Defending civil service jobs

NEW LABOUR'S civil service cuts programme is in crisis. Up to seventy civil service IT projects have received secret "red warnings" (potentially set to fail) according to the Public Accounts Committee. This is on top of the computer failures that have so far occurred - Tax Credits payments, immigration and national insurance records, Criminal Records Bureau and in the Child Support Agency and Jobcentre Plus.

John McInally, Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) National Executive Committee, personal capacity

When Gordon Brown announced 104,000 civil service job cuts last year, he was warned by PCS that his programme would result in service delivery failures. His 'modernisation' programme is based on driving out 'inefficiency' by installing new IT systems, centralising processes and setting up call centre networks. Also, encouraging use of electronic communication while reducing frontline services, slashing and privatising 'backroom' functions, office closures, relocation of work and privatisation.

All this is being driven by a government of 'enterprise' junkies who are hooked on an anti-public sector neo-liberal agenda that, despite all the evidence to the contrary, asserts the private sector delivers best.

New Labour is encouraging its private sector friends to enrich themselves by fleecing taxpayers of hundreds of millions of pounds for providing computer systems that are riddled with problems, and which allows them to rake in millions more to put them right.

'Consultants' are paid hundreds of millions to provide useless 'reports' stating the blindingly obvious. One such company recently pocketed £1 million from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) by "revealing" staff needed to be better trained - a fact pointed out for free by PCS when management were warned cutting training provision would cause problems. You couldn't make it up!

Hardworking and committed civil servants bear the brunt of New Labour's failing strategy. In Jobcentres reports of assaults and abusive behaviour aimed at staff are increasing as services are reduced or cut altogether: Brown doesn't seem to understand it is people, not computers that provide services. In the Ministry of Defence a programme of mass privatisation is under way. While the impact of cuts is uneven across the civil service, virtually no one is exempt from their effects.

Ideological assault

To fight these attacks it is necessary to understand they are not based on whim, nor merely designed to "shoot the Tory fox" prior to the general election. The assault is ideological and intrinsically linked to the wider neo-liberal agenda that Blair and Brown are promoting.

All the main parties support the cuts. They are political in nature but can be defeated by building the strongest possible alliance of PCS, other unions and associated organisations, including those with a stake in preserving and improving public services.

The real battle is between the vast majority of society who require efficient well-run publicly owned public services and the private sector ideologues who, like Thatcher, believe there is no such thing as society and profit should rule supreme, even in provision of those vital services which set minimum standards for civilised life.

The analysis set out by the Left Unity-led PCS national executive, under the leadership of general secretary, Mark Serwotka and president, Janice Godrich is being confirmed almost daily - rather than improvements, the cuts programme is driving services to decline and destruction.

Civil servants are being radicalised. The cuts programme is accompanied by vicious assaults on terms and conditions and underpinned by an ideological offensive conducted by Blair's press allies that seeks to denigrate public sector workers.

The easy part is over for Brown, the loss of 13, 000 jobs in DWP, for example, has been mainly achieved by turnover, as staff go for jobs elsewhere. An operation that is clearly heading for big problems.

Increasingly workers understand that the chances of receiving redundancy "packages" is not on the agenda. The plan is to drive staff out by making their working life unbearable.

However these cuts are coming at a terrible price in terms of operational difficulties that, along with increasing staffing shortages, is plunging large areas of the civil service into crisis.

Workloads are dramatically increasing, stress is of epidemic proportions, management are instituting punitive application of absence and sickness procedures, morale is at rock bottom.

In areas where the cuts are hitting hardest, ministers and officials are in a state of denial about the chaos, which will grow if they continue on their present course.

The facts behind the cuts

AT A lobby of parliament on 14 July, the PCS branch covering Hastings, East Sussex listed examples of the rising workload and stress leading to an erosion of services. These are extracts:

Computer failures mean staff have to deal with benefit claims manually. Information has been lost from the computer records. This leads to delays and frustration for staff and clients.

