First published on Labour Outlook

“The demonisation of asylum seekers belittles the serious problems that need to be addressed and seeks to utilise the issue as a political tool… a smokescreen for the real problems that exist in the country”

By James Cox, PCS Left Unity

The Illegal Migration Bill isn’t just rightly causing alarm in wider society but is also causing significant concern within the Home Office. 

My union, PCS, represents members working within the Home Office, the department responsible for Border Force, asylum consideration and the immigration system. We are receiving frequent concerns from members about the legality and implications of the Bill. The primary issue is clearly what appears to be the removal of the right to claim asylum from what are deemed to be ‘illegal’ entrants.

This potentially puts us on collision course with the 1951 Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights. Some believe that this is the point of the legislation, or that it is designed to fail. But the implication that these Human Rights should no longer be universal but apply only to those humans the government of the day decide, is ominously authoritarian.

The clear inference is that some humans are more deserving than others. Something the previous Nationality and Borders Act did to British Citizenship and its ability to be withdrawn. This authoritarianism isn’t just in the field of asylum; you only have to look at the proposed legislation which seeks to erode the fundamental right to strike to see that this government is intent on creating a human rights framework which is pick and mix to their own desire. 

Members of PCS union are proud of the work they do securing the safety of thousands of individuals a year. But it isn’t straight forward and PCS members in the Home Office are no strangers to crises and there’s a feeling of lurching from one to another.

The Windrush Lessons Learnt Review rightly shone a light on departmental practices which gave rise to the shocking treatment of numerous members of the Windrush generation. But since that publication of the report, a couple of the recommendations have now been dropped, and instead of the rolling back of the hostile environment this new Bill seeks to supercharge it.

Our members also point to recommendations that seek to address the failure of staff to treat people as individuals and be more human and empathetic in their responses. Instead, the Prime Minister names as one of his five targets “stopping the boats”. The dehumanising language of referring to boats, rather than the desperate individuals on them, is telling. It seeks to divert attention from the fact many of these individuals are being trafficked, many are in poor health, and all are desperate enough to make the journey.  It also takes no account of the fact that the majority are also granted asylum following consideration of applications.

The rising rhetoric of course has consequences, with the Home Secretary as one of the worst offenders in this regard. Her talk of an invasion is the kind of language that might see one of our members working in the department taken to task. Instead, it potentially fuels terrorist attacks in Dover and violent disturbances outside hotels. This puts some of the most vulnerable in society in greater danger and risks re-traumatising those fleeing persecution.

The demonisation of asylum seekers belittles the serious problems that need to be addressed and seeks to utilise the issue as a political tool. Of course, as others have pointed out, it is also a smokescreen for the real problems that exist in the country around inequality, housing, health provision and welfare. Of course, we all want to prevent refugees having to risk their lives making dangerous journeys across the channel but in the absence of legal routes they have little choice.

As Civil Servants we are tasked with implementing the policies of the government of the day. However, this does not prevent us from having opinions on the work we do and its through our union that we can argue for change and social justice.

We’ve done this in HMRC with work with the Tax Justice Network and in the DWP with proposals about the future of Welfare, we are also keen to set out an alternative approach around Immigration. That’s why PCS have produced a booklet around humanitarian visas to implement safe and legal routes to the UK. This counters the narrative that there are no alternatives in dealing with the issues around channel crossings.

We have also been part of collective legal action around the pushback policy and the Rwanda scheme. As a trade union PCS wants to connect the people who provide services with those who use or need those services. Its essential the false divisions, which the new Migration Bill seeks to entrench further are dispelled.

So, whilst there will be many who are hoping that the Illegal Migration legislation doesn’t pass through parliament or is challenged legally, there will also be numerous Civil Servants also hoping and campaigning for a similar outcome.

James is standing for re-election to the PCS NEC as part of the Democratic Alliance slate. Click here to see the full Democratic Alliance slate.

