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.

click here to download as leaflet

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Under the Democracy Alliance leadership membership returned to the highest levels since before “Check-Off” was withdrawn, increasing our industrial strength.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

click here to download as leaflet

Click here to read the candidate’s statements

Over the past year the current NEC majority have created chaos at the NEC, effectively paralysing its operation. They also refuse to pause the levy, despite there being no on-going strike action as part of the National Campaign. This has led to hundreds of members leaving the union. At this year’s elections we need to make sure that this chaos comes to an end.

Left Unity is part of the Democracy Alliance. Please nominate the following candidates for the NEC this year at you branch AGM.

Click here to read the candidate’s statements

President

Martin Cavanagh  – DWP Wirral

Vice-Presidents

Hannah David – Historic England & English Heritage

Jackie Green – MoJ Humberside North, West Yorkshire & Grimsby

Marianne Owens – R&C Wales

Mohammed Shafiq – DWP Gtr Manchester & Salford

NEC candidates

Karen Alderson – HMPO Northern

Mark Baker – PsG MHCLG PINS

Paula Brown – HSE National

Saul Cahill – DWP Tyneside & Northumbria

Bridget Corcoran – DWP Tyneside & Northumbria

James Cox – HO Croydon

Chris Dando – DSG South West

Cathy Darcan – R&C Northern Ireland

Sean Dwyer – R&C Wales

Felicity Flynn – MoJ Associated Services

Ginnette Gantschuk – HMPPS National

Cheral Govind – PsG OFGEM

Angela Grant – DWP Wirral

Austin Harney – MoJ Associated Offices

Ros Hewitt – MoJ HQ

John Jamieson – Registers of Scotland

Steph Landeryou – Welsh Government Cardiff

Ian Lawther – R&C East Midlands

James Marshall – ATOS Blackpool & Lytham

Alistair Maxwell – ATOS Glasgow

Marie McDonough – DWP City of Sunderland

Liz McGachey – DWP Glasgow

Lorna Merry – R&C Stratford

Sarah Morton – DWP Liverpool

Cara Nurse – R&C East Midlands

Ian Pope – DWP Glasgow

Jo Pritchard – DWP North & Mid Wales

Jeni Reid – HSE National

Steve Thorley – CPS East Midlands

Zac Vallely – HMPO London & South East

click here to download this list

Click here to read the candidate’s statements

click here to receive our WhatsApp notifications – https://chat.whatsapp.com/JTXI9Wk3cNGGuUKTFRRd2B

Please raise this motion at your branch AGM

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 now instructs the incoming NEC to pause the levy for the National Campaign immediately should it still be in place upon them taking office and 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.  

click here to download the motion docx

click here to download for older Word versions

With hard-pressed PCS members still paying £3 or £5 a month extra into the Strike Levy for action that can no longer take place, Left Unity member and PCS General Secretary, Fran Heathcote, moved a recommendation at this week’s NEC to pause the levy.

This followed branches, groups, and many ordinary members from across the union, writing in recent months to the General Secretary and National President, to demand it ceased as no action was likely to be taken in the foreseeable future as part of the national campaign.

In defence of the levy, Broad Left Network, Independent Left, and other coalition members repeated the debunked myth that the levy is funding G4S and other strikes across the union.

This is simply not true – and it would be against the terms of the ringfenced national campaign levy to fund those areas currently taking industrial action.

In a moment that would be comical if it wasn’t so serious, one member of the ‘NEC majority’ said that he would vote to pause the levy if the General Secretary could demonstrate it was not being used to fund those currently taking action. To rebut this, again, the General Secretary and President called in the union’s Head of Finance.

He set out that strike pay for those workers came from the general fund, not the levy, and confirmed that the last time funds from the levy fund were drawn down was in the Spring to support members in The Pensions Regulator and National Museums Liverpool, as part of the national campaign.

Despite being given these assurances, for the second time in less than a month, as the NEC was talked through the finance paper which set out the union’s funds, the ‘NEC majority’ member still voted with his bloc against pausing the levy. As a result members will continue to pay an extra £3 or £5 a month to a levy that was introduced to support action for which there is no longer a live mandate.

