Fiona Brittle, PCS NEC member, personal capacity
Many members and activists in the PCS civil service union will be frustrated to hear that the National Executive Committee (NEC) is planning for the union’s Annual Delegate Conference (ADC) with motions littered with excuses for an anti-worker Labour government, opposing a vibrant national campaign on jobs, pay, pensions etc, and opposing improved lay democracy. The Left Unity/Democracy Alliance NEC majority continues to ignore the explicit demands of PCS members from conferences gone by.
NEC members in the Broad Left Network (BLN – in which Socialist Party members play an important role) have repeatedly raised motions to enact the strategy agreed at ADC 2025. The Left Unity grouping – which includes general secretary Fran Heathcote and national president Martin Cavanagh – has voted against them.
The general secretary’s papers delayed preparations for a campaign; the leadership then blamed branches for low engagement at hastily called meetings during peak leave season, and then used this as the reason to cancel the national campaign in October 2025. Thousands of members have been left without the ability to fight for inflation-proof pay awards, let alone restoration after 16 years of vicious austerity.
No proposals for action from Left Unity-led NEC
The paper to this April’s NEC was no different, containing no proposals for improving our industrial strength or to build for a ballot to influence and challenge what will inevitably be an insufficient 2026-27 pay remit (due to be announced by the government in May).
BLN NEC members once again argued that we need to prepare members now, so that negotiators can approach the Cabinet Office with the threat of a strike mandate, in order to pressure them to produce a remit anywhere close to provide adequate pay awards.
The NEC majority, however, believes that it is better to wait until after the remit is published, and then hold talks, before considering the possibility of preparing for action. This approach has failed. It has meant that delegated talks (in separate groups) are completed, and the employer imposes pay, before a campaign is launched – by which point the fight is invariably over before it starts.
The National Disputes Committee report showed how many areas of the union are in dispute, separately. BLN members raised again that there is no consideration by the national union of how to join up these campaigns to increase their chances of winning, rather than leaving areas to battle alone.
The words of the day were “hopefully” and “trust”. The BLN says it is time for action.
Once again, the NEC majority has agreed to oppose the motion (A5) which seeks to build a national campaign, building early among branches to deliver a ballot in mid-September if there is insufficient progress towards our demands for pay restoration, pension justice, job protection and improved conditions.
Lay democracy
They have also, once again, agreed to oppose important motions seeking to increase lay rep and member control of PCS.
They consistently cite GDPR without further explanation to block lay reps from accessing member details and directly contacting those they are elected to represent. Reps in other unions are able to do this, so why not us?
We know that some groups and branches wishing to put out member bulletins with stances that differ from the NEC majority view have been prevented from doing so by their full-time secretaries. This has included AGM reports where opposition slates have been nominated!
The general secretary has repeatedly stated that, contrary to the PCS rules, she does not have to consult the NEC on matters of staffing. Now, she insists that any motion which seeks to review how PCS departments work is unacceptable, because what happens with PCS staff is her business.
This is alarming because full-time officers provide vital support to lay reps. It is therefore important that lay reps and members have oversight via ADC on how PCS uses this valuable resource and what approach is taken on issues like bargaining, organising, equality, legal, technology, etc.
The general secretary’s insistence that more and more of how PCS functions is up to her, without the control, accountability or even input from the lay structures, is contrary to the democratic, worker-led, socialist trade unionism that PCS members deserve, and must be strongly opposed.
Debate essential
One of the most revealing elements of this NEC was the plea from Left Unity that those of us who disagree with their policy positions don’t bring “that negativity” to ADC. This came during the paper on Organising, when we welcomed the increase in membership but pointed out that we are still short of the density we would want. It is evident that we grow most in areas where we are in dispute. The lack of a national campaign has meant that many of our key areas have not seen significant increases – and growth slowed when it became clear last autumn that there was to be no fight on pay.
This is absolutely a discussion we should have at conference. ADC should not be a performance of unity but a forum for thorough debate. ‘Unity’ around an ineffective strategy will not win for members. PCS must put a united front against employers, but this must be built on an agreed programme to meaningfully advance members’ demands.
- Socialist Party members have stood for election to the NEC of PCS as part of the Broad Left Network, alongside others in a ‘coalition for change’. That election closed on 8 May
- Group Executive Committee elections, by email, continue till 13 May
- Socialist Party members are also standing in vitally important online branch block vote elections. These elections run 5-14 May and branch secretaries will receive the ballot paper by email
