Union protests sacking of officials
The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) has claimed two members of staff at the Department for Work and Pensions in Dundee have been sacked for trade union activities.
- By Alan Wilson
- Published in the Courier : 04.01.11
- Published online : 04.01.11 @ 06.53am
The union said the sackings centred on "false" allegations that the two men had posted the names of DWP employees who had worked through strike action earlier this year on the branch Facebook site.
In a letter to all employees at the Dundee Pension Centre, PCS group secretary Martin John and president Jane Aitchison claim the two employees have been victimised, saying the sackings were "deeply wrong" and the union is determined to secure their reinstatement.
They say the allegation was false and in fact the two men took prompt action to remove an unsolicited post on the Facebook site.
According to the union, despite the allegation not being upheld, it has been suggested that simply by administering the site the union reps may have breached DWP standards of behaviour, despite the fact that a great many PCS branches have similar sites.
The letter states the union has been in talks with DWP about the use of social networking sites and other electronic media, "So that the needs of the employer can be balanced with the rights of employees.
"We regret that little commitment has so far been shown by the other side and from the treatment of the two we are forced to conclude that some managers are more interested in making a political attack on your trade union than reaching a shared understanding of what has become a complex area of employee policy.
"The DWP group executive committee has put in place arrangements to support the Dundee Pension Centre branch and group officers are available each week to ensure that the work of local representatives can carry on without further disruption.
"We will continue to play an active role in campaigning on behalf of (the two sacked members) along with representatives at other sites who find themselves under attack."
No-one from the DWP was available for comment.
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