NEC members heard directly, once again, that the continuation of the levy is causing members to leave the union and hindering recruitment, and it is now over two months since the National Disputes Committee – on which the BLN/IL coalition also has a majority – agreed that there was no prospect of meaningful industrial action under the National Campaign – yet, irrationally, they still vote to keep members paying extra.

Left Unity members and our PCS Democrat comrades on the NEC, voted to support the General Secretary’s call to pause the levy, having already tried to force the issue at last months NEC, and demanded a roll call of the vote.

Sadly, the coalition’s reckless disregard for members’ money was an ongoing theme of this latest NEC.

NEC majority claim to know better than the ICO

The union’s Data Protection Officer presented a paper reporting that PCS has been found in violation of the GDPR, particularly with regard to Subject Access Requests. The paper asked the NEC to implement the instructions of the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

A routine matter you might think? Not so. According to one Broad Left Network member, the union is preventing reps from communicating with members, and the paper should not be agreed, but remitted to a sub-committee – even though the paper recommended “final proposals will be presented at the relevant NEC sub-committee meeting.”

We look forward to hearing the evidence of how our General Secretary is conspiring with the Information Commissioners’ Office to obstruct PCS reps from consulting with members. Even more interesting will be the story, when it comes out, of how PCS officers managed to convince the entire European Union to adopt the GDPR legislation to achieve apparent factional gains within PCS!

But beyond the farcical conspiracies, there is a serious point that the longer the union drags its feet in implementing the ICO’s instructions, the more likely it becomes that PCS could face fines for non-implementation.

Court victory on check-off

Earlier this month, the union won a comprehensive victory in the courts on the Government’s decision to end check-off. In 2016 the union won a case against the DWP for its improper ending of this contractual agreement, which resulted in a £3m payout in 2018. This latest ruling opens the door for further settlements with other departments.

The senior officer presenting the paper, noted that the campaign to re-sign every member and to resist government union-busting had shown the best of PCS, with members, reps, elected officials and staff working together in a united way.

This implicit call for unity was too much for one senior member of the Broad Left Network who came in to suggest that there could be no such unity now.

Rather than celebrate an unqualified victory for the union – and consider what more we can collectively do to build union density, the NEC member thought it was important to strike a note of discord and division – which is at least consistent with their modus operandi.

Row, row, row it back, part 94

As we reported last month, the NEC majority had proposed to impose real terms cuts to every budget in the union by setting a 0% increase, and to freeze the pay of PCS staff by setting a 0% budget increase. After strong push back from LU members, the NEC unanimously agreed the revised finance paper, which increases subs by between 5p and 23p per week depending on members’ salaries.

One thing that was now not disputed, despite the hyperbolic misinformation for weeks, was that staffing costs will remain within 33% of total costs in line with ADC policy.

This unanimous acceptance by the NEC clearly shows the majority’s recent public claims, that the General Secretary’s review of staffing had put PCS’ finances in serious danger, doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.

…and finally!

The coalition and their supporters have in recent weeks, became obsessed with the demand for a Special Delegate Conference early in the new year. They have lobbied and convinced a small number of branches to write into the General Secretary with the request, on the back of the above alleged risk to the unions financial health, and in order to “hold the President and General Secretary to account”, in front of reps from across the union.

As it has now been established that the union’s finances are in fact in a healthier position than they have been in decades, the only logical reason for holding a SDC, is to use it as a platform to attack our elected National President and General Secretary.

As previously reported to Left Unity members, the President, has been forced to rule a number of motions, submitted by NEC members, out of order as they breached either the rules of the union or the NECs own Standing Orders.

We have also previously covered the General Secretary’s legitimate review of PCS staffing, against the backdrop of scandalous misinformation and accusation by supporters of the BLN/IL fronted coalition.

It is interesting that the NEC majority and their supporters have consistently complained about official union communications to members, having blocked previous attempts by the GS and President to directly consult with members about national pay and the pausing of the levy, and yet they actively lobby their supporters to push for a SDC that would cost thousands of pounds of members money, only a few months before we would gather in Brighton for our Annual Delegate Conference.

