The Independent Left have always talked a lot about the union’s finances, usually in an attempt to slur their political opponents.

Their proudest boast is that their Alliance For Workers’ Liberty member, John Moloney, PCS’s current Assistant General Secretary, donates a proportion of his salary back to PCS, which is true. What they say less about is that John, in his mid-sixties, had already partially retired from the civil service, taken a lump sum, paid his mortgage off in London and bought an additional property abroad. Putting him in a position to be able to do so, and still live in London.

The Broad Left Network talk less about the union’s finances, knowing that the previous AGS, Chris Baugh, donated nothing to PCS, arguing that instead he chose to donate to the Socialist Party.

Their failed General Secretary candidate, Marion Lloyd, who stood, and lost, against both Mark Serwotka and Fran Heathcote decided to join her running mate, John Moloney, in pledging to only take the workers’ wage. Which sounded good, unless you realised that Marion, also in her mid-sixties, had partially retired, taken a lump sum, paid her mortgage off, and based on her current high grade salary, was earning more for her 2 days per week, than either her previous opponent, Fran Heathcote, or her latest opponent for PCS President, Martin Cavanagh, earnt working full-time as EOs in the DWP. So, the workers’ wage claim always requires a bit of scrutiny.

Now they are under pressure, due to their belated u-turn on the levy last week, which one Independent Left NEC member, Chris Marks, explained was necessary, “due to it being election time”, so, nothing to do with low paid members over-paying into a levy that they cannot afford, when no national action is taking place under the banner of the national campaign then?

The Independent Left are still repeating the falsehood that the Levy is currently funding the outsourced workers’ strikes, blatantly and demonstrably untrue, but repeated to spread confusion around the intended purpose of the levy.

In a bid to cause further distraction, in the last week they reinvigorated the X/Twitter account, which has lain dormant since 13th July, because, as they have already explained, it is election time. They have used it to mock the recent videos produced by the General Secretary, whilst following suit now, and starting to produce their own videos, in order to reproduce the lies that she has somehow ‘blown the budget’ on costly redundancies and a new staffing structure.

The truth of this matter is somewhat ironic.

There have been no redundancies, there have been severance payments, signed off by their National Treasurer, John Moloney. They did indeed come from the 2024 budget, but were authorised long before Fran took over. They had already been authorised,agreed, and presented within the Finance paper to the NEC, by John Moloney, when Fran took up post on 1st February 2024. These followed long-term custom and practice within PCS, something that was widely acknowledged at the time, but why let the truth get in the way of a good slur?

They then go on to suggest that the changes to staffing have somehow ‘blown the budget’. Sadly for them, the 2024 Finance Report is about to demonstrate that since Fran took over, staff costs have reduced to below 33% of subscription income, something Fran has been meticulous about maintaining.

It is also slightly embarrassing for them that, when moving the Finance Report in May last year, at a time when staff costs were running at 34.5%, John Moloney explained to ADC “PCS has got one of the lowest full-time official to member ratios in the TUC, and obviously there might be an argument that we should have more staff…”

Far from threatening the financial security of PCS, the changes introduced under the new general secretary are, in fact, expected to lead to financial savings for the union, and a collective agreement on this matter has been reached with the staff union, the GMB.

The lies and myths being pedalled by the Independent Left, often repeated by the BLN, well, certainly before last week’s disagreement, are the basis on which they have tried, and failed, to whip up adequate support to force a Special Delegate Conference, preferring to talk to an echo chamber of activists, rather than genuinely consult members on the way forward for the National Campaign.

The, soon to be published, Financial report will be proof, if any more were needed given their recent behaviour, that you cannot trust these people with your union, or your subs.

Both Independent Left, and the Broad Left Network, in fact, all parties in the so-called Alliance For Change, are hoping that members have short memories.

Don’t be fooled, reclaim PCS and vote for Democracy Alliance candidates in this year’s NEC elections – the only ones who have proved that they have your best interests at heart.

Conference censures the NEC for its failure to consult members on the continuation of the levy during this year when it’s not been used to fund any action under the national campaign mandate. The voting record of individual NEC members on this can be found in the annual report.

Regrettably hundreds of members have voted with their feet and left the Union citing the levy or increased cost of membership as the reason.  This is also causing a serious impediment to recruitment of new members to the Union.

The membership levy was initially agreed by an all member consultation and used to good effect during the first round of action in 2022/23 but this NEC have denied members the opportunity to review this decision despite several opportunities to do so arising during the last year.

Conference welcomes the decision of 14 February NEC to pause the levy although the delay in taking this decision has been at great personal cost to members and undermined membership confidence and trust in any future levy campaigns.

