COVID-19: Mass testing

PCS will continue to press the Cabinet Office for a national agreement on the testing prior to its roll out

The civil service wants certain departments to pilot mass Covid-19 testing programmes in the workplaces. PCS has therefore been in talks with the Cabinet Office seeking a national agreement on any roll out. Unfortunately, we have not been able to reach an agreement although some assurances have been given.

Assurances provided

The first is that testing will be voluntary and it will not be a condition of working.

The second is regarding Facilities Management (FM) staff. These staff can be tested if they choose but crucially it has been confirmed that any FM staff member currently employed on a GPA run contract, who has to self-isolate owing to a test result, will receive full pay.

Issues to be addressed

While PCS agrees in principle with testing and recognises that mass testing can play a positive role in combatting the virus, alongside other key safety measures and an effective track and trace programme, there are a number of issues that the union has raised that were not satisfactorily addressed by the Cabinet Office.

The most important concerns who administers the tests. The civil service want the tests to be self-administered with a manager supervising. However the tests are invasive and unpleasant: two swabs from the back of the throat and one from inside the nose.

PCS believes that the tests should be conducted by health professionals. This increases the accuracy of the test because it improves the quality of sample given. If this is not possible we believe the best way of ensuring an accurate test is that staff should be given time off work to attend their local testing station.

Certain departments such as DWP, Home Office and DfT are, or soon will be, conducting pilots and PCS will be seeking the same assurances in those departments as with the proposed national scheme. In the New Year, the national executive committee (NEC) will review what is happening and determine what the union should do.

The key point to remember is that the test is voluntary. If you want to visit your local testing station then ask for time off work to do so. If you are in a pilot area and you feel like you are being forced into taking a test, or volunteering for a role, against your will or you have any further concerns, report it to your local trade union rep (for PCS Home Office Merseyside Branch members).

Source: PCS national website