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DWP staff union votes to campaign against ‘attacks on welfare’
PCS news release re motion at recent DWP group conference - that was passed unanimously - to campaign for, amongst other things ... the repeal of the bedroom tax and benefit cap; abolition of the WCA; and the abolition of workfare and removal of the sanctions regime.
It is comforting to know, however, that not everyone with a conscience and a shred of human decency has yet been “ideologically cleansed” from the DWP!
Would be nice to see some action by PCS though!
I think it’s great news that PCS members have passed this motion. After all they’re in the best position to campaign against Welfare Reform by going on strike against it! For that reason they have my full support.
I think we need to remember that it’s the Coalition Government that has brought in Welfare Reform, not a low paid member of staff at the Jobcentre. DWP staff are among the lowest paid in the Civil Service. The DWP is highly target driven with frontline staff being put under increasing amounts of pressure.
(And I’m not just saying this because I used to work for the DWP and was a PCS rep!)
Tony - just to say I fully agree with your 23/5 post.
And, to make myself unpopular, I think strikes very rarely achieve anything that could not better be achieved without them. The people who are most going to be hurt if DWP staff strike against Welfare Reform are the benefit claimants themselves.
I can see both sides to this debate. On the one hand, it is good to see PCS staff aiming to campaign on an issue that is central to their day-to-day work. On the other hand, it is also the case that there are some DWP staff who do seem to take pride in their obstructive and unhelpful behaviour towards the people who they have a primary responsibility to assist.
How much of a cross-over there is between the union members actively campaigning and JCP staff being deliberately unhelpful is very much a moot point. However, we shouldn’t loose sight of the simple fact that for every awkward squad member, there are a whole heap of others who are still trying to do the right thing in what are very adverse and challenging conditions.
Let’s remember ESA is part of welfare reform and was introduced during the previous government.
Good news to have some internal and humanising news from the Department. Bravo.
[Edited for typo.]