The Socialist 24 October 2018

“May hanging by a thread” - Tories out, general election now

'People's vote' should be a general election

Support RMT strikes against the elimination of guards on trains

Glasgow council workers - historic strike for equal pay

3aaa collapses - 4,500 apprentices left guessing their futures

PCS legal win - build further pressure from below to defeat the Tories

Ladywood Primary school strike

Universal Credit could trap women in violent relationships

Blairites plan to expand their very own academy chain

Tories ensured Carillion meltdown went unchecked

MPs revel in £2m worth of free foreign trips

Them & Us

Welsh Labour leadership election: 'Corbyn candidate' must pledge end to austerity

Join the fight for refugee rights

Can you donate to the Socialism 2018 appeal?

Enthusiastic response to new podcast

Students and workers march for increased college funding

Joining the Socialist Party has helped me understand the world and how we can change it

Health services in meltdown - fight to save our NHS

Newcastle Utd fans' campaign against owner Mike Ashley continues

Germany: Bavarian elections and huge anti-racist demonstration mark an historic weekend

1821 Cinderloo uprising: "The crowd thought it had nothing else to lose"

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PCS legal win - build further pressure from below to defeat the Tories

PCS members on strike, photo Paul Mattsson (Click to enlarge)

The PCS civil service union has won £3 million in damages following the union's challenge to the attempts by the Tory government to cut off its financial support from the DWP.

This follows the victory in the High Court in May 2016 when it was ruled that it was unlawful to have removed check-off (the union's ability to collect subscriptions directly from pay packets). Katrine Williams, a member of the PCS national executive committee and also a Socialist Party member, was one of the two union members who brought the legal challenge back then.

The work of the national union, the national executive committee and, most importantly, the tremendous work of reps on the ground in rebuilding the union when the Tories removed the ability of PCS to collect membership subs, was brilliant.

This work - to re-recruit 160,000 members onto direct debit - meant that the union emerged from this battle in a stronger position.

The key now is to turn this latest victory into one that fully compensates the union for the attacks waged on all government departments and arms-length bodies across PCS, not just the DWP.

The Chris Baugh for Assistant General Secretary campaign, which the Socialist Party supports, believes it's now vital to involve groups and lay representatives in discussions on submitting those legal challenges and how we can back this up with pressure from below.

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'People's vote' should be a general election