In the elections to the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) in May 2024, a left ‘coalition for change’ won a decisive victory. From a previous position of four seats on the NEC out of 35, the coalition won 19 seats.
The coalition includes the PCS Broad Left Network (BLN) in which Socialist Party members participate.
This was a huge defeat for the outgoing majority, led by the so-called ‘Left Unity’ group, which had badly let down members during Covid and the cost-of-living crisis. The newly elected NEC now has a mandate to rebuild the union’s national campaign on pay, pensions etc – a mandate strengthened by the decisions of the union’s conference in May. However, the general secretary and national president positions are still held by Left Unity.
Dave Semple, PCS vice president (personal capacity)
Fourteen years of Tory rule came crashing down on 4 July. Any PCS member can be forgiven for breathing a sigh of relief. But as new ministerial teams get settled in, and senior civil servants breathlessly enthuse to the hundreds of thousands of low-paid civil servants, among PCS members the mood is muted – and for good reason.
On 11 July, Keir Starmer said he will not be “giving the unions what they want” on pay, citing the parlous state of public finances. No trust can be put in the new government. Maximum pressure must be exerted.
The union’s recent strike ballot, which concluded in early May 2024, won a mandate for 20,000 members – but more than 100,000 members missed out because the turnout in most areas did not reach the 50% threshold required under Tory anti-union laws.
PCS conference in May endorsed a motion proposed by BLN supporters, which explained that this near miss in so many areas occurred due to the former NEC majority collapsing the previous year’s strike campaign. A new national campaign is priority number one for BLN supporters elected to the NEC.
Block
The new left majority immediately attempted to put into practice a change in strategy. At the 4 June NEC meeting, this met a first block, with motions on our strategy for the general election period being thrown off the agenda. This was not the result of a democratic vote but the decision of the president, Martin Cavanagh.
This meant any opportunity for strike action during the general election period in those areas with a mandate, linked to a wider campaign to prepare for bigger action, was lost.
Multiple elected NEC members asked for the information gathered from every area which got over the strike threshold, so that we can plan a serious industrial strategy. For just over a month, the general secretary, Fran Heathcote, refused to share the information.
Special NEC
So the majority of NEC members called for a special NEC, which must be convened under the rules of the union if a majority of NEC members call for it. At first, the president refused the request because he had not had 19 separate emails, instead of a letter signed by 19 NEC members!
At the special NEC on 10 July, the majority put forward motions on various key issues including the national campaign, the victimisation of reps at Benton Park View, union organising, and a PCS staffing restructure that had been announced by the general secretary without discussion with any democratically elected body within PCS.
Before any debate had taken place, the president ruled all bar one of the motions as ineligible for debate, making a mockery of the NEC’s right to call a meeting.
The only motion which the president was willing to take was on the national campaign, and even then he declared that he was unwilling to say whether he believed the motion was in order or would be ruled out, until after he had heard the debate.
Prepare campaign
The general secretary reported that she had not had a reply to letters sent to Keir Starmer in February and June. BLN supporters argued that the new government should be written to again.
If this is unanswered, or if the government isn’t willing to offer more than words about the issues which matter most, including on pay, then the next stage is to swiftly consult with lay reps and groups with a live strike mandate, to call out on strike those 20,000 members with a mandate, while we build a campaign and reballot the other 100,000 plus.
This motion was passed, with all the Left Unity members voting against it. The big question now is, will the general secretary and president persist in their campaign of delay?
BLN supporter Marion Lloyd made a supplementary proposal, that a full review of the monthly strike levy be undertaken. Any decision – to retain, alter or discard – must be based on hard evidence, discussed with reps and members, and allied to a clear industrial strategy.
When it came to deciding the PCS representative on the TUC General Council, despite the majority of the NEC voting against Fran Heathcote, the president ruled that she would be the representative. However, the NEC did successfully vote for Marion Lloyd to be put forward by PCS for a reserved women’s seat at the TUC.
It is clear that the ‘Left Unity’ group believes that if they can block the NEC majority, they can argue in the union that any lack of progress is the result of a ‘Coalition of Chaos’, as they disparagingly dub the NEC just elected by the members.
Get organised with BLN
To build a national PCS campaign that unites lay reps and members, and win a genuinely democratic lay-led union, we urge all reps across all areas to join the BLN and get organised.
- Readers can learn more detail about what happened, including about the other motions that were ruled out, at bln.org.uk