The incoming NEC is instructed to launch a full all membership consultation on the future provision of financial support for members taking paid targeted industrial action.

This consultation to take place as soon as is practicable following ADC with a view to replacing the current flat rate 50p from members monthly subscriptions paid directly into the general Fighting Fund with an appropriate percentage figure that will generate a long term regular growth in income to the Fighting Fund.

The consultation to be concluded in enough time to seek membership endorsement for any necessary rule changes required to be ratified by ADC 2026.      

Any further additional levies should receive membership approval in advance, be only used for specific campaign purposes and subject to regular review and further membership endorsement where necessary.  

The NEC met on 14 February and voted to pause the national campaign levy – meaning that from March members will no longer have to pay £3 or £5 per month on top of their union subs.

Led by Left Unity members, and our PCS Democrat comrades, the NEC voted a resounding 25-8 to finally pause the levy.

The previous day, PCS General Secretary Fran Heathcote had published a video explaining the national campaign levy – and why she was calling for it to be paused.

It was a Valentine Day’s Massacre for the self-styled ‘NEC majority’ led by the now-not-so-Broad Left Network, who only had 8 members stay with them in voting to retain the levy (Dave Semple, Marion Lloyd, Bobby Young, Chip Hamer, Fiona Brittle, Gemma Criddle, Rob Ritchie and Annette Wright).

As the roll call vote was taken a chipper Chip Hamer gave a hearty ‘No!’ while a much more disconsolate ‘no’ was mumbled by Marion Lloyd.

As in August and December, all Left Unity members voted to pause the levy, but this time were joined by Independent Left members, as well as Hector Wesley and John Davidson from the Alliance for Change in HMRC.

Those NEC members will have to reflect on why they voted against the very same proposal to pause the levy in August and again in December – unnecessarily costing members up to an extra £30 each; and, on why they refused the opportunity to review their decision in November.

As Chris Marks was keen to explain, when attempting to move an erroneous point of order, trying to justify their opportunist U-turn “we are now getting near to election time.”  Exactly Chris, and we see through you!

Of the four members elected under the Alliance for Change banner, two voted to pause the levy and two voted to keep it. They don’t seem to be much of an alliance anymore and are divided on whether to change or stick with the status quo.

Those NEC members who voted to pause the levy from the Democracy Alliance were: Martin Cavanagh, Jackie Green, Marianne Owens, Karen Alderson, Paula Brown, Saul Cahill, Bridget Corcoran, James Cox, Chris Dando, Cathy Darcan, Angela Grant, Ros Hewitt, Ian Lawther, James Marshall, Sarah Morton, and Cara Nurse.

Some of the U-turners have now taken to social media to justify themselves, presumably hoping members have short memories. The wiser ones are keeping quiet!

Despite their indignant claims, only Democracy Alliance members were proposing a pause. Their alternative was a continuation of the levy, albeit at a lower rate.

The so-called review that they now claim they wanted all along but were denied, was carried out in August by the General Secretary, leading to her recommending the levy be paused – they rejected that.

Friday’s NEC meeting got off to an inauspicious start with time wasted by the ‘NEC majority’ challenging the chair’s ruling – on the second occasion challenging a point of order that tried to table a motion for debate. This was too much for even some of them as only 7 backed the ludicrous challenge.

The Broad Left Network’s Fiona Brittle also tried to force on to the agenda of the special NEC a debate to call a Special Delegate Conference. Given Annual Delegate Conference (ADC) is now only 3 months away, and it would take months to book, plan and select delegates for a special delegate conference, you really have to worry about the attitude of those who would be happy to waste hundreds of thousands of pounds of members’ money organising a delegate conference at best, a few days before ADC!

It demonstrates their lack of awareness about what is involved in organising a conference.

The NEC meeting also heard reports of the consultation with GECs and national branches on the national campaign, and an update from the General Secretary on the outsourcing disputes. The union and members taking action have brought significant pressure to bear on the employers and the Government, which committed pre-election to “the biggest wave of insourcing in a generation.”

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One of the issues causing the most controversy right now is the continuation of the PCS levy. Comrades will remember that the levy was introduced early in the National Campaign as a way of funding targeted action, to be taken in support of the National Campaign. This was popular, worked well and our strategy of targeted action led to a number of concessions.

During the summer, the NEC agreed, unanimously, that there was no leverage for action at that point in time capable of shifting the government any further. One BLN member did mention in her contribution in July that the levy might need to be reviewed at some point, but this was never proposed by them formally nor voted on, as is now being claimed.

