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)