Over 40 Years CS Union Representative, NEC 2007 – 2022, Registers of Scotland (RoS) Secretary responsible for Pay & Departmental Bargaining, Scotland Executive Co-Convenor, Scottish Devolved Sector Group President – lead lay negotiator devolved Scotland Pay arrangements 2023-2025 (10% increase, 35hr week, no redundancies). I’m a Socialist, member of Left Unity, the Scottish Socialist Party and a Democracy Alliance candidate.

National Campaign Strategy

The original National Campaign Ballot in 2022, gained huge support from many devolved Scottish Bargaining areas, after that ballot, when the NEC wrote to respective Governments on coming to the bargaining table over National Campaign issues, the Scottish Government did, Westminster did not. This is the only difference between Westminster and Scottish bargaining at that time, the Tories don’t recognise trade unions, Scottish Government are prepared to bargain. This playing field has been levelled with the election of a Labour Government. They will have to negotiate, this gives PCS the opportunity to exert more industrial leverage.

The original strategy of the NEC served us well, although not directly impacted by targeted action in the devolved Scottish Sector, throughout the course of bargaining Scottish Ministers became aware of the successful targeted actions taking place in Westminster Departments and when punctuated with the very successful all member action in Scotland with mass pickets at many Scottish Departments and massive rally’s on all member strike days, this gave us leverage for, first, a Supplementary Pay Offer for Devolved Scottish members and thereafter two year pay arrangements delivering a 10% pay increase, generally 2 hours off the working week and no-compulsory redundancies through to 31 March 2025.

Politically Motivated Sabotage

Members overwhelmingly voted for the 2022 Supplementary Pay offer and the 2023 to 2025 pay offer, which they obviously felt were acceptable results of bargaining. This was despite the politically motivated posturing of BLN, who proposed targeted action of 5000 members in one area for a prolonged period, which would have depleted the entire National Levy in weeks, also calling over a 1-year period on the NEC for over 20 days of unpaid all member action. They actively campaigned in Scotland to vote against the 2022 Supplementary Offer, which was a retrospective offer with the ballot taking place after the end of the 2022 financial year. The only outcome of voting no would have been to gift several million pounds of additional money added to the previous financial year back to Scottish Government depriving all members bellow the Grade of HEO backpay with inflation at 10%.

After Campaigning against the 2022 Supplementary Pay offer, BLN made no comment, gave no recommendation on the 2023 to 2025 Scottish Government Pay Offer of 10%, 2 hours off the working week with no compulsory redundancies through to 31 March 2025. They effectively did not recognise an offer based on the original NEC National Campaign Strategy, secured with a Left Unity lead lay rep in negotiations.

This is what you get, when politically funded factions in PCS, put their political agenda before doing a job of work for members! Members pay, which is precisely what is happening with the Levy.

Civil Servants face major challenges:-

The new Labour Governments weak intervention in public services using partial Keynesianism to support public services, without properly investing in public sector pay (which circulates in the economy stimulating growth), cannot succeed because it does not address the UK wealth divide. Any decent Government would have started in terms of the Civil Service by fixing the broken Civil Service pay systems where AA’s and AO’s are paid the same pay for different graded jobs.

Scottish Government pledged “Pay Restoration”, however since 2016 when they started that journey – blew it all in one year of high inflation in 2022. We demand Pay restoration over a reasonable period of time. Not on the never, never!

We will need the LEVY, to fund action, which should be PAUSED NOW! Only resumed to support members taking targeted action when we again achieve that mandate for action.

Please nominate and vote for Democracy Alliance Candidates in the coming NEC Elections!