Socialist Party members in PCS
The PCS statutory ballot in support of the union’s pay and job demands, which closed on 7 November, delivered a mandate to strike for over 100,000 members.
The union’s Left Unity (LU)-led executive, at its meeting on 10 November, decided to write to the employer for a meeting to discuss the union’s demands.
But, incredibly, it did not agree to give notice of a programme of action. This was put off to a recall meeting on 18 November.
The Broad Left Network (BLN), which includes Socialist Party members, called for the union to immediately launch its campaign with a two-day all-members’ strike, to include striking alongside other unions on 30 November.
We argued this should be followed up with targeted action and further all-member strikes.
The BLN called also for a reballot of those groups which missed the 50% turnout threshold, and a further ballot for action short of strike in those groups with a mandate.
The executive’s decision to put off agreeing strike strategy was a shock to activists who had worked to deliver the strike mandate.
Shock has turned to outrage at the outcome of the executive’s 18 November meeting.
It agreed a limited range of targeted strikes starting mid-December, supported by strike pay, with the possibility of any all-member action put off to late January or February.
The failure of the LU-led executive to call all-member action stands in stark contrast to the other unions currently calling national strikes. Its decision is to base almost its entire strategy on paid-for selective/targeted strikes. We believe this to be a mistake.
The reliance on paid-for strikes has led the executive to impose a £5-a-month levy on members. We don’t disagree with the union taking steps to raise strike funds. But to impose a levy out of the blue, without preparing the ground, risks a backlash and loss of membership.
We support the executive’s decision to reballot the revenue and customs group (HMRC) early in the new year, so as to get this important area of members into the fight on pay and jobs.
But we believe the other groups which didn’t get a mandate this time should also be reballoted.
We believe that the executive’s refusal to ballot for action short of strikes, to support the strike ballot mandate, is a mistake. An overtime ban, for example, could have significant impact alongside a programme of all-member strikes and targeted action.
The LU leadership starts from a pessimistic view of what they feel they can deliver, rather than what is needed to win.
The BLN has taken the lead in putting forward a strategy which can win – central to which is the role of all-member action.
It is not too late for the executive to rethink its strategy. We call upon them to do so.
A handful of LU supporters on the executive voted to back BLN supporter Fiona Brittle’s amendments for national action. It is surely time for those, and others in LU who are opposed to the leadership’s strategy, to recognise that LU is no longer providing a fighting leadership, and to instead work with Socialist Party members and others in the BLN to put forward a fighting, democratic strategy for the union.
