Demand Labour government brings the contract in-house
Steve Ion, Liverpool Socialist Party
On 7 July, a solid and determined picket of PCS members at pensions administrator MyCSP in Liverpool launched the start of a six-week strike. The campaign is for full trade union recognition, and involves members in Liverpool and Cheadle Hulme.
MyCSP currently administers 1.7 million civil service pension scheme members. PCS members carry out a range of roles including pension administration, telephone staff, team leaders and senior managers.
We want our rights
These members demand the right to negotiate better terms and conditions as they transfer to Capita, the company which has won the contract from MyCSP.
The transfer takes place on 1 December. Although being transferred under TUPE – regulations which protect rights when workers are transferred between employers – the old and new employers are using the pre-transfer period to try to reduce terms and conditions and effectively derecognise the union. Conditions continue to be eroded even for those on legacy (pre-privatisation) contracts as ex-civil servants.
The majority of staff at MyCSP are only paid the living wage, but may receive a share of annual dividends as the company charges government departments for services. Members have been told the dividends will no longer apply after TUPE. However, even when the dividends did apply, they were expected to work above and beyond simply to justify earning the dividend.
MyCSP currently refuses to formally recognise PCS for collective bargaining or otherwise, so has excluded the union during this transfer. The company has set up a more pliable employee representation to try to cut across the union.
Backfired
So far this has backfired – members continue to join the union and have voted overwhelmingly for action! As the support for the dispute grows, this adds to the further pressure on the employer.
Members are determined and confident that they will achieve recognition, which will put them in a stronger position when they enter negotiations with incoming employer Capita. Their work is highly specialised, and action should be felt by the employer quite quickly.
I spoke to one member on the picket line who agreed that, alongside continued pressure on MyCSP, this dispute could be settled by the union demanding to meet with Starmer’s Labour government ministers, to put pressure on them to bring the contract in-house and recognise the union.
Solidarity and messages of support to adam@pcs.org.uk
