PCS members in the Broad Left Network
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced a minimum 10% reduction in jobs, which means more than 5,500 job losses.
No discussion has taken place with the PCS trade union, graphically illustrating that, despite the Labour government’s platitudes, the public sector and especially the civil service is not ‘safe in their hands’.
This announcement comes on top of a recruitment freeze, originally due to end in March 2025, meaning that thousands of jobs have already been lost. Job cuts have also been announced elsewhere, including in transport and education.
This shows how vital it is that PCS builds a serious campaign, involving the whole of the union, to fight to protect jobs, improve pay, defend pensions and win better conditions – as has been consistently argued by the left majority of the National Executive Committee (NEC) and supporters of the Broad Left Network (BLN). We cannot tolerate further years of cuts, privatisation, low pay, poor working environments and attacks to crucial services. Enough is enough.
This is the position we in the NEC majority have argued since taking office in May this year, following just such a fighting strategy being agreed at our May conference.
But opportunities have been wasted as a result of the general secretary Fran Heathcote and national president Martin Cavanagh blocking all our attempts to relaunch the ‘national campaign’.
Squandered
PCS should have exercised the strike mandate won in areas covering more than 20,000 members in June. This could have been a platform to build for a successful ballot across the rest of the membership and would have sent a warning shot to the new government. But this mandate was squandered due to obstruction by the president and general secretary.
Worse still, when the Labour government announced its 5% pay remit, rather than press for more, the general secretary rushed to welcome this ‘new’ approach.
The recently elected left NEC majority said ‘not so fast’. Firstly, it’s not enough. Secondly, it’s not fully funded, which means departments will cut staff. The NEC majority wanted the general secretary to go back to the employer to put the union’s demands for a 10% pay increase as a step to restore the value of our wages, and no job cuts. Fran Heathcote and Martin Cavanagh blocked this.
You cannot help but assume the employer has been emboldened because of such a weak response, hence huge job cuts.
This weakness was further evidenced by the general secretary’s response to the MoD job cuts announcement: “We had been given no warning that this was coming,” describing the 10% staff cut as “disrespectful”. No warning? The October budget set out 2% ‘productivity, efficiency and savings’ targets!
Hardly a response that reassures thousands of staff facing uncertainty, or that puts fear into the employer.
Members deserve better. The union’s Defence Sector Group Executive needs to demand a meeting with the employer, and urgently draw up plans to fight these cuts, including urgent meetings of reps and members.
These announcements reinforce the NEC majority view that it would be wrong to stop the strike levy now – instead, we have argued for a review of the levy and a reduction in the amount paid in by low-waged members. The election of a Labour government has not removed the need to fight. The attack on jobs by the MoD is a harbinger of what is to come, and we must be prepared.
Special Delegate Conference
Each NEC meeting and the obstruction we face reinforces our belief that renewal of the democracy in PCS is absolutely vital. If your branch has not already agreed to support the call for a Special Delegate Conference, it’s urgent it does so. This would enable reps to debate how to rebuild the national campaign on pay, pensions, jobs and other vital issues, and to make clear who runs the union.
- If you are in PCS, join the Broad Left Network and join us in the struggle. bln.org.uk
- The left NEC majority, elected in May, includes Socialist Party members and Broad Left Network supporters. The BLN brings together socialists and activists across the union who want a fighting democratic PCS
