Three things to do - you know you want to

PCS annual delegate conference is over for 2011.

Here are three things fior you to do:

Vote yes in the national stike ballot

Read our new pamphlet on defending the welfare state

Sign up for texts and email alerts from PCS

Unite leader joins PCS delegates for final morning of conference

Len McClusky - recently elected general secreatry of Unite - was given a standing ovation by PCS delegates after praising his hosts for fighting hard against government cuts.

Len McClusky and PCS leader Mark Serrwotka signed a memorandum pledging the unions to work together.

Read the full text of the agreement

Unite has members in the private and public sector - including the civil service - on Britain and in Ireland.

Follow PCS on Twitter

Read conference reports on the PCS website

Pamphlet on a vision for the welfare state to be launched this evening

WHERE: Brighton Centre, Kings Road, Brighton, BN1 2GR.

WHEN: 5.30pm, Thursday 19 May (today).

 

PCS is launching a pamphlet on the need to defend and strengthen the welfare state.

The 24-page booklet will be unveiled at a public meeting in Brighton next week – during PCS’s conference in the city.

The aim is to arm activists with the information needed to campaign against attacks on benefits – and to put forward ideas for the future of the welfare state.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: “It’s the mark of a civilised society to support people when they are in need, whether they are ill, disabled or unemployed. Welfare is there to provide a decent existence.

“Coming from the South Wales valleys and working in a DHSS office I saw the importance of the social security system before my eyes every day.”

Mark is speaking at the launch event with Labour MP John McDonnell, chair of the PCS parliamentary group, and Linda Burnip from Disabled People Against Cuts.

The meeting is open to everybody and is in the Brighton Centre, Kings Road, Brighton, BN1 2GR, at 5.30pm on Thursday 19 May.

The booklet – called ‘Welfare: an alternative vision’ - will be available to download from Friday 20 May at pcs.org.uk/welfare

Thursday lunchtime

PCS annual delegate conference 2011 in Brighton breaks for lunch.

Afternoon debates will cover pay, environmental issues and organisation, structures and services. Follow @pcs_union on twitter for the latest updates.

You can also join the PCS Union Members Facebook group - even if you are not a PCS member.

Detailed report of Wednesday afternoon at conference

Detailed report of Wednesday morning at conference

Conference information on PCS website

Detailed report on Wednesday afternoon at PCS annual delegate conference 2011

Equality

Sarah Hills of PCS Revenue and Customs West Wales moved motion A22 which said this conference believes that the coalition government has attacked working people by refusing to enact the socio economic duty from the Equality Act 2010.

She said: “This government has sought from its inception to remove any legislation that stands in its way. They think we won’t notice but they’ve forgotten we’ve got unions everywhere and we are watching and we will challenge them.”

Austin Harney of MOJ Public Guardian Office seconded the motion. He said: “We thought with this government we would see the long-term erosion of services for the vulnerable in society, but this is already happening at an accelerating rate.

“This government is discriminating against the most vulnerable in society. These cuts are racist and disability discriminatory, they are homophobic and sexist. Sooner or later we’re going to be talking about strikes against discrimination.

Motion A265 calls for a campaign against the Stricter Benefit Regime (SBR), particularly where it is targeted at disabled people and other minorities.

Andy Lawson of DWP North London branch spoke to the motion. He said: “Cuts affecting everyone everywhere in a joined-up attack on equality in every way shape or form. These attacks will decimate communities up and down the country.

“We must campaign publically to build for biggest possible strike on 30 June against these cuts.”
PCS vice president Sue Bond said on behalf of the national executive that the union must lobby to get the socio-economic clause of the Equality Act 2010 enacted as we face the worst cuts in pub spending since 1934” and make it part of our national campaign towards possible national strike action on 30 June.

Sue Catten of DWP East London moved the motion calling for joint work with other unions, Labour MPs and anti-cuts campaigns to place Equality and Human Rights Commission management under public pressure to take enforcement action against public authorities and make them adhere to statutory equality duties.

“This Tory-led government claims to want a fairer Britain but we are not fooled and recognise that the Institue of Fiscal Studies is a greater truth-teller who announced cuts will put a further 300,000 people into poverty,” she said.

“Thatcher turbo-charged inequality, Labour pulled it back but now we must expect another hyper-rise.
“It is right we unite with our political allies to fight these cuts.”