It’s bad enough they insist on forcing our members to pay extra money to the union unnecessarily every month, but to compound that by now risking squandering thousands of pounds of members subs on a vanity conference is unforgiveable.

We hope PCS members will see through their façade and false indignation, and remember the damage they continue to seek to do to our union’s reputation and standing.

click here to receive our WhatsApp notifications – https://chat.whatsapp.com/JTXI9Wk3cNGGuUKTFRRd2B

News broke on 20 November confirming that PCS had won a 10 year long legal battle against a decision of the then Coalition Government to withdraw the check off method whereby Union members subs were deducted directly from their pay by the employer. The full story can be read here.

https://www.pcs.org.uk/news-events/news/pcs-wins-historic-battle-against-government-departments-supreme-court

The significance of this victory should not be underestimated. Although a legal victory it was the result of a united and determined campaign by members and activists and the union leadership, first under General Secretary Mark Serwotka and latterly his successor Fran Heathcote.

This case arose from the Tory/Lib Dem government’s attempt to bankrupt and break PCS, an attack that continued for years, and which the Union defeated, emerging stronger.    

The attack was political and carried out because the Union refused to bow down to the pensions sellout of 2011-12 and continued to fight on industrially, and also because it advocated not just resistance but a political alternative to Austerity.  

The campaign over many years of painstaking work from reps and members from all corners of the Union was a model in Union Organising. Many elements of this were soon taken up by other Unions in their organising work.  

The legal strategy is never an easy option to pursue. Court judgements are rarely in favour of Trade Unions and workers. Under the direction of senior officer Paul O’Connor though a long and hard legal battle has been comprehensively won.

Accompanying the attack on Check Off payments were attacks on Trade Union facility time for our reps particularly time off to attend Union Conferences and for Organising work. Undeterred many of our reps simply continued with these activities in their own time and using their annual leave.  

In 2014 a secret “Union busting in HMRC” document, leaked to PCS, also emerged which prepared and carried out the complete withdrawal without notice of all facility time off for seven leading activists in the Group including the Group President Lorna Merry and national Vice President Kevin McHugh. Through the work of reps on the ground in HMRC Group with support from the National Union that attack was successfully repelled along with short lived attempts to build a scab breakaway Union in that Department.  

We won’t be returning to the Check Off system but should be due significant compensation of millions of pounds from this Supreme Court judgement. Following a previous successful legal judgement against the DWP, the NEC at the time put most of this money into the Fighting Fund which laid the financial foundations for supporting members taking paid targeted Industrial Action in the first phase of our National Campaign at the end of 2022.  

Under the strategic leadership and direction of a Democracy Alliance led NEC together with the efforts and determination of our staff and all of our reps this is a success story for our Union in which we can all take pride.   

Between 28th October and 12th November, I supported the PCS members of the security officers on Strike against G4S.

Their last pay offer was an insulting 32 pence per hour above the national living wage with, hardly, any sick pay. But it did not prevent them from voting by 84% to reject the pay offer, and by 89% for more strike action.

The workers have, already, taken 41 days strike action in their dispute, resulting in jobcentres being closed and a reduced service being offered in others.

In London, I supported numerous amazing picket lines outside the Cabinet Office, South Colonnade Building in Canary Wharf and 10 Victoria Street.

I had to rise at 5.30 am each morning and travel down to the picket lines from Potters Bar in Hertfordshire, before starting work.

The attendance outside the Cabinet Office was enormous and solid with plenty of loud music, blowing of whistles and dancing.

We had support from quite a few Labour MPs including John McDonnell, the Labour MP and former Chair of the PCS Parliamentary Committee who condemned the appalling way that the security officers had been treated by the government according to their pay, terms and conditions, especially their sick pay. He added that the new Labour government has promised in – sourcing and must do so as soon as possible.

At Canary Wharf, the picket lines were well attended. It revealed that the legacy of the camaraderie of the Dockers is alive and well of which is a great inspiration to us all!

Left Unity will continue to support the struggle of all security officers and cleaners in the commercial sector. We encourage them to be active in PCS Union at local, departmental and national level. It is Left Unity’s aim to ensure that all cleaners and security officers are adequately represented in branch, regional, group, and national executive committees.