Keep in touch with PCS Left Unity posts and events https://chat.whatsapp.com/JTXI9Wk3cNGGuUKTFRRd2B

The small town of Llantwit Major in the Vale of Glamorgan, with its picturesque coastline and popular beaches that combine to make it one of the most desirable postcodes in Wales is not the most obvious site to find oneself in the vanguard of the struggle against fascist hate. However, on Saturday, the narrow winding streets of the usually sleepy town became a crucible in that fight as as a coalition of local residents and activists from the surrounding areas came together to take a stand for love and compassion in the face of fascist hate.   

Events came to a head in Llantwit on Saturday after the word reached local activists that ‘Patriotic Alternative’ (a group widely described as fascist, neo-Nazi and white Nationalist) was planning a demonstration against council plans to house refugees in the town. On Saturday, along with my wife, my nine-month-old baby son (attending his first anti-fascist demonstration – start them early!) and comrades from the R&C Wales branch, I made the short journey from my home in Bridgend to attend the counterdemonstration. A crowd estimated to be in excess of 200 marched through the town in a show of strength aimed at demonstrating that refugees are welcome and that contrary to the hate sown by the enemy, South Wales remains the compassionate place I have always known it to be.

In what must now be a familiar scenario for their paltry activist base, ‘Patriotic Alternative’ were routed in Llantwit Major. Corralled by the police in a field near the town centre, they  had no option but to accept that, as the pro-refugee demonstrators chanted ‘there are many, many more of us than you’ Outnumbered over ten to one, the far-right agitators packed up their banners and to the cheers of the crowd, hot-footed it back to the station. In the event, such was the paucity of their numbers, they could probably have shared a couple taxis home. The current wider context of UK politics rarely for anything other than a state of extreme vigilance about the poisonous effect of the far-right on British society but on a sunny Saturday on the South Wales coast I allowed myself to feel content and proud that my corner of the world had come together to show hate the door.

I want to conclude by talking about why as a trade-unionist, a Socialist and a member of Left Unity, I felt it so important to attend on Saturday. As a Socialist, compassion for the most vulnerable groups is written through my ideals, morals, and politics like a stick of rock. As a trade unionist, I believe that we should always aspire to be more than a workplace pressure group with limited finite concerns. We are a campaigning union, or we are nothing. We in PCS are a mass membership organisation with a democratic mandate built on the trust of our members. We must continue to stand up for the values of compassion and tolerance like the community in Llantwit Major did on Saturday. Be it as a bulwark against policies like sending asylum seekers to Rwanda or in the tireless work of our activists across the spectrum of equality issues. We must continue to show the courage to lead where politicians too often fear to tread and to build the broad coalition that will never allow far-right hate to flourish.

Sean Dwyer

Sean is a Left Unity candidate for the R&C GEC. To see the full Left Unity slate for the R&C GEC click here

A fantastic show of strength

Wednesday 15th March was fantastic! Full of enthusiasm, optimism and hope. That feeling that you’re part of something much bigger.

PCS members and reps filled picket lines in record numbers. Feedback from reps and branches was at least as many, if not more, out than last time. Many young workers striking for the first time, getting a feel for what it’s all about.

I visited seven or eight London picket lines during the morning, joined by General Secretary, Mark Serwotka and chair of the PCS Parliamentary group, Chris Stephens. Our picket lines were loud, they were determined. Full of flags, placards and the new, red PCS beanies.

We marched from Embankment to Downing Street, the chants and cheers ringing in our ears, especially as we marched past Westminster, knowing that MPs were inside those walls, taking decisions about the budget and where taxpayers’ money would be spent, and not spent, in the midst of the cost of living crisis.

Our own PCS rally, outside Downing Street was big and loud. As I stood up to speak, all you could see were yellow flags, red beanies and at the back, or front, depending on your perspective, the massive PCS balloon.