The contact centre is losing staff due to stress. Staff are not being replaced. And all casual staff have been sacked. Management are talking of not taking on any more staff until September. There is a bullying management culture.

Management are no longer publishing the office performance figures because they are so poor - recently there was one day where 300 calls were taken but 1,500 were lost!

There is only one incapacity adviser for the whole of Hastings and Bexhill. There is no leave or absence cover. Interviews are being deferred, so there is no help for the most vulnerable.

There is only one trained under-18 adviser in post.

Benefit processing staff have to leave phones unanswered to get on with processing claims. Frustrated clients are more likely to take it out on staff.

The PCS fightback

PCS is campaigning on all fronts against the cuts - Parliamentary, legal, media, alliance building with other unions and organisations.

The union organised the biggest civil service day of action in history on 5 November last year and, as a result, won important concessions on avoidance of redundancy and fought off attacks on sickness provision. PCS also drove the campaign for public-sector unity that resulted in a humiliating climb-down by Blair over pensions.

PCS has become a by-word for campaigning trade unionism and Mark Serwotka is arguably the best-known and respected general secretary amongst workers looking for a fight-back against New Labour's pro-market policies.

Blair has promised a "fresh start" on pensions and job cuts - a claim viewed, correctly, with some caution. Blair and Brown now have an opportunity to make good on their promise in relation to job cuts and review the destructive "efficiency agenda" which must be halted until any "modernisation" plans are properly thought out with full input from PCS and other unions.

PCS will continue to do all it can to protect members' interests by discussion and negotiation. Members expect nothing less. But, if no progress is made on job cuts, the national pay coherence agenda and pensions, it may be necessary to ballot for more national action.

There are other triggers for national action - if there are compulsory redundancies or if there are office closures that require generalised support action, etc.

The left leadership in PCS is firm on principle, has a clear strategy and is flexible on tactics. Industrial action is one tactic in the wide-ranging campaign. PCS supports any call for industrial action at any level, dependent on progress, or lack of it, in our bargaining agenda.

Action must be deliverable, effective and sustainable and capable of delivering concessions that protect members' interests.

Action in London

PCS at group and national level have given full backing to an industrial action submission from the DWP London region, where the cuts are hitting hard due, partly, to the additional pressures of the relocation strategy.

Management have been forced to negotiate and talks, due to take place on 7 July but suspended due to the bombings, go ahead on 18 July. PCS's aim is to secure concessions for members but if no progress is made then PCS nationally and the DWP Group will lead members in action.

The recent suspension of closures of Medical Examination Centres under pressure from PCS, the Unemployed Workers Combine and service users shows that pressure is mounting over services. Concessions can be won through campaigning and even the threat of industrial action at DWP Harrow brought some welcome if limited concessions.

Last week's national executive agreed to organise a series of regional forums beginning in September.

New Labour has a real opportunity to use its "fresh start" to deliver 'no compulsory redundancy' agreements and to review its overall civil service strategy, if not then the coming period will see an upsurge in resistance and struggle.

PCS members and activists must build the political pressure. The government, on a reduced majority, is under real pressure from its own MPs who increasingly find it difficult to justify the destruction of services in their constituencies.

PCS is working to build the widest possible alliance to protect our vital public services but, more than that, campaign for good quality, properly funded, accessible public services administered by fairly paid and well-trained staff.

Socialist Party national trade union meeting

Saturday 3 September,

11am-4pm, Central London

Agenda:

The trade unions and Labour's third term

Speaker: Peter Taaffe

Building in the unions and the workplace - the Marxist approach.

Speaker: Bill Mullins

Short trade union caucus meetings

There will be a pooled fare. Anybody who needs more information should contact Ken Smith on 020 8988 8778 or Bill Mullins on 020 8988 8764

Brighton: Hands off our housing

Hatfield disaster: bosses walk free

Ted Heath: took on workers and lost

Defending civil service jobs

TGWU delegates defending democracy

Home | The Socialist 21 - 27 July 2005 | Join the Socialist Party

Subscribe | Donate | Bookshop