PCS Annual Delegate Conference opened on 21 May. Solemn faces from the leadership abounded, after their defeat in the national executive (NEC) elections.
In moving the annual report, general secretary Fran Heathcote did not lift the mood or instil a fighting spirit, as delegates assembled after a hard-fought national strike ballot where most areas did not get over the Tory anti-union threshold of 50%. This was due to poor leadership and poorer organisation by the ‘Left Unity’ leadership of the union.
An early battle overturned a decision by the leadership-dominated Standing Orders Committee, which arranges the conference agenda. Conference threw out the leadership’s claim that they won an increase in the 2023 civil service pay award from 2% to 4.5%.
After this, the major set piece debate of the conference began: on pay, jobs, pensions and building a national campaign.
Socialist Party member Craig Worswick, from PCS Home Office group, moved the motion agreed by the Broad Left Network. He called for a serious campaign on the dozens of issues facing civil servants: minimum wage pay, 72,000 job cuts and major pension cuts, workloads, office closures and denial of flexible hybrid-working.
A tense debate followed. Recent left candidate for PCS president and Socialist Party member Marion Lloyd clearly moved the conference hall by contrasting the failed strategy of the defeated NEC with the new approach promised by the newly elected NEC, which takes up post from 23 May. Cheers rang out around the hall.
Conference decisively threw out the PCS Left Unity motion, which had the full weight of the union’s outgoing NEC behind it. It then passed the BLN motion. The clear task is now in front of the incoming new leadership to get out and build a serious campaign.
