FTA conversions in Citizenship

 PCS Agency AA’s and AO’s in Citizenship will have recently been notified that providing they meet the qualifying criteria, they have the option to convert to Fixed Term Appointment (FTA) contracts with the department. A lot of our members in Citizenship, specifically at AA grade, have been in post for 6+ years. Some as long as 10+ years. 

Your local Citizenship PCS lead reps have been in frequent talks with local management since last year, pushing for the conversion to FTA for those who have been in post for a number of years. It is only right that our members should be recognised by the department and given fixed contracts as they are clearly needed by the department to deliver vital roles, proven by extensions to contracts which span over a decade for some.

PCS therefore welcome the decision by PCCR to convert agency contracts in Citizenship to FTA for those members who meet the eligibility criteria. Unfortunately conversions to FTA are not happening in other areas of PCCR, such as HMPO, which will be disappointing to members in these areas. The fact that conversions are happening in Citizenship is testimony however to the dedication of local PCS reps who have kept up the pressure on management to recognise the hard work of our agency colleagues and reward their dedication with FTA contracts.

PCS will continue to push for the end to the department's over-reliance on Agency workers and for open and fair recruitment with permanent and well paid jobs