In August, following on from the earlier July debate, and despite there being no formal proposal made, the General Secretary did indeed review the situation and recommended that the levy now be paused, as the NEC had agreed to pause strike action. The General Secretary also recommended that a consultation take place with branches over how we build our fighting fund for the battles to come. Both of these recommendations were supported by Democracy Alliance NEC members, but rejected by the NEC majority, calling themselves the Alliance for Change.

Under the standing orders of the NEC decisions taken cannot be revisited for 3 months unless two-thirds of the NEC agree to revisit their decision. Such was the strength of feeling amongst members and branches across the union, however, Democracy Alliance members of the NEC again raised the pausing of the levy in October, with the President testing the NEC if they would be prepared to revisit the decision. Democracy Alliance NEC members voted to revisit the decision and pause the levy, but the opportunity was rejected by the alliance forming the NEC majority.

In line with the NEC standing orders, as soon as the 3 months expired, following a heavy mailbag from members, reps, groups and regions, alongside a number of member resignations, the General Secretary brought the recommendation to pause the levy back to the NEC in December – again it was rejected by the same NEC members, using their small majority to force through their position that the levy must continue.

A roll call was taken on both occasions, recording who voted for and against pausing the levy, and is available on request from the GS office.

Alliance for Change

When a political organisation has been in power for a long time, as Left Unity has, as part of the Democracy Alliance, sometimes suggesting that it is time for a change can be an attractive argument. Certainly, this seems to have been the case in 2024, when the newly formed coalition won a majority, with a number of ambitious promises about how they would transform PCS. But, what that so-called change in PCS has led to is an absolute paralysis in our union, increasing chaos and an inability to move forward on even the simplest of issues. This has been demonstrated by U-turn after U-turn, as those who get their ideas largely from books, and their respective political masters, the Socialist Party and the Alliance for Workers’ Liberty, realise that actually running the union, as opposed to sniping from the sidelines, is a bit more difficult than they anticipated.

With a breathtaking arrogance not borne from any experience on the ground, and a complete disregard for the low-paid members involved, decisions are taken based on the whims of small sect organisations who don’t have the best interests of our members at heart. Whilst some within the alliance have begun to waiver and voice their concerns, they have been persuaded by the BLN, in particular, to hold the line for the sake of the alliance. The dissent over the levy has been from across the political spectrum, but the issue has become a victim of the need to maintain the alliance at all costs.

These people simply cannot be trusted with your union or your union subs, recent events have shown us that.

Democracy?

Both BLN and IL claim to want democracy, why then are they so terrified of a consultation with members and branches? Every time this is proposed, it is rejected by the majority, preferring instead to hide behind the call for a Special Delegate Conference (SDC). Unable to get support for this call by anywhere near the number of branches which would represent 25% of the membership, and having a complete lack of understanding about what is involved in organising such a conference, it will shortly be proved, with the publication of the PCS Financial report, that every aspect of their ‘model motion’ calling for such a conference is based on a lie.

Far from the general secretary blowing the budget on a top-heavy staffing structure, as has been claimed, the union’s finances are in the best shape that they have been in for well over a decade, with staffing costs coming in at under 33% of subscription income. The whole basis for their SDC is proven to be false, but it is easier to maintain the call for this, and the lies surrounding it, than to face the anger of members in any sort of genuine consultation.

Cynicism

The coalition’s unwillingness to enter into any consultation with members over the levy, and their determination not to even try to get a consensus, shows that they are not at all serious about democracy. All of their current efforts are being put into seeking to discredit Left Unity President, Martin Cavanagh, claiming that he is using bureaucratic means to block them. The president’s job is to uphold the rules, something that Martin does diligently, and for this he is castigated at every opportunity, in an attempt to weaken members’ confidence in him.

As recently as last week, BLN NECLOs attending GECs and regional committees, have been arguing for why the levy must continue. What is becoming apparent is that some members of the alliance, perhaps unhappy with the way the recent NEC election candidates were forced upon them, have started badmouthing the levy decision, and suggesting that the decision may soon change, just in time for the elections. To be clear, if the BLN/IL coalition was to now reverse their position on the levy, claiming that this was always the plan, and that they have now listened to members, neither claim would be true.

Rather, it would represent the worst kind of political cynicism.

Fight for PCS – Have your say

This issue is just one example of what is at stake for PCS. But there is something you can do about it.

Attend your AGM, encourage members who are angry about the levy to attend and have their say. Submit motions to conference. Nominate Democracy Alliance candidates for the NEC, knowing that they have members’ best interests at heart.

Don’t allow PCS to be hijacked in the interests of narrow political sects. Elect a DEMOCRACY ALLIANCE NEC, and together we can put an end to the madness.        

