Notes for SPVA AGM 25 February 2009

I would like to thank the branch for inviting me to this AGM.

I was initially coming as a guest (for the free dinner) but with
the special NEC being called your original speaker Mark
Serwotka had to call off.

Let me give you a bit of my background.

Apart from not being the General Secretary or Welsh.

I am an E1 grade sitting on 100% facility time based in

Kentigern House Glasgow. A building still owned by the MOD
after our successful campaign to stop the ridicules sale and lease
back that would have cost the tax payer £150 million over 20
years. I have worked for the MoD for 21 years and a member of
the TU since day one.

You know when you have been around for to long when your
children work beside you. My middle son Mark joined the MoD
over a year ago, and is now the branch Young Members Rep.

I am the Assistant Branch Secretary of the Scotland West

Branch, (the largest branch in the MoD with over 11hundred
members).

I sit on the GEC as a GEC member, and as well as sitting on the

SPVA Whitley, I also sit on the DSDA Whitley and I am PCS
lead on the ART/D Whitley.

Each of the whitley’s I sit on is involved in negotiations to either

renew contracts (as is the case in SPVA) or issue contracts or
invite bidders from outside industry.
I am also the RLO for your branch and Longtown Branch as
well as my own Branch.

Being brought up in the East End of Glasgow (What they used

to call a deprived area)

There was massive unemployment and all the social economic

problems that comes with that, Drug Use, Alcoholism,
Loan Sharks.

It won’t surprise you to learn I am a socialist and proud to be so.

In modern Britain today it isn’t difficult to see why Young

People like my son Mark. As well as people who wouldn’t
normally be bothered are being politicised.

Greedy Bankers (not rhyming slang) and incompetent regulators

brought our financial system to its knees and it’s we the workers
who are expected to pay for it.

The Government want to cut our: CSCS ---

They want to freeze our pay (but don’t worry – it’s only the high
earners who will suffer ---those on the massive salaries of over
£18.000---

They want to re-examine our pensions.

So you get rubbish pay---then you made redundant ---- And get
a rubbish compensation pay out

And then if you manage to stay alive long enough to get a

pension that will be a pittance. This from a Labour Government.
What ever the outcome of the General Election, Civil Servants
and the working people will be attacked.

The government bailed out the banks with billions of tax payer
cash (our cash)

And now they want to pay themselves millions in bonuses and

this government is letting them do it, shame on them.

The Tories have come up with a novel solution to the banking

crisis.

They propose to allow us to buy shares in the banks that we

already own. The tax payer owns the banks (or large chunks of
them) and now we get to pay twice to own them now that’s
clever. --- You couldn’t make it up

The very MP’s who will sit in judgment on the changes to the
CSCS, are mired in expenses sleaze.

They tell us we get paid to much—it costs to much to make us

redundant---we get to much in pensions.

Yet they claim for Moat Cleaning to tins of dog food.

You couldn’t make it up.

I was recently told I had to bear the cost that I had incurred
whilst on a trip away because I hadn’t provided a receipt, I
didn’t mind the coffee was £2.09 and very nice.

Yet these so called defenders of our Parliament were claiming

for bath plugs and adult CD’s.
SPVA Issues:

Due to the draconian T & S policy that has been forced on the
MoD the SPVA team recently asked SPVA management for an
extra-ordinary whitley to talk over the issue.

They initially refused, until it was pointed out that under the
constitution of the whitley we were allowed to do so.

The reason for the refusal was ------- The T & S cost’s would be
to expensive. Kathy Barnes doesn’t do irony does she?

The last year within SPVA has been a busy one for PCS. We
started the process of dialogue regarding the
FUTURE CONTRACT or at least we thought we did.

However some confusion arose as to what new areas would be

looked at for inclusion.

At those initial talks we were led to believe that the areas the
Agency were looking at were the War Pensions Scheme and
Medals Office,

And that, whilst AFCS would be examined it wasn’t part of the

plan to add it at this stage.

At the initial informal meeting to be held out of whitley, that

Andy attended, he was informed by Col Brown that this wasn’t
his perception and AFCS is, very much, in the frame for
potential outsourcing.
He also stated that they may not wait for the new contract to add
these new areas in, but might just tag them onto the existing
contract.

At the initial talks on this issue the CEO sought TU buy in to the
concept of the future contract, asking us to sell it to the members
in order to avoid confusion.

Yet that is exactly what they have done by the left hand and the
right hand not working together.

As I said earlier Kathy Barnes doesn’t do irony does she?

The latest imitative that would be funny if it wasn’t so serious.

Is to include an element of One Agency – One Team into your
objectives.

So much for OAOT when one part of it can seek to discipline

another part for not complying with an edict.

PCS position on the issue is simple we will not agree.

In closing I would once again thank the branch for the invite
(and the dinner).

No matter who gets into Number 10, at the election we don’t

have any many friends in Whitehall

We will be attacked and vilified in the media as expensive pen

pushers with golden pensions and payouts.
That’s why it’s important to have the right people at the heart of
PCS both full time officials and lay officials, To fight our
corner.

I fully endorse the recommendations for those standing for

elections put to you today.