John Moloney  of DfT London and HQ regions who seconded the motion said the Labour movement should be committed to the fight for a fairer and more egalitarian society.

David Sherman of DVLA Chelmsford said: “David Cameron has a name for the increase in discrimination, he calls this the Big Society. We have had a big society in this country before one which bares very little to what Cameron was talking about.

"When we introduced old age pensions, that was the big society in action, nationalisation of the coal industry,that was the big society in action, when we introduced the National Health Service that was the big society in action.

“Legislation to ensure people could not be discriminated against was the big society in action, all headed by the union movement. Frankly we don’t need the lovechild of Margaret Thatcher and Lord Snooty to lecture us on the Big Society.  We are part of the movement that built and not part of the movement that killed it.”

Fidel Mclean from DWP Lambeth and Southwark said the cuts would create economic and racial apartheid.

“The government’s prejudiced beliefs are becoming more apparent by the day.”

Zita Holbourne NEC proposed the motion which called for facility time for all PCS equality reps to become a statutory right.

“Government attacks on pensions, services and communities have a disproportionate impact on the vulnerable. Cuts are deepening in equality in work and the wider community and have a devastating impact,” she said.

“PCS equalities structures have been at the forefront of many of the union’s campaign. It is essential to carry out this important work that equalities reps have facility time.”

Alex Rutherford of HMRC Quorum branch seconded the motion and said: “People are being sacked for what makes them different. I will not stand back and watch the condemolition of what we have worked for.”

Alex Rutherford of HMRC Quorom branch moved the motion that called for the end of the National Blood Service’s discriminatory policies banning men who have ever had sex with men from making donations.

He said: “This is not a policy for public protection but one that discriminates against a section of the community.

“The National Blood Service should not be stigmatising whole sections of the community on the grounds of public health. It does nothing.”

Ian Crossland of Calderdale and Kirklees branch and a PCS Proud rep said the policy is: “Homophobic and bi-phobic hate crime at its worse.  I take offence on behalf of the millions of healthy men. Many groups promoting safe sex face are under threat by this government.”

John Moloney  of DfT London proposed the motion which called for the Archibald ruling that judged the dismissal of a cleaner Mrs Archibald was unfair because following minor surgery she was unable to do her manual job and that reasonable adjustments are made by employers in such circumstances.

John called for the union to make sure the Archibald ruling is carried out across the whole of the civil service.

Peter Doughty moved the motion which called for Welsh speakers to be recognised as a separate group for equality audit purposes and guaranteed a voice on the main Welsh PCS committee.

He said: “The Welsh language is an ancient Celtic language spoken on these shoes long before English, and is very much a living language. Welsh people are proud of their language as it?s seen as an identity symbol with their nation.”

John Waters of Bridgend/Rhondda/Cynon Taff branch opposed the motion as fundamentally flawed.
Fiona Williams of MoD Birmingham and District branch was against the motion because there were more than 20 different dialects in the Welsh language and she was not sure such a policy would work.

Dominic McFadden opposed the motion on behalf of the national executive, said PCS supported dual language in Wales and that there was no evidence there was an issue. The motion was lost.

Awards

Three members were awarded the honorary distinguished life membership award at the conference. Jim Park of Edinburgh Revenue and Customs as well as Christine Chorlton who said the accolade was “as a socialist and trade unionist, the greatest award I could receive.”

Active in the field of pensions, she worked on the finance committee and founded the women’s group. She told delegates that in the early days of her union membership she was spurred on to become more active after her employer at the time to drop all union activity, which she said only made her keener.

The third winner of the award was the late John Macreadie  – a major figure in trade union development. Formerly the deputy general secretary of the CPSA, forerunner of PCS, he was described by Janice Godrich as having “unshakeable socialist principles and inspired hundreds of activists including myself.”

Motions

While health and safety (H&S) has in recent times been the butt of many jokes in the media, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is currently facing a massive and daunting challenge to their operations with the threat of a 35% budget cut looming.

Moving motion A551, the HSE branch told delegates that accidents at work cost Britain some £3.7 billion yet London has more traffic wardens than the UK has H&S inspectors. “Protecting workers from death and injury is a moral obligation.”

Alex Parson of the National Archives, seconding the motion, highlighted that this would not be about opposing cuts in any single organisation, but across the entire public service. Instead a withdrawal of the government’s decision to reduce the budget would result in the continuation of funding the right to work in safe environment.

