the harsh management guidance is frequently used as a way to cull our numbers. The guidance for managing poor attendance for all staff already includes the draconian “consideration points” at which managers can take formal action. We already disagree with these consideration points on a fundamental level, and the “managing probationers” guidance now gives managers discretion to set their own consideration points for new starts who have been placed on a formal warning. Members who reach these arbitrary targets are then subject to possible dismissal without even the safety net of a compensation payment.

The GEC should report back with an update on these negotiations within three months of the close of conference.

G7. Public Holidays

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That this conference notes that at present, full time staff are credited 7.4 hours for a public holiday and part time a pro-rata amount. Conference also notes that for many members, especially those in contact centres, without full flexi the time required for a day off is 7.5 or the relevant pro-rata amount. Further to this, those who work less than five days, either on part time or condensed working patterns, will find themselves with an even larger difference between the time credited and the time needed.Much of the time members have no choice in taking these days off due to offices being fully or partially closed, meaning they are forced to use annual or flexi leave to cover the balance.Conference therefore instructs the GEC to enter negotiations with the employer with the aim of securing a fairer system for members affected by this situation. Conference also instructs the GEC to report on the progress no later than three months from close of conference.

National Motions

N1. Safe Space

Conference notes that experiences within the moving branch when representing members who have faced workplace issues as a result of sexual assault & domestic violence are that one of the main members' concerns is that nobody finds out about their experiences outside of those who absolutely have to know to deal with the workplace issue. From this (and a wealth of other evidence about under-reporting), conference agrees that it's extremely likely that many members remain silent whilst facing disciplinary action which has came about as a consequence of their ordeal (e.g. where it causes poor performance, poor attendance etc). Furthermore, conference agrees that PCS can do a lot to support these members where workplace issues are not ongoing as PCS reps could act as a safe point of contact for affected members to seek help. In this regard, conference instructs the NEC to do the following things..

Work with the women's networks within PCS to promote the idea to members that PCS provides a safe environment for members to open-up and deal with these issues

Ensure reps have access to training & information to help reps support affected members, whether directly or through signposting to external organisations which have expertise in these areas

Discuss with the civil service how it can promote the idea that the civil service provides a safe space for members to open up about these issues and to create civil service policies so that where members are facing workplace issues, the primary focus is on helping them cope with their ordeal and not trying to discipline them due to resulting consequences

Conference instructs the NEC to begin this work as soon as is practicable.

N2. Constitutional Amendment

That this conference agrees to create the following rule in the Equal Opportunities part of Section 5 of the PCS rules - "5.21 The NEC shall seek to ensure, where possible, that women make up at least 50% of all lay representational structures within the Union."

N3. Defibrillator

That this conference notes that according to the British Heart foundation, every minute without CPR and defibrillation following a cardiac arrest reduces the chance of survival by 10%. Currently defibrillators are not a mandatory requirement in government buildings. In the UK in 2014,

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cardiovascular disease (CVD) was responsible for 27% of all deaths. 41,000 of these deaths were classed as premature. Modern defibrillators are relatively cheap, simple to use and failsafe. This conference instructs the NEC to negotiate with the employer with the aim of securing the installation of defibrillators in all staffed government occupied estates, as part of their duty of care, with assurances that these will be positioned within one minute walking distance of all staff where possible, with the aim of achieving this within twelve months of the close of conference.

N4. Blood Donation

That this conference notes the current legal position in the UK which bars men from donating blood if they have had sex with another man within the last year (and bars them indefinitely in Northern Ireland). Not only does this law restrict the pool of available blood donors, but moreso, stigmatises gay and bisexual men by reinforcing the discredited notion that HIV/ AIDS is related to homosexual activity. Thus, this conference calls upon the NEC to condemn the current legal position in the UK and lend support to campaigns which call for this backward & discriminatory legislation to be repealed.

N5. Qatar World Cup

That this conference recognises the brutal & indefensible treatment of workers employed to build stadia for the Qatar World Cup & in a broad sense, the treatment of all workers subject to the Kafala system, a system which amounts to little more than the legalised enslavement of migrant workers across the majority of Levantine & Gulf states. Whilst estimates put the migrant-worker death toll in the thousands in respect of the Qatar World Cup, this is far from the only issue. The Kafala system requires migrant workers to be sponsored, with sponsors regularly withholding workers' passports, stopping wages, denying workers' rights that most of us would take forward granted & restricting access to any sort of legal or industrial recourse - so whilst the numbers dying in the building of world cup stadia are shocking, these deaths are inevitable under such a system. As such, this conference instructs the NEC to lend PCS' weight & support to campaigns which seek to highlight & stop the abuse of workers employed to build Qatari World Cup Stadia, the wider Kafala system and do everything in PCS' power to help these workers organise against this brutal system.

N6. Impact of Cuts On Recruitment

That this conference notes the increasing difficulty of being able to recruit reps in workplaces where cuts have meant that many PCS members feel they are too busy with their jobs to be able to take on TU duties. Furthermore, conference recognises that where cuts take place, they invariably have a negatively disproportionate impact on people with protected characteristics. As such, conference instructs the NEC to conduct a review of the situation, taking into account the above points to see what can be done to improve the situation. As part of this review, the NEC should consider the best way to encourage signing up members with protected characteristic as either reps or advocates, as well as finding ways to help reps reduce & monitor reps’ official workload, particular for those reps who work part-time and may have even tighter constraints on their time than those who work full-time. In conducting this review, the NEC should fully involve PCS’ equalities networks.

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