The highlight for me was our 4 young strikers, who got up to describe their experiences of leading and organising action, some for the first time. We had powerful solidarity speeches from president of the RMT, Alex Gordon, and Kim Johnson, MP for Liverpool Riverside, alongside our own Mark Serwotka.

Then, with heads held high, led by the impressive PCS Samba Band, we marched into Trafalgar Square, to join thousands of strikers and supporters from other unions.

At this rally, hosted by the NEU, both Mark and I addressed the huge crowd that had gathered, alongside speakers from other unions striking and others, all calling for unity and solidarity.

That overwhelming message of solidarity is what was best about 15th March, giving us all a lift and making clear we would stand together and stand up to this government.

Targeted Action ramping up

It is clear that the strategy adopted is giving us unprecedented leverage. Sustained targeted action, alongside all-member action, that massive show of strength, when it can have the most impact. Maximising pressure on government and employers, minimising the financial impact on members during the cost of living crisis.

The National Disputes Committee continues to authorise submissions from many different groups and work areas, making the campaign impossible to ignore.

Just this week, we have announced that over 1000 Passport Office members from all across the UK will walk out for 5 weeks, causing possibly the most significant disruption yet.

Also taking action will be National Highways staff, Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency members, including driving examiners and test centre staff, the British Library and the British Museum.

Many more areas are now making submissions for further areas to target action. Alongside all-member action, and the show of strength that demonstrates, this really is a strategy designed to have the biggest impact, becoming more and more difficult to ignore.

Now to win the reballot

The NEC meets on Monday to take stock and agree next steps, but it’s clear we are now in the strongest position that we have been in for decades.To maintain that position of strength though, we have a very important task ahead of us.

Our current mandate runs out on 7th May. We are now running our renewal ballot from 20th March to 9th May. It is crucial that, in order to maintain that pressure and leverage on the government to get around the table and talk to us, we beat the threshold in the reballot resoundingly.

The areas that have recently joined the action, such as HMRC, will not be part of the reballot, as they now have their mandate. For the rest of us that are though, we must strain every sinew to make sure that we don’t let government off the hook.

If they thought that they could sit out our mandate until it ended, they would do. In order to put pressure on them to get into talks that we are seeing elsewhere in the movement, we must send the clearest message via this renewal ballot that we are not going away, and that the way to resolve the dispute is to talk to us and put money on the table.

This will be a massive collective effort. Working together we can do this. It requires good levels of organising and membership engagement. We have learnt so much from what we have done so far, it is well within our gift to, not just beat the threshold this time around, but to smash it.

It would be a mistake to believe though, that this will just happen. It will take effort and hard work, reaching out to our members and giving them confidence in the strategy, the campaign and the strength of our position.

Nobody said that this would be a quick dispute, that it would be resolved immediately. What we do in the next 6 weeks will determine the success of our campaign. We really are on the cusp of something significant, but it requires us to hold our nerve, not be distracted by those that would seek to divert us, and work together to deliver the strongest renewal ballot result that we can, and we will do that best by working together.

Good luck with your efforts in your branch and please contact any of us within Left Unity if you need help or support.

Fran Heathcote

Fran is re-standing for PCS national president as part of the Democratic Alliance. The full Democratic Alliance slate can be found here – https://pcsleftunity.org/democracy-alliance-nec-nominees-2023/

Keep up to date with news and opinion from PCS Left Unity. Sign up to our WhatsApp notification channel here https://chat.whatsapp.com/JTXI9Wk3cNGGuUKTFRRd2B

Angela is standing for re-election to the NEC as part of the Democracy Alliance slate.

Click here to see the whole slate -> https://pcsleftunity.org/democracy-alliance-nec-nominees-2023/

Marianne is standing for re-election to the NEC as part of the Democracy Alliance. Click here for the Democracy Alliance slate -> https://pcsleftunity.org/democracy-alliance-nec-nominees-2023/

Left Unity members in HMRC Wales branch worked incredibly hard in the run up to the 15th March strike, leafletting, talking to members one on one, contacting all members via their personal email. 