Commercial services members

Following a video shown to conference profiling a range of members from the commercial sector showing how they benefit from union membership, assistant general secretary Chris Baugh moved motion A32 on behalf of the NEC.

There are commercial sector members of PCS across 123 separate contracts, he told delegates, working in catering, office support and security among others. “We have a direct material need to prevent workers being used to drive down conditions for all PCS members. We want to draw up and agree a protocol between groups and branches,” he said.

Seconding was Alistair Maxwell from Glasgow branch, of Siemens. He cited commercial services group successes including the PCS bargaining unit campaign for pay rises and talked about the ongoing challenges of pay freezes following TUPE transfers as well as the issue of the replacement of employees by agency staff.

Fran Heathcote from DWP Northumbria, supporting the motion, said plans to organise workers in the private sector combined with previous victories at the bargaining table and gains in membership – and more to come due to the privatisation programme set out by government – will only see commercial services membership grow.

Vice president John McInally, of the NEC, moved motion A34 and spoke about the “grotesque greed and inequality” displayed by some of the richest companies in the world. “If every worker earned 20% of the bosses’ salaries at [some IT companies], every PCS member would become a millionaire in two years”, he said.

PCS has been embroiled in a dispute with Capita for six months pushing for the living wage rate. John promised to conduct research on companies, publish living wage status reports and find out their AGM dates and send trained activists along.

HP Northern, Yorkshire and Humberside spoke on motion A35: “We don’t want to see members unemployed by having their jobs transferred by offshoring. We could take legal recourse, but how can we if they’re located abroad. This is a major deficiency in TUPE law.

Fujitsu members however asked for the remission of the motion, asking the NEC to reconsider tactics to achieve the motion’s aims. TUPE was not the correct weapon to combat the threat of offshoring, he said.

Communication awards

Best branch newsletter was won by CPS Northern branch because of it’s eye-catching design, useful statistics and health and safety information, among others. Judges also said it was well researched and lots of effort had gone into its production.

The best use of e-communications award went to DWP Edinburgh branch. The judges said its electronic communications was well laid out and contained lots of useful, regularly-updated information on a range of issues, reflecting pertinent issues. Kevin Fallon – who designs and maintains the site – collected the award.

Best photo went to Peter Soult and best article to Eddy Nixon.

Financial report

Chris Baugh presented the financial report. He said “finances form the sinews of war”, and if you think of this in terms of the impending cuts and the associated industrial battles ahead, this adage becomes very relevant.

Despite a decline over the last 12 months in membership, finances compare favourably with other unions. It was more vital than ever, he said, to raise money to alleviate the hardship of members who take industrial action.

We’ll reduce where necessary all areas of union expenditure” he said and the union would “take corrective measures to balance expend and income.”

Finance

Motion A36 was moved by Paul Tillier of Revenues and Customs, Bradford and District who described the motion as “radical, aspirational but cautious in approach.”

Mike Frisby of the Met Police, Central London who seconded the motion said members had approached him personally to say they can’t afford to take time off work to strike. “What do we want? We want people on picket lines. We don’t want go back to passing a bucket round at meetings”, he told delegates.

Jane Aitchison of DWP Leeds branch opposed the motion. “Yes, we’re going to take more strike action on 30 June and beyond but we need to recruit more members”, she said. “I don’t believe increasing subscriptions during a pay freeze would work.”

Charlie McDonald, DWP east London, requested for  remission or opposition to the motion adding that people should pay the same proportion of their salary to subscriptions and that increasing the proposed amount from 06% to 1% of members’ salary was simply too much to ask.

Dee Luxford of Sussex branch stressed that the motion asked for consultation with members about whether they want increase subscriptions. “Passing this motion should mean we go back and ask members how this should be done”, she said. The motion was remitted.

Gerry Lyons of Revenues and Customs, North London, moving motion A37, said many staff in his department earn less than £20,000 a year so striking is a worry – they say they can’t afford it. “We need a permanent fund our members can contribute to all year round. We must use every means at our disposal to oppose cuts and if that means paying for low paid members on strike then this is what we should do.”

Lee Rock of DWP Sheffield seconding the motion added simply: “We have a choice – stand up and fight or sit back and take job losses. This is a fight not of our making. We’ve entered into it.”

There was opposition from Ashley Galliers – “don’t inflict more hardship on members suffering already” – as well as from Dave Vincent of the Ministry of Justice, Manchester: “No-one’s addressed the logistics.

