The Socialist 9 February 2011

Big Society? Big Con!

Big society? ... big con!

Fight the cuts - whoever makes them

Ditch the library cuts

Hands off our forests!

Campaigners reject maternity unit cuts

Billy Bragg helps raise Exeter Anti-Cuts funds

Institute of Directors, bosses' organisation, bares its teeth at unions

Solidarity with the Egyptian masses

Uprising in Egypt - Socialist Party public meetings

EDL racists terrorise Luton

Fast news

National education shutdown needed

PCS young members' network conference

Yorkshire: organising the student movement

Demonstrating against cuts in Grimsby

Volunteering 'plaster' for unemployment

Egypt: Is revolution derailed?

Economic crisis in Greece: Immigrants made scapegoats

Solidarity messages needed for US prison reform activist

Southampton campaigners march in defence of jobs and services

Jobs massacre at Pfizer

Striking against health job cuts

Scottish Unison members oppose leadership's sell-out

Leicester Unison members rally against all cuts

March against the job losses in Greenwich

Unite anti-cuts conference

Woody Sez

Life on the autistic spectrum

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PCS young members' network conference

The civil servants' union, PCS, held its annual Young Members' Forum in Manchester from 4 to 6 February. 75 delegates, 33 of whom were attending their first ever union event, came together from every region.

Nick Parker

Alan Warner, outgoing Young Members' Chair, kicked off by making some remarks about the leading role which PCS young members have played in building the union's campaigns over the last year.

He was followed by Tracy Edwards, National Young Members' Organiser, who explained that the campaigning approach of young members in PCS has spread to other unions.

For example, it forced the TUC to call a demonstration on 29 January to defend young people's rights.

I then gave a short talk about the campaign of PCS in Jobcentre Plus contact centres to defend the conditions of staff. We are regularly forced to put meaningless statistics and arbitrary targets before the interests of the vulnerable people we serve.

It is now likely that a ballot will take place involving all Jobcentre Plus contact centre members. At the end of the weekend, I was proud to announce that over £250 had been raised towards the hardship fund.

There were workshop sessions including representing members in personal cases, a history of trade unionism in the civil service and how to build a community campaign.

There were also plenary sessions about how to fight the cuts and the unfolding revolutionary events in North Africa and the Middle East.

Left Unity, the socialist group in PCS, held a fringe meeting at a nearby venue on Saturday night. The meeting attracted over 20 young members eager to hear about what they can do to make sure PCS further develops as a campaigning, fighting union.

The weekend demonstrated that a united and campaigning network of activists can be constructed. I would encourage everyone to join a union and to help re-build the trade unions as an effective campaigning and democratic movement.

In this issue

Socialist Party news and analysis

Big society? ... big con!