PCS

Public & Commercial Services Union - trade union for civil servants

Strikes promised to fight civil service cuts

Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) leader Mark Serwotka has promised a strike campaign in the run-up to the general election aimed at causing “the most disruption possible” to the government. PCS is balloting its entire membership on rolling action to oppose moves by the government to reduce civil servants' redundancy payments by up to a third. For some low-paid workers, this could mean losing out on up to £20,000, and the union argues that the move is the thin end of a wedge that will lead to massive job cuts. Interviewed in the Guardian , Serwotka said "We will maximise strike action...

Civil service union election: vote Mark Serwotka but...

The election for the General Secretary (GS) of the civil service union PCS has begun. AWL members in the PCS are recommending a vote for Mark Serwotka, the present incumbent. Our recommendation for such a vote is not because we are not uncritical of him; on the contrary. In 2009 he was paid a gross salary of £85,421; resulting in pension contributions of £24,669; he also received Additional Housing Cost Allowance of £1,347; an additional Housing Cost Supplement of £449 and a beneficial loan interest of £748. According to the last set of union accounts he donated £4,000 to the fighting fund...

Right-wing challenger to Mark Serwotka bottles it

Rob Bryson is contesting the post of General Secretary of the PCS (civil service workers') union against the current incumbent Mark Serwotka. He is standing on a platform of: apolitical trade unionism; “If elected, I will ensure the PCS officials, whose wages you pay, focus 100% on core trade union issues not far-left campaigns"; red baiting; “Mark Serwotka’s extremist politics and alliances damage the union’s credibility"; and capitulation; “I believe that we must seek a partnership with Government and will have to make difficult choices to preserve jobs and conditions for Civil Servants”...

Vote Serwotka, but...

The election for the PCS General Secretary (GS) position has begun, and AWL members in the PCS are recommending that members vote for Mark Serwotka, the present incumbent. Our recommendation for such a vote is not because we are not uncritical of him; on the contrary. In 2009 he was paid a gross salary of £85,421; resulting in pension contributions of £24,669; he also received Additional Housing Cost Allowance of £1,347; an additional Housing Cost Supplement of £449 and a beneficial loan interest of £748. According to the last set of Union accounts he donated £4,000 to the fighting fund...

Fight the public pay freeze!

On 6 October Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, announced that he was writing to the public sector salary review bodies calling on them to “freeze the pay of 40,000 senior public servants in 2010-11. And he recommended that about 700,000 middle-ranking public servants, including doctors, dentists and prison officers, get a rise of between 0 per cent and 1 per cent”. Later the same day shadow Chancellor George Osborne announced the Tories' pay freeze. In 2011 he wants all public sector workers, except for those earning less than £18,000 a year, to have their pay frozen. The pay freeze plans mean...

Organising in the IT industry: Fujitsu ballot on pay, jobs, pensions

UNITE and PCS are about to start a statutory ballot on jobs, pay and pensions. The anti-union laws make organising a ballot really difficult, especially when members are scattered across so many sites, but in the meantime, many more staff have joined the unions. The company cancelled the pay rises due in April this year, then went on to announce it had made record profits – just a couple of weeks before the pay rises should have taken effect. In May, the company announced that it intended to dismiss the 4000 staff in the main “final salary” (defined benefit) pension scheme, and re-employ them...

Re-elect Mark Serwotka, but...

Nominations for the post of General Secretary of the PCS civil service union has begun. Currently only two candidates are contesting the election; right winger Rob Bryson and the present incumbent, Mark Serwotka. In this contest there is only one serious candidate and that is the present General Secretary (GS) . Not only has Rob Bryson no standing amongst activists in the Union, he has no track record of campaigning or putting forward polices within the union or indeed contributing in any serious way to the life and functioning of the PCS. That is not to say he will make a poor showing in the...

New anti-fascist push in Sheffield

Over 30 people — mainly local workers but also some school and university students — attended a meeting on 2 July called by the Sheffield Department for Work and Pensions branch of the PCS trade union to discuss working-class anti-fascist campaigning. The meeting had the support of individuals in other unions such as Unite, UCU, and GMB, because of the frustration of many of their activists at the failure of mainstream anti-fascism (expressed through campaigns such as UAF and Hope Not Hate/Searchlight) to develop a working-class perspective that can cut the roots of fascism, rather than just...

Cuts battles will shape an epoch to come

If the Government puts out £1100 billion in cash, credit, and guarantees to the banks, as it has done, then someone is going to foot the bill. On current plans, both Tory and New Labour, it is public services and public service workers. A lot of the £1100 billion has been guarantees given on the principle that, if the guarantees are in place, they will never be called on. But a lot is actual loans or actual cash, to buy shares in the banks. The Financial Times summarises the results: “[Government] borrowing is set to rise to £175 billion a year, or 12.5% of national income... Public debt is...

Union News in brief : Linamar, Tube, UCL, PCS

Roundup of Union news in brief: Linamar, Tube, UCL, PCS TUBE: Drivers on the London Underground's Victoria line struck on 20 May to reverse the unjust sacking of driver Carl Campbell, a sacking which had just been upheld, and demand new safety equipment on the line.

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