Given the continuous attacks against workers, including most recently on trans rights as a result of the Supreme Court ruling, many would think that a union conference would support and fight for the rights of all members. Instead, PCS conference 2025 started with further evidence of how out of touch the Democracy Alliance/Left Unity remain, despite having just re-won a majority on the National Executive Committee, following their defeat the previous year.
General Secretary Fran Heathcote and National President Martin Cavanagh, on the eve of conference, issued offensive and inflammatory “statements” to all delegates and Group Presidents about the use of toilet facilities and a premature, biased interpretation of what the law requires.
Doing this under cover of legal advice that hasn’t been produced, they also refused to print at least 25 motions reaffirming a long-held policy, despite attempts by the Democracy Alliance/Left Unity to the contrary, to reaffirm and support trans rights. These motions set out a clear plan and response to the Supreme Court ruling, which if carried would unite all members across the union.
Shortly before conference opened at 2pm on 20 May 2025, a further motion was suddenly also pulled from the agenda on the same grounds. This is a dangerous precedent – that the standing orders committee can rule out motions that could invite legal proceedings. Many motions we pass could provide grounds for legal proceedings!
This timid approach is an insult to trade union history, where trade union membership was often illegal and persecuted, and benefits the bureaucracy who can now refuse to print and debate motions from conference based on hidden advice, that when it finally leaks is spurious at best.
Motion A57 calls for conference to reject biological essentialism and reductionism, for PCS to play our part in a mass working-class movement that stands for equality, high quality public services and against all forms of oppression and discrimination. It instructs the National Executive Committee to – amongst other things – reiterate that PCS stands firmly in support of trans rights and against transphobic rhetoric and attacks, and ensure any guidance which seeks to segregate trans people is vigorously opposed.
Delegates refused to adopt standing orders (conference rules), instead attempting to get the motion back on the agenda. Each attempt (‘reference back’) would have won a majority vote from the conference floor. The President, Martin Cavanagh, said he was unable take a reference back on the motion as it has been removed under legal advice. Again and again, conference refused to adopt standing orders, therefore the conference could not open and proceed to the agenda. After over two hours of votes on whether conference would adopt standing orders, a majority agreed to adopt standing orders via a card vote (where each branch has a voting strength equivalent to its membership).
Stop Press
A motion setting out a clear strategy to fight Starmer and Reeves’s attacks on the civil service has been carried overwhelmingly by PCS delegates, who also overwhelmingly rejected motions that attacked the record of the outgoing left coalition NEC majority.