Reps would have to badger members for money. It will drive people away”, he said. The motion was lost.

Motions were passed unless otherwise stated

Conference arrangements and resolutions (in standing orders committee reports)
PCS and equality
PCS at the Equality and Human Rights Commission
PCS in Wales
PCS health and safety advice

Detailed report of Wednesday morning at conference

President's address to conference

PCS national president Janice Godrich opened her speech with details of the government’s planned erosion of public sector services. “The Tory-Lib Dem government had just taken up office when we met this time last year at conference.

“That marked the beginning of a phoney war – in which we saw unprecedented cuts to public services, which have been the subject of a relentless attack,” she said.

Citing statistics to highlight the extent of public sector job cuts she added: “If they get their way, they’ll be hardly anything left of public services. It’s a systematic attack on the welfare state.”

The case that has been built by trade unions against current and planned public spending cuts, she said: “Has exposed myths upon which their programme is based. It’s lies, its lies, it’s lies”.

And the government’s decision to drastically cut public sector spending is in danger of reviving Thatcher’s era where the “needs of the small elite come before workers and their families” Janice told delegates.

The union has accordingly stepped up the pace of the work and the need to join with other organisations to meet the challenge of fighting the cuts.

“Cameron spoke about building a ‘coalition for change’,” she said. “Last year we began building our own ‘coalition for change’ alongside our sister unions.”

Janice had praise for other organisations helping to fight cuts – the direct action campaign group, UK Uncut received a special mention – as well as other unions.

Janice praised the “fantastic role” played by general secretary Mark Serwotka during the last year, highlighting his appearance on BBC television’s Question Time which “inspired millions and ‘trended’ on Twitter worldwide.”

Finally, she paid tribute to reps who helped organise for the TUC ‘March for the alternative’ on 26 March – in which half a million people came out to demonstrate against government cuts – and called for further action, urging delegates to take heed of those involved in the recent uprisings across the Middle East.

She hoped this joint action would be replicated in the planned PCS industrial action on 30 June. “Everybody should have the freedom to live in a decent home and have access to a good job and a good school. That’s what our vote is about.”

Annual report

General secretary Mark Serwotka echoed the need to join with others in fighting the cuts. “It’s absolutely pivotal we work with other unions,” something PCS will endorse on 30 June. “We want to carry on building alliances locally and nationally.”

In his presentation of the annual report, Mark emphasised the crucial timing of the conference. “We meet at perhaps the most important conference this union has ever had and is likely to have.

“The scale of attacks by government on workers and families is breathtaking in scale. What the Tories and Lib Dems are doing is not only brutal but counterproductive.” He asked delegates: “Are we going to let it happen or are we going to stand up and fight like never before?”

In terms of facing the challenges ahead, Mark said: “We’re in good heart as the union has brilliant activists and members who are up to defending their communities.” Promising that the union would show “absolute determination” to protect members from public sector cuts, he praised the work of PCS reps for their “outstanding” work.

“We’re blessed with the best activists anywhere in the trade union movement. “The NEC respects everything you do,” he said.

He promised ongoing support for those members who have already suffered redundancy or pay freezes as a result of the cuts. To show solidarity with these members, Mark announced the decision by the PCS senior management team taken last week to take a pay freeze themselves “in recognition of the pay freeze our members are enduring.”

He highlighted several successes of the year, including challenges to unfair employment policies by central government department members.

He mentioned the Driving Standards Agency victory in their fight against privatisation and the HMRC strike actions over “Draconian” sickness absence policy.

He concluded with a battle cry: “Will we be the generation that looks back and says we lost jobs and services and saw society disintegrate? Or were we part of generation that fought back, that didn’t let Osborne get away with daylight robbery and which was proud to fight?

If we rise to the challenge and remember that we are many and they are few this will be an unforgettable era in our history. If we fail it’ll mark the bleakest period.

“Let’s get to work and defeat this government’s agenda. We’ve got a big job ahead of us”, he told delegates.

Protecting public services and pensions

Moving the NEC’s emergency motion to move to industrial action over jobs, pensions and pay, Mark said: “Think what we could win if we stand together and with other unions. We can win – we need to get maximum turnout and a maximum ‘yes’ vote for 30 June.

"We’re saying to Cameron, Clegg and Osborne: we’re not going away. We’ll fight tooth and nail to fight what we’ve fought for for generations.”