Let us campaign to improve the pay, terms and conditions of all cleaners and security officers.

An injury to one is an injury to us all in Left Unity as well as PCS!

Solidarity

Austin Harney

Supporters of the so-called “NEC Majority” attempted to pass a series of cuts to PCS budgets and services at the NEC meeting held on 7^th November.

Supporters of the coalition tabled proposals to:

• Impose real terms cuts to every budget in the union by setting a 0% increase.
• To impose further cuts to overspent budgets including the conference budget, legal services budget, membership benefits and our benevolent fund.
• To freeze the pay of PCS staff by setting a 0% budget increase. 
• In language reminiscent of George Osborne the ‘NEC Majority’ attempted to force budget holders to ‘identify waste and find savings’ to budgets. 
• Impose austerity on the union’s own budget and to tear up the financial objectives democratically agreed at ADC in May of this year.
• Block a subscriptions increase of 17p in 2025 in favour of continuing to collect the Levy. A subs freeze will mean that we need to cut our services by £1.3M next year.

Our General Secretary, Fran Heathcote, had to intervene to prevent these cuts taking place and to move an alternative budget that was balanced, and which protected members services. A final decision will be taken on the budget at the next NEC scheduled for December.  

Left Unity members at the meeting expressed outrage and anger at the proposals, pointing out that the language being used by NEC Majority supporters used to justify their proposals was the same as that used by Tories when imposing cuts on public services and attacking PCS members.

Our supporters pointed out that a political choice to impose budget cuts would mean union services are cut. Critical budgets, including legal services, member benefits, the benevolent fund and Group and Branch funds would all need to be reduced and that funding in these areas is  already over stretched. Cutting them would be a disaster for members.    

In a rare moment of honesty, an Independent Left supporter made clear that their proposals were designed to create chaos and to attack Fran, the first woman leader of our union.

Why won’t the ‘NEC Majority’ suspend the levy?

At the same meeting Democracy Alliance members on the National Executive Committee put forward a proposal for the immediate suspension of the Levy. PCS members are currently paying £5 or £3 per month into the Levy which was devised for the National Campaign under the leadership of the Left Unity majority NEC in 2023. It was designed to support PCS members taking targeted strike action in support our demands. Over £5M was raised at that point and £6.8M paid to striking PCS members.

Our position is that, given no targeted industrial action is currently taking place or is likely to be called in the near future, that continuing to collect the Levy is ludicrous. Members and activists are quite rightly asking why money is continuing to be collected in those circumstances. 

The NEC meeting received evidence that what was once a popular method of collecting funds to support strike action in support of clear demands delivered by a clear plan is now increasingly subject to criticism from members and activists.     

Based on that evidence – and evidence from Group Executive Committees and Branches showing strong support for suspension of the Levy – Left Unity members, and our comrades in the PCS Democrats, moved to suspend the Levy with immediate effect.

We were disappointed, but not surprised, that despite winning a majority vote, the motion was blocked by supporters of the so-called NEC Majority, as there wasn’t a two-thirds majority in favour of revisiting the decision.

Unbelievably, the same people who had claimed that members could not afford a subscriptions increase of 17p were determined to continue to collect a much higher payment into a Levy that they are not intending to use.

The truth is clear

PCS members were promised a change in direction by the “Coalition” when it gained a small majority on the NEC in May.

Left Unity has consistently argued that the change that would actually be delivered would be  damaging to both the union and our members.

After a series of embarrassing u-turns since May, and the increasingly hostile and personalised attacks on our National President and General Secretary, this latest attempt to hamstring the union is surely their lowest point yet.

Left Unity will continue to demand the levy be paused, and remain totally committed to a socialist programme of building our union, and delivering for members.

We urge every activist or member of PCS, who genuinely cares about our union, to work with us to bring back some order, and place our members needs and the services we provide, at the top of our agenda.

click here to receive our WhatsApp notifications – https://chat.whatsapp.com/JTXI9Wk3cNGGuUKTFRRd2B