Continuing a winning Strategy for PCS Members!
Attached to this bulletin is the list of Left Unity recommendations for the 2024 NEC elections and conference-based elections. These candidates constitute a diverse cross section of dedicated representatives from right across the union. They are committed to continuing to patiently build a strong workplace focussed, industrially active, organising, members led union.
The current Left Unity led NEC is proud of its record, which includes reconstituting the Young Members Network, constituting devolved nation executives in Scotland and Wales, legal action against pushbacks and the Rwanda scheme, but importantly on the national campaign.
In the last year PCS members have taken hundreds of days of strike action, representing the biggest wave of action undertaken by this union in decades. That’s been achieved by taking tough decisions and the implementation of innovative methods. The Left Unity NEC decision to implement the increased levy wasn’t an easy one and opposed by some at the time. Instead, this decision facilitated the prosecution of sustained, targeted and effective action that was hugely supported by the membership.
The battles we face are serious, our members are struggling, and this Tory administration has facilitated a cost-of-living crisis turbo charged with underfunded pay austerity and cuts to services. This cannot be solved by performative protest action. Our strategy was to maximise the impact on our employer but minimise the cost to members.
What is required is serious, hard-headed industrial trade unionism designed to win. We believe that this has been demonstrated in the last year of the national campaign. Anyone saying that significant gains have not been made, is simply not acknowledging reality – an increased overall remit – targeted at the lowest paid, £1,500 one-off payment, guaranteed no cuts to the compensation scheme, and the start of national talks around coherence.
These are the first national concessions achieved by our union following membership strike action in over a decade. This wasn’t everything that we set out to achieve, we believe our members deserve more, but it is a victory that our members should be proud of, and a base from which to continue to build and push for further action in 2024. Our role must continue to be, to build the confidence and aspirations of our members and to be at the vanguard but not detached from members.
PCS members have recently taken the historic decision to elect our first female General Secretary in Fran Heathcote. We’re proud that she’s been a long-standing Left Unity activist and in these forthcoming elections it’s important to elect fighting candidates who will work alongside her.
We are asking all Left Unity and like-minded members, to nominate the attached slate of candidates. The last year has demonstrated PCS at its best and most vibrant; but the job is not finished. Our candidates are committed to continuing to –
• Increasing membership
• Recruiting and training a new layer of activists
• Fighting the scourge of low pay
• Continuing and extending the use of effective, targeted and sustained action
Nominate Democracy Alliance Candidates for the NEC
Raise the Nominations at your AGM – Nominations Close 7 March 2024
PCS Left Unity 