PCU Campaigns
Get involved! We encourage members, old and new, to get involved in the union's campaigning work. We have a number of active campaigns which would all welcome your participation. Meetings are often on Zoom making it easy to participate. For information about individual campaigns and how to get involved email "PCU Admin" <admin@pcunion.org.uk>
SCoPEd Campaign
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The PCU joined with many others to oppose the adoption of the SCoPEd framework. Now it has been agreed by the major membership bodies we are focusing our energies on to efforts into putting pressure on our membership bodies to reconsider aspects of their approach to implementation. For example we object to the assertion that therapists who have not jumped through accreditation hoops automatically fall into Column A, because there is a huge danger that therapists placed in column A will feel compelled to find the time and money to be 'accredited' into Column B, a pressure which inherently discriminates against those with the least financial resource. We also object to the effective downgrading by BACP of its Senior Accredited members and the removal of their title.
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We also want to see membership bodies acknowledge the many therapists who do not see their therapeutic approach and identities reflected in the framework and would prefer a separate membership category altogether.
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PCU is campaigning along with others to address these concerns. The campaign meets on a regular basis via Zoom.
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Campaign for a fair deal for EAP therapists
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Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) work has become an important source of income for therapists in recent years. However session fees have stagnated over recent years and in some cases reduced, with some companies paying only £25 per session. Such low fees do not reflect the level of training, qualification and experience that therapists bring to this area of work. Nor do they reflect the time spent on report writing, preparation and administration that is an essential part of the therapist’s work.
The PCU demands:
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​Adoption of a fair, industry wide minimum session fee – the same for all modalities
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An end to the unfair exclusion of registered, qualified and experienced counsellors who hold registered rather than accredited BACP status
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Adoption of good, ethical and safe practices by EAP companies
Other Campaigns
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We are also involved in campaigning for a fairer and less adversarial complaint system and for an overhaul of the current situation faced by many school counsellors, i.e. temporary contracts, low pay and a lack of understanding of the complex and challenging work they do.
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And we are working alongside other organisations around the following:
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Paid Work Campaign – challenging the tide of voluntary therapist posts across sectors.
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NHS Campaign – challenging growing privatisation and the one-size fits all to talking therapies. We want to increase the influence of practitioners, rather than top down influence.