PCS

Civil service workers in the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) will strike on 31 January over pay. They are likely to be joined by workers in HMRC (Revenue and Customs), striking over job losses, and workers in the Home Office (striking over pay).

A two day strike has called for 6 and 7 December in the Department of Work and Pensions by the civil service union, PCS. The PCS leadership in DWP have rightly called for all members to receive at least the rate of inflation (currently 4.2%) as an increase in year 1 and want talks about years 2 and 3. Under current arrangements 40% of DWP staff will get no consolidated increase in year 2 and 74% will 1% in the final year.

What is the SWP doing in the trade unions? A key factor in trashing the possibility of a united public-sector fightback this year against Gordon Brown's 2% limit has been the decision by the civil service union PCS, although it already had a live ballot mandate for action, to withdraw into prolonged "consultations" of its membership while the POA and CWU strikes and the Unison health and local government ballots came and went. Having "consulted" and announced that PCS members supported further national strike action, the PCS leadership then... decided to call off any further national action, at least for the time being.

The "consultative ballot" called by the civil service union PCS about more action on pay and jobs has returned a 68% yes vote. The union Executive Committee met on 1 November but decided to call no further action for now.