PCS conference votes for more joint action against cuts

Delegates at the Public and Commercial Services union's annual conference this morning (23rd May) voted in favour of further joint-union national strike action at the end of June against cuts to pensions, pay and jobs.

While the focus in the last year has been on pensions, delegates agreed to step up opposition to job cuts and the public sector pay freeze.

As well as organising joint national strikes, the union will hold coordinated targeted industrial action in employer groups and sectors, and other protests and political campaigns.

The conference noted that unions representing the majority of staff in the civil service, health and education have now refused the government's latest 'final offer' on pensions and agreed to:

press the Trades Union Congress for closer coordination of unions on campaigning and industrial action, and to demand that the government negotiates on the core pensions issues of paying more and working longer for less in retirement.
continue to build a new joint union campaign, called '68 is too late', in opposition to increases in the state pension age.
fully support the TUC demonstration against austerity planned for the autumn.
fully support community campaigns, protests and peaceful civil disobedience against the cuts by groups such as UK Uncut, Occupy, welfare campaigners and those campaigning against the inequality of cuts.

In a national consultation ballot of PCS members which ended on 16 March, 90.5% of respondents rejected the proposals for a new pension scheme and, in the largest vote for action in any national ballot the union has held, 72.1% said they supported further industrial action alongside other unions.