As Labour delivered its Budget inside parliament, security staff were on picket lines outside

PCS member

Security staff in the Houses of Parliament who are members of the PCS took strike action on Budget Day. These members do essential work keeping parliament and everyone in it safe, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Yet they face vicious attacks on their pay, conditions and rights from the same institution they keep safe.

Budget Day was their fourth day of industrial action, demanding the restoration of their original eight-hour shifts, and the return of six days of annual leave lost when management imposed 12-hour shifts without consultation. They are also fighting for a fair pay rise after years of stagnation, and for action to tackle a widening ethnicity pay gap.

Members were forced into industrial action because the employer refused to come to the table or engage in serious talks with the union.

This comes at a time when the cost of living is through the roof, while pay stagnates. Meanwhile, MPs’ pay has risen much faster than the average public-sector wage (many also with extremely lucrative second jobs), exposing the glaring inequality between those making the decisions and those keeping parliament running.

The strike on Budget Day sent a clear message. Workers refuse to stay quiet while governments of all parties push through austerity, cut pay, and attack public services. As the Labour government stood in parliament announcing its budget, workers were out on the picket line, taking industrial action.

I am a member of the sister PCS branch in parliament and stood on the picket line in solidarity.

Coordinate

The challenges faced by parliamentary security staff are not unique. PCS members across the civil service and public sector are facing the same attacks on pay, conditions, and rights. Parliamentary security staff are part of a wider wave of industrial disputes across PCS. Civilian staff at the Met Police, workers at Tate galleries, the British Library and others are taking strike action.

The mood to fight is there! PCS needs a fighting, coordinated approach that links the many disputes into a coordinated national campaign, capable of fighting against austerity, real-terms pay cuts, and attacks on conditions. Members are showing, and telling us, that they are ready to organise and take action: we need leadership who can harness and build that mood rather than hold it back!

Tate galleries workers on lively picket lines

Steve Nally, South West London Socialist Party

Bumper bonuses for the bosses of up to £28,000, but a measly 2% offer and closure of their popular canteen for staff.

That’s why workers at Tate Britain, members of PCS union, are striking for a week, part of action at Tate galleries nationally. Pensions are also being downgraded, while many staff survive on pay that does not cover the costs of living in London.

The closure of their staff restaurant in May means that some workers living in bedsits or flat-shares are missing out on affordable and nutritious hot food. Some staff have been forced to resort to food banks.

The fluffy, family image of the Tate galleries is not the reality, which is why so many have taken action and joined the lively PCS picket line. Socialist Party member Marco Tesei, from the National Executive Committee of the University and College Union, gave solidarity greetings, explaining that college staff were facing similar treatment and that everyone was in the same boat these days. Battling the cost-of-living crisis while working flat out for little reward

The Tate Britain picket line has successfully persuaded some visitors to turn away while others demanded refunds on exhibition tickets. This strike has certainly taken management aback and further strengthened the workers’ resolve.