National and Group executive committee elections are underway in the PCS union.
Touted (primarily by its leadership) as a left union, the leadership faction, Left Unity, controlled by the Socialist Party, are looking to secure a 15th year in charge of the union. Their only challenge comes from the left flank in the guise of activists from the Independent Left – a coalition of rank-and-file independents, Labour Lefties, Syndicalists and supporters of Workers Liberty.
Over the past decade, membership numbers, density and engagement in the union have fallen to an all-time low and employers have been able to engage in a race to the bottom on pay, jobs and terms and conditions with little or no effective response from the union leadership.
A decade ago over 16% of members voted in union elections, down to 8% last year. Only 5 years ago over 75% of workers in the largest government department, DWP were in the union, now it’s less than 60%. Membership in the 4th largest department, The Ministry of Justice has tanked, losing 30% of all members in a single year. Over the entire civil service, union density is close to dropping below 50%.
Each year more and more branches don’t send delegates to conference, are unable to fill branch committees, or hold AGMs. Those that do attract tiny proportions of their membership to them.
The government is to blame for the attacks on the union and its membership, but the woeful response to these attacks lies squarely with the union leadership.
The response for the leadership is to publish an updated organising strategy and label the union as an ‘organising union’. This top-down, business-as-usual approach will fail.
There is a discussion that must be had to arrest and reverse the rot in the union. Voting for IL candidates won’t solve the problem immediately but burying our heads in the sand or claiming everything is fine while Rome burns is guaranteed to fail.
We need a *real* rank-and-file orientation. We need to be confident in our ability to win through action, not shy away from it in case we might lose a ballot. Confidence has been worn away by the current leadership unwilling to allow action over some of the most draconian conditions in our contact and benefit centres. Confidence, engagement and density can be rebuilt on strike action and a victory in such disputes. When members vote to defend themselves, they should be allowed!
We need to be serious about the national ballot on pay. Be honest with ourselves and our membership about the task and prioritise organisation accordingly. All FTO’s should be doing nothing but getting the vote out. Town strike-committees should be established in each locality to co-ordinate the ballot organisation. Our lead lay-organisers should take unpaid leave to focus on the ballot and be subsidised by the union centrally.
We need to look to the successful strategies of other unions. In the Ministry of Justice for example, a small, non-TUC union, the United Voices of the World are running the most militant, offensive campaign for cleaners, with PCS nowhere to be seen. Yet we are told to vote for leading MoJ reps for the national leadership?
The Rank and file candidates of the Independent Left have a better record.
The only branches who took extended strike action against the closure of 100’s of DWP offices are led by Independent Left candidates, with members in Sheffield and Plymouth taking over 40 days of combined action. When IL reps on the DWP Group Executive Committee argued that a group-wide ballot to oppose closures and support these branched was required, the Left Unity majority voted down the proposal.
When the leadership in DWP argued that members should accept a pay-deal which offered 1.1% for long-standing members in return for selling their weekend to the employer, IL members on the GEC opposed it. These comrades were labelled ‘ultra-left’ by the leadership.
IL negotiators in DGLG and the Department for Transport secured contractual protection for their members under the last Labour government, meaning the Tories were unable to get rid of protections such as pay-progression and the right to pay union subs from source as they were able to in other departments. These comrades were labelled ‘reformist’ by the leadership.
Elsewhere in the union IL candidates have led the first ever strike action by ISS cleaners in HMRC and as regional organisers recruited record numbers back to the union after the DWP ended check-off.
Workers Liberty encourages PCS members to support Independent Left Candidates in these elections and to attend the school for activists later in the year focussed on ideas to rebuild the union.
National Executive close on 10 May. Group executive elections close on 15 May.