In the weeks before the day we contacted other employer groups within the Cardiff Hub and held several strike organising meetings. Two days before the strike we held an all members meeting via zoom which was really well attended. 

All that hard work really paid off on the day itself. 

By 7am we already had a strong vibrant picket line of around 10 pickets which just kept growing. Faces old and new, reps, advocates and ordinary members arrived throughout the morning. We were joined by PCS reps from the Valuation Office and Prospect reps from HSE, by 8.30 the picket itself was 40 strong. And more people kept coming! 

For many of those present it was their first experience of industrial action, but any trepidation anyone had quickly disappeared as the mood was one of solidarity despite the cold with many  members of the public stopping to express their support. 

From 11.30 trade unionists from across Cardiff began to arrive for the rally that took place outside the Cardiff Government Hub. The sight of PCS members with flags, hats and banners from Welsh Government, DWP, Home Office and National Museum of Wales (among others) pouring into the square was magnificent and followed by striking UCU members who marched across the city behind their banner to join us for speeches and chanting. 

All in all a fantastic day, the mood was one of determination and anger at the Tories over pay and the cost of living but also anger at the way that this government is attacking refugees and trying to use their racist rhetoric to divide us. When our movement works together we are strong and that was very evident on the streets of Cardiff on Budget Day. 

Marianne Owens

Marianne is standing for re-election to the NEC as part of the Democracy Alliance. Click here to see the Democracy Alliance slate

PCS strikers from around Birmingham gathered after our pickets for a march and strike rally on Wednesday.

Birmingham Town Committee had met the previous week to consider what we should do after the pickets were over for the day. We were in contact with the Trades Council and UCU activists and agreed to call a strike rally beside the Birmingham City University campus.

Most of the civil service offices in the city centre are nearer to the 3AC hub building, so we decided to call on strikers to gather in Centenary Square and then march to the strike rally. I was nervous as the assembly time loomed as we didn’t know how many members would attend.

At 11am close to 100 striking members had assembled, clad in hi-vis, PCS beanies and flags. With the megaphone booming we marched through the shopping streets to the strike rally. I spoke about the reality of low pay in the civil service, the fact that the prime minister has a private swimming pool with a heating cost of over £14,000 per year, the equivalent of half my pay, and the need to take the fight to the Tories. Claudine, another PCS member, spoke about the first day of strike action in the HMRC. The rally was also addressed by UCU strikers, a striking teacher and students.

One thing we learnt from the 1st February strike rally was that members would turn up who we didn’t know. So this time we were better prepared and now have a far better network of activists to work with when the next all member strike is called.

Pete Jackson

Pete Jackson is standing for election to the NEC as part of the Democracy Alliance. Click here to see the full candidate list.

NEC members, Ian Lawther and Paul Williams were among the first to arrive for the picket line at Unity Square, Nottingham, closely followed by Reps and members from HMRC, the DVSA, DfT, DfE, Legal Aid Agency (LAA), and the Valuation Office Agency (VOA)

The picket was staged from 06:30 until 10:30 when several pickets left to join the NUJ picket at the BBC, in solidarity with journalists taking strike action from 11:00 today.

At it’s peak, there were over 60 PCS pickets and supporters on the line at Unity Square, where we were joined by two Reps from the Prospect union in the VOA. Hot sausage and bacon cobs were cooked on  site to keep the pickets happy and fed and appropriate music was played throughout.

The picket was visited by a local journalist from the West Bridgford Wire. Their article can be found here: https://westbridgfordwire.com/picket-line-at-hmrc-nottingham-as-civil-servants-take-strike-action/

From 12:00 noon, until late, a Picket and supporters social at the Canalhouse public house in Nottingham, with food, quizzes and a raffle. Over £200 was raised from the raffle which will be paid into the PCS hardship fund.

Ian Lawther and Paul Williams are standing for re-election to the NEC as part of the Democracy Alliance. Click here for to see the Democracy Alliance slate