Richard Rooney, Met Police, supported the motion with a personal anecdote: “My son saw the prime minister and asked ‘is that the man who shut my library?’ That’s what kids are thinking. It’s affecting the kids. Politicians don’t care. We care. We’re not giving up.”

Also in support of the motion, Michael Kavanagh  of the Land Registry said: “It’s a naive standpoint to say there’s room for negotiation. Hundreds of members in my office are facing redundancy.

"It’s clear to everyone that government is wedded to the Hutton recommendations and it’ll take more than words to divert them from that course.”

Seconding the motion, Clive Bryant of Worthing HMRC branch  spoke with gusto about the pride he felt on seeing coaches full of members go to London on last March’s ‘March for the alternative.’

“It was a stunning and proud day,” he told delegates. “More than 50% of people in Worthing work for the public sector. We welcome the motion and we welcome the action plan for branches, groups and regions. We must take the message back to the branches.”

Moving motion A2 DfT DVLA Swansea said the scale and nature of the cuts programme, means “to hell with caution, we’ve got to go for it!”

“In March, we took part in the biggest march ever organised by the British trade union movement,” he said.

“The mantra to take forward from that is: ‘we marched together, now we’ve got to strike together.”

He urged delegates to go back to their branches from the conference with confidence to win the vote.

Seconding the motion Revenues and Customs Benton Park View argued: “Cuts are not necessary or inevitable. The government is creating a division between us and them.”

Factors such as “asset stripping our economy” by PFI initiatives and privatisation are exacerbating the problem. This motion shows what needs to be done to get back on track.”

PSg Registers of Scotland moved motion A3. “We’re creating our own ‘Big society’ by joining forces. Together we’re stronger. The livelihoods of all trade unionists are in jeopardy.”

Seconded by Derek Thomson of DWP Glasgow Benefits centre, he told delegates: “The economical argument put forward to justify the cuts makes no sense. This is a fundamental ideological attack on the public sector.  We need to continually put forward a strong and unified agenda against cuts. Let’s agitate!”

John Davison of Revenues and Customs, East Kilbride moved motion A7 by giving a first-hand perspective of a government contact centre worker.

Quoting the recorded message often heard on contact centre lines ‘I’m sorry there’s a fault’ John told delegates: “The fault lies with the appalling way call centre workers are treated by bosses. Despite progress made, he said there is still ‘oppressive monitoring’, high stress, repetitive work and little protection from abusive callers. On average people spend just two years working in the industry.”

Seconded by DWP Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, who congratulated DWP on their recent strike action, he emphasised the need to improve conditions. “Staff turnover, sickness and stress is the highest in
the DWP. No-one wants to be timed to go to the toilet.”

Motion A17, was moved by Alan Dennis  on behalf ofthe NEC. “When the ConDem government came to power, one of their first tasks was to review civil service administration. We were not consulted, despite being stakeholders. Mutualisation represents privatisation.”

He said there had been no consideration by government of alternatives.” A ballot follows next week on the government mutualisation scheme ‘myCSP’.

Rob Bower from MOD Cheadle Hulme seconded the motion. He said industrial action would be the last resort but sometimes there’s no choice when faced with “moronic and ideologically-wrong politicians.”

All motion passed unless stated.

Conference arrangements and resolutions (in standing orders committee reports)

Coastguard climbdown is a 'body blow' for government - Mark Serwotka

PCS press release

Public and Commercial Services union general secretary Mark Serwotka has described the apparent climbdown over coastguard cuts as a "body blow" for the government and further evidence of what can be achieved by community campaigning.

Speaking as the union meets in Brighton for its annual conference, and a day after delegates voted to ballot a quarter of a million civil and public servants for a strike over cuts to jobs, pensions and pay, Mark said:

"This is a body blow for the government which is reeling from the force of public outrage at ill-thought out plans to slash the life-saving support that coastguards provide.

"It is not yet clear what any new proposals will include and there are still battles to be won to maintain  vital local services that our members provide 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. We would expect new plans to be subject to proper consultation and negotiation.

"The campaign against these cuts has been inspirational and I am proud of the part our reps and members have played in it. Now is the time to keep up the pressure and show the government we remain united, strong and determined to defeat these cuts."

It's has been reported this morning that some of the closures have been stopped.

PCS in the Department of Transport and related agencies