The PCS NEC met on 23 October and 19 November 2025 to consider the outcome of the recent consultation with members on the national campaign.

This followed a post-Conference meeting held in May 2025 where the Democracy Alliance-led NEC had considered how the two national campaign motions carried at Annual Delegate Conference might be taken forward.

At conference Left Unity had opposed Motion A383, as the vast majority of its demands had already been submitted in writing to the employer in July 2024; the PCS national pay claim having been submitted in February 2024.  The two further demands contained within the instruction were an £18 an hour minimum wage, up from the previous demand of £15 an hour, and opposition to Mutually Agreed Exits.

Left Unity supported Motion A2 which welcomed that national talks were already underway with the Cabinet Office – talks directly aimed at resolving the problems inherent within the civil service pay system and the motion agreed to prioritise: the securing of annual inflation proofed pay rises and pay restoration; greater coherence of pay for UK civil servants, with an ultimate objective of securing national pay scales containing a single rate for the job at each grade; and securing national pay bargaining.

Both motions called on the NEC to assess progress in talks however, whilst motion A2 called on the NEC to test members on a campaign of industrial action in the event of insufficient progress, Motion A383 called for a ballot by mid-September 2025 in the event of insufficient progress.

In taking these motions forward immediately post-conference, the Democracy Alliance members on the NEC agreed to write to the employer making clear that:

• the 2025/26 pay remit guidance will not address our members aspirations and is therefore not acceptable to PCS
• greater urgency was required in discussions on the pay and reward strategy for the civil service in order to seriously address issues; and seeking to agree a timetable for those
• our demand for a minimum wage was uprated from £15 to £18 an hour
• we are opposed to the mutually agreed exits proposal and require a serious agreement on job security

Despite opposition from the BLN/IL coalition, all Left Unity and PCS Democrat NEC members agreed to pursue those issues, and to maximise the amount of money available to members from the CS remit as quickly as possible. Learning from our opponents disastrous decision last year to delay delegated negotiations, our majority on the NEC agreed to instruct our group negotiators at delegated level to engage in talks on pay to secure the maximum monies available, prioritising higher increases for the lowest paid.

The Democracy Alliance supported the General Secretary’s commitment to bringing forward a timetable to the July NEC meeting for members’ meetings. Those meetings would enable the union leadership to consider progress in negotiations at national and delegated level; and to test members on their readiness for an industrial confrontation if necessary. 

At its meeting in July 2025, the NEC agreed on a ballot-ready strategy and a series of members’ meetings to test the members on their willingness to engage in industrial action. The speaker’s brief for the meetings gave members an update of where we were in negotiations and set out the key question to be answered: whether we move to industrial action at this stage or allow more time for the talks to progress.

The ballot ready strategy also set three structure tests to assess our readiness.  The feedback from the members’ meetings, and the results of the structure tests, made it crystal clear that it would be an error at this stage to move to a ballot for industrial action.

NATIONAL TALKS ON PAY & REWARD

At the NEC meeting held on 23 October 2025, the NEC received a report on the national talks, which are beginning to hold out the prospect of serious progress on our objectives. The Cabinet Office has accepted that low pay and incoherence in the system create serious problems across the civil service; and serious talks are underway to address both issues. 

Inevitably, the issue of how any changes will be paid for will be a key factor in dictating any progress.  The union has prepared well for this, with the union’s primary position in negotiations, supported by our academic work, is that civil service pay will pay for itself over the longer term, and deliver more into the Treasury coffers.  Therefore, showing there is no affordability barrier.

PCS have also made a clear case that pay restoration can be funded through our proposals for financial gains within the civil service.  Certainly the expansion of more flexible working, particularly a significant increase in hybrid working, could produce serious savings on running costs that could be recycled into pay. 

The Democracy Alliance members of the NEC recognised that there is a persuasive argument to be made, backed up by our academic evidence, about how a pay restoration, job security and improved flexible working agreement is in the interests of PCS members, the wider economy, and the government’s stated aims.

The NEC have therefore agreed that we will press the employer for such an agreement across the civil service and its related areas, supported by Left Unity and the Democracy Alliance members of the NEC.

With members indicating in the consultation that they wish to give talks time to progress, it is absolutely the correct move to focus in the coming period on securing positive outcomes in negotiations.

Obviously, the success or failure of these talks will be determined by the final outcome; and Left Unity are clear that an industrial campaign will be required in the event that they fail to deliver sufficient progress.

PAY TALKS AT DELEGATED LEVEL

As stated earlier the NEC had already agreed that we would enter talks at delegated level, and all the indications are that in the main PCS negotiators have maximised the monies available for PCS members as soon as possible, with priority being given to the lowest paid.  They also indicate that the union’s strategy of pressing the Cabinet Office at national level for specific provision on low pay in the civil service pay remit guidance, and then engaging at delegated level to maximise that provision, has put more money in the pockets of low-paid workers as early as possible, with thousands of members receiving pay rises in the junior grades which are well in excess of the 3.75% remit figure.

Where this has not been delivered though, the Democracy Alliance-led National Disputes Committee have authorised strike ballots, and the Left Unity majority in our biggest group, DWP, are preparing for a strike ballot of members early in the new year.

ALLIANCE FOR CHANGE ATTEMPT TO IGNORE MEMBERS’ VIEWS

At the NEC meeting on 19 November 2025, an attempt was made to re-open the debate on the national campaign by a Broad Left Network NEC member, despite the clear decisions overwhelmingly taken throughout the summer and autumn.

