PCS

Public & Commercial Services Union - trade union for civil servants

Pensions: end the waiting game!

Ealing and Kirklees are among the latest local government branches of the public services union Unison to demand a special local government conference of the union on pensions, and Oxfordshire Health branch is pushing for a special health conference. In local government, Unison and GMB have signed joint “principles” with the employers to implement the Government’s plans for worse public sector pensions. Unite is dissenting only passively. “Final proposals” on “initial design” of the new (worse) pension scheme are due by 8 February. “Final proposals” for “future scheme management” are due by 7...

PCS stalls in pensions campaign

The “refusenik” unions in the pensions battle will meet this week to discuss the next steps… even if those steps are just to stand still. The National Executive of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS), although aware of the University and College Union’s decision to set 1 March as the next pension strike day, has decided not to put a definite date to the “refusenik” meeting, and has not committed to supporting the UCU’s proposal. The PCS, on paper the most stridently “rejectionist” of all national unions, will therefore essentially attend the meeting in listening mode. PCS has also...

Meeting calls for NUT to "name day" for further pension strikes

A caucus of members of the National Union of Teachers at the pension activist conference called by PCS Left Unity on 7 January agreed to press NUT Executive members at their meeting on 12 January to commit the union to name a date for a further strike before 11 February and explicitly to reject the Government's 19 December formula. The main conference session, however, 450 strong, failed to press the PCS leadership to take an initiative for continued action against pension cuts. PCS Left Unity (in effect, the PCS leadership) presented the meeting with a statement which called for the TUC...

Many unions have not endorsed the Government terms; but...

The headline media reports - that is, the story as received by the big majority of public sector workers - are that most unions have accepted the 19 December Government terms on public sector pensions, quit the campaign, and settled down to negotiate fine detail. A closer look at union statements [below] indicates that many unions have not quite accepted the Government terms. That means the sell-out can be stopped. It also means something else, though. Unison, GMB, and Unite signed a joint letter with the local government employers. That seems to be the only document actually signed so far...

Call emergency union meetings to rebuff pensions sell-out!

Public sector union committees, branches, and workplace groups should call emergency meetings to reject the sell-out on pensions outlined at the TUC public sector group meeting on 19 December. The Government has not shifted a millimetre on any of its three main plans for public sector pensions. [ Click here for the Government's official announcement .] a 3.2 percentage point increase in contributions by 2014/2015: the Government has already announced that the increased contributions will start for teachers and civil servants from April 2012 ; pegging the pension age for public sector employees...

PCS and 30 November: strategy needed

By a PCS activist PCS has a live mandate for action from the June strike so we are not balloting again. The union has organised a number of reps’ briefings, which have been used to discuss ideas as to how we can make N30 even bigger and better than J30. It’s good that there is a realistic assessment going on of where we were weak last time in terms of membership support, picket lines etc., and there are moves to address this. On the downside, reps have not been thoroughly briefed as to how the actual pension changes will affect members. What are the proposals for increased contributions? What...

PCS and 30 November: strategy needed

PCS has a live mandate for action from the June strike so we are not balloting again. The union has organised a number of reps' briefings, which have been used to discuss ideas as to how we can make N30 even bigger and better than J30. It's good that there is a realistic assessment going on of where we were weak last time in terms of membership support, picket lines etc., and there are moves to address this. On the downside reps, have not been thoroughly briefed as to how the actual pension changes will affect members. What are the proposals for increased contributions? What would a career...

Turmoil in civil service union

The ruling Left Unity faction in the civil service union PCS is in turmoil, with the Socialist Party (the main force in LU) withdrawing support from Jane Aitchison, union president in the union’s most important sector, the Department for Work and Pensions. Aitchison, a long-time member of the SP, has resigned from it. The SP has said nothing publicly about this. First reports inside the union were that the SP had turned against Aitchison because she and her partner Rob Williams (also an SP member, and a PCS Exec member) send their daughter to a private school. Later reports are that the SP...

Organise for 30 November

The declaration by the Trades Union Congress that Wednesday 30 November will be the next “day of action” in the campaign against government pension cuts is enormously positive and must now be a key focus for organising. Like the June 30 strike, action in November will demonstrate to a generation of working-class people unused to seeing their class move as a visible social force that workers have real power to act in our own interests. It is also positive and important that senior union officials are talking up the need for sustained action. On 20 July, Unite regional organiser Ian Woodland...

Rail union leader speaks up for Israeli links

At this year’s Trades Union Congress (12-14 September in London), an amendment on the Israel/Palestine conflict from the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) called for TUC affiliates to “review their bilateral relations with all Israeli organisations”. Alex Gordon, president of the Rail, Maritime and Transport workers’ union (RMT), spoke against the amendment, arguing that British unions should strengthen, not weaken, their relations with workers’ organisations in Israel. Gordon said: “My union has welcomed the Workers’ Advice Centre (Ma’an) to our conference in previous years. We’ve...

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