Police arrested Stop The War vice chair Chris Nineham, chief steward on the Palestine demonstration and Ben Jamal, Palestine Solidarity Campaign director on 18 January after blocking the path of a peaceful demonstration.

A week later on 25 January 600 people joined a solidarity rally.

Here Fran Heathcote speaks in solidarity.

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We are again entering the period where PCS branches are being asked to nominate candidates for this year’s union elections.

PCS Left Unity have agreed to continue our alliance with the PCS Democrats, and would urge all branches to nominate the Democracy Alliance slate for the NEC.

We have a proven track record of campaigning and delivering on the issues which matter to our members.

Pay

It was the Democracy Alliance strategy of taking sustained targeted action that forced the previous government to more than double the Treasury remit in 2023, and the new government to offer the first above inflation remit in decades for 2024.

Our strategy has also laid the ground for the first meaningful discussions on pay coherence across the civil service since devolved pay was forced upon us in the late 1980s.

Redundancy Terms and Civil Service Compensation Scheme

Under a Democracy Alliance led NEC, we fought and campaigned against the previous government’s attempts to reduce our compensation scheme and redundancy entitlement by a third. Despite it being a Tory election manifesto pledge, our campaign and strategy forced the government to withdraw its proposals, safeguarding thousands of pounds of our members’ money.

A growing union

Under the Democracy Alliance leadership membership returned to the highest levels since before “Check-Off” was withdrawn, increasing our industrial strength. This at a time when membership levels across the movement were in broad decline.

The Democracy Alliance achieved this by introducing a clear organising strategy which focussed on supporting branches to build and grow the union in the workplace.

Fighting for members and services

It was under the Democracy Alliance leadership that PCS increased our parliamentary and media influence, to shine a light on our members key issues and the services they provide such as chronic low pay, unachievable workloads, and safety at work.

It was also under our leadership that we produced the much acclaimed Alternative to Austerity literature, and alternative visions for both Social Security and Tax Justice.

The Democracy Alliance led NEC also defeated the Channel “Push-Back” policy and Rwanda Plan through the courts, safeguarding both our border force members and those seeking asylum in the UK.

The Levy

It was under the Democracy Alliance leadership that the national campaign levy was introduced and used to maximum effect, paying strike pay to our low-paid members and winning concessions on pay and the compensation scheme.

It has also been the Democracy Alliance NEC members, alongside our National President and General Secretary, that have demanded the levy now be paused while no action is being taken as part of the national campaign.

We have continued to oppose the new BLN/IL “NEC majority” leadership’s mishandling of a previously popular and successful tool. An abuse of leadership that has literally taken money out of members pockets for no return.

Democracy

Under our previous leadership on the NEC, we increased lay led democracy in our union, with constitutional amendments ensuring our negotiators are elected directly by the membership, and creating policy making conferences and executives elected directly by members in both Scotland and Wales, giving members in the devolved nations a stronger voice on policies that directly affect them.

The Democracy Alliance NEC members have supported necessary rulings made by our elected National President, that have safeguarded the integrity of the union and its democratically agreed rulebook, forced compromise from an intransigent “NEC majority”, again protecting members’ interests.

Our promise to you…

We ask you to first nominate, then support and vote for the Democracy Alliance candidates listed on this leaflet.

If elected with an NEC majority we will prioritise:

· Building on the concessions we previously won on pay, restoring national pay bargaining across the civil service, and campaigning for permanent, above inflation pay increases and restoration of lost salary for all members

· An immediate pause of the Levy, putting money back in members pockets while consulting on how we build our strike fund in the longer-term

· Job security and a no compulsory redundancy agreement, retaining compensation terms

· The extra staff needed to provide good quality services, and access to hybrid working for all members

· Financial recompense for members for the overpayment of pension contributions

· Holding government to their promise of mass insourcing of services

· Consulting members on all of the big issues that we face

· Reviewing and updating our alternative vision for social security, taxation, and immigration

services

· Building on our ARAF strategy, and ensuring equality and inclusivity are at the forefront of our agenda

Please nominate the Democracy Alliance candidates below for a leadership without outside influence, that will consult, campaign and organise around the issues that matter most to PCS members.

President: Cavanagh

Vice Presidents: David, Green, Owens, Shafiq

NEC: Alderson, Baker, Brown, Cahill, Corcoran, Dando, Darcan, Dwyer, Flynn, Gantschuk, Govind, Grant, Harney, Hewitt, Jamieson, Landeryou, Lawther, McDonough, McGachey, Marshall, Maxwell, Merry, Morton, Nurse, Pope, Pritchard, Reid, Thorley, Vallely

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Click here to read the candidate’s statements