In an extraordinary contribution, a vocal opponent of the Left Unity leadership, sought to completely ignore the outcome of the consultation with members. Instead demanding that we effectively abandon the talks with the employer, “declare war on the Cabinet Office” and rally members to battle. This despite the clear view expressed by members in the consultation that such a confrontation should not take place at this stage.

Left Unity members on the NEC responded robustly, reminding our opponents that PCS were in serious talks with the Cabinet Office on better pay coherence and the eradication of low pay, and that to abandon those talks would be a “dereliction of duty”.  The General Secretary called for an end to this ultra-left posturing and student politics, and reminded our opponents that now was the time for hard-headed judgements based on industrial reality, going on to point out that if you are going to “declare war”, it is best to be organisationally ready for one, “otherwise you will get massacred”.  Our opponent’s position was bad enough, even without considering that members in their own group had just voted by a majority of 90%, on a 76% turnout, to accept the employers pay offer. It is incredible that someone elected to the most senior committee in our union, would call for war when they cannot win a battle in their own backyard.

The coalition (for chaos) continue to argue that it is better to enter a ballot ill-prepared and to fail to meet the 50% threshold, then to ballot and maybe fail again, than to wait for the outcome of talks and meet any negative outcome with a decision to agitate around.  Despite the massive financial cost to the union of every ballot we undertake (paid for by you!), it appears they see no issue with weakening PCS in the eyes of the employer.

A weak union can win nothing. Puerile strategies win nothing.

LEVY REFUND

At the NEC meeting on 19 November, Left Unity and the Democracy Alliance NEC members kept our promise to PCS members, by supporting a proposal to now test the process for effecting the refund of the levy. Left Unity and our PCS Democrat allies committed, during the NEC election campaign in 2025, to putting right the scandalous breach of members faith, created by the Coalition of the Broad Left Network and Independent Left; their having insisted on continuing to collect the levy last year when it was clear no national industrial action was planned.

In a continuation of their contempt for members, despite it being a clear manifesto commitment from the majority of elected NEC members, the Broad Left Network and Independent Left NEC members voted against the proposal for effecting the refund of the levy. Thankfully, they were defeated by the Democracy Alliance majority and the process to refund the levy was agreed and will now be implemented.

INFANTILISM FROM OUR OPPONENTS

Rather predictably, the NEC’s approach has attracted relentless criticism from our internal opponents. Particularly, the decision not to move to a ballot at this stage.

The Independent Left believes that we should have walked into talks with our demands backed by a live, active ballot mandate. This completely ignores the outcome of the consultation that indicates we are unlikely to win a live mandate at this stage.

If we were to follow the Independent Left’s advice, we would ballot, probably fail to secure a statutory mandate for action in many groups and would be left naked in the chamber. We will, therefore, not be taking any advice from them on tactics and leverage anytime soon.

The Broad Left Network holds a similar position, claiming that members are prepared to fight; and they point to ballots results from 2022/2023 as evidence.  This is completely ludicrous as they fails to acknowledge a very changed political and industrial context, and the outcome of the most recent consultation of members.  It would lead us to the same tactically disastrous place as the Independent Left’s position.

It is clear from where we are in negotiations, with serious progress possible, and the outcome of the consultation, that now is not the time for a ballot.  Unless, of course, you want to lose it, thereby conceding any leverage you hold in negotiations, and guaranteeing no progress for members.  No serious trade union leadership would adopt such an industrially suicidal approach, and Left Unity will continue to dismiss such disastrous strategies.

On entering delegated talks, the opponents of your Left Unity led leadership have bizarrely claimed this an “abdication of responsibility”.  The opposite is of course true.  The responsible decision taken to engage with departmental pay teams has ensured that we have put as much money, as quickly as possible, into members’ pockets; this was particularly important for our lowest paid members.

The alternative to entering talks would have been to hold a national ballot, that the consultation tells us we would have struggled to win; whilst leaving the field free for Prospect and the FDA to clean up in delegated talks. 

It is clear that some that claim to be activists, working on behalf of members, have learned no lessons from last years’ debacle, where a BLN/IL majority of NEC members voted not to enter delegated talks; that ‘leadership’ was forced to u-turn a week later under pressure from an activist base that understood all too well the consequences of that monumentally senseless decision.

This is simply not serious strategical decision making.  At best, it is student politics arguing with hardheaded industrial trade unionism; at worst, it is simply grandstanding for perceived political advantage, with PCS members’ interests playing second fiddle to political party interests. This level of ineptitude has no place in a serious trade union.

It is a sad fact that the rhetoric from these factions is completely divorced from where our membership is. This is clearly evidenced by the recent campaign mounted by the Broad Left Network urging members, against the GEC recommendation, to reject the pay offer in the Scottish Government Group.  In that Group, on a 76% turnout, members voted by a majority of 90% to accept the offer.  That is hardly a reflection of a faction with its finger on the pulse of the membership.

This continued infantile posturing should be rejected by our activists and members alike.

TIME FOR SERIOUS LEADERSHIP – WE ARE LISTENING TO YOU

For the first time in decades, there is the possibility of serious progress in talks on civil service pay, with a chance to eliminate poverty pay and secure greater pay coherence. We have to give those talks a chance.

The Democracy Alliance leadership will leave no stone unturned in our determination to secure that progress for you.  We listen to our members and activists when you advise on the mood on the ground; and we will not use our members and activists as pawns in a political game. 

Our job as a union leadership is to protect and promote members’ interests, first and foremost; that is what we intend to do.

But the commitment from Left Unity to you is that, if progress in those talks is insufficient or too slow, then we will not shy away from agitating our members to test our readiness for an industrial response; the LU leadership in DWP has shown our readiness to act by moving to the recent consultative ballot, and will show the employer, and this government again, when they move to a statutory ballot early in 2026.