PCS

Public & Commercial Services Union - trade union for civil servants

A thousand picket lines (John Moloney's column)

On 15 March, PCS is asking all eligible members to take a one day strike. This strike will include members from the HMRC and other areas who have recently voted for industrial action. The union is estimating that up to 136,000 members might take action on the day. PCS will not be on its own of course but will be joining strikers from the NEU, the BMA and in London, the RMT. Whilst getting all our members, and indeed non-members, out on the day is key, the union has two other aims. The first is having as many picket lines as possible, the second getting is getting people to marches arranged in...

It's urgent to speed up and widen strikes

March 15 will see teachers, civil servants, Tube workers, and junior doctors, and possibly others, strike together. Some of those workers, including teachers and junior doctors, will also strike on 16 March, when they will be joined by workers on the national rail. 15 March is Budget day. It is an opportunity to press not only the demands of individual disputes, but a broader package of pro-working-class policies: rebuild the NHS, scrap anti-strike laws, increase benefits... Lively, well-supported picket lines and a strong presence in central London, with local strike rallies elsewhere, could...

PCS new ballot from 20 March

The PCS union will reballot members over the ongoing dispute concerning pay, pensions, redundancy moneys and job security. Although I could not attend the National Executive that made that decision, I welcome the re-ballot. As in the original ballot, voting will be done on a disaggregated basis, with 186 separate ballots taking place, covering over 124,000 members. The current levy of members, which in essence is an increase in subs, will stay in place allowing the union to run selective action. The current dispute mandate runs out on 6 May, and so the new ballot will run from 20 March until 9...

John Moloney's column: Continue and escalate!

Our strikes continue to be solid. We can see the impact at workplace level through things like the closure of the British Museum. Although nothing substantive came out of our last national-level meeting with the Cabinet Office, it was noteworthy that, on the day of that meeting, there was a story in the Financial Times reporting that the government was considering altering the pay anniversary date to set it in January, which means that, whenever a pay deal is settled, our members would receive a greater amount of back pay. We have had no formal notification of that proposal, but it is...

NEC meets 16 February (John Moloney's column)

Our reports suggest that the vast bulk of our members who could strike on 1 February did so. We think management have the same assessment. This is obviously encouraging, but we need to step up the action. We’ve now announced a further phase of selective action, and a further all-out strike on 15 March, Budget Day, alongside the NEU and hopefully others. This was the outcome of an extensive debate, in which various proposals for more all-out action were discussed. My position remains that we need as much all-out action, alongside selective action, as possible. Although the NEC eventually...

PCS leader contributes £100,000 to strike fund

In June this year it will be four years since John Moloney, Assistant General Secretary of civil service union PCS, was elected. By then he will have given just under £100,000 of his salary to the union’s strike funds. John is fulfilling his election pledge to take only a “worker’s wage” – to tie his living standards and their improvement, or otherwise, to those of the union’s members, by taking only the take-home pay of an Executive Officer (the most common civil service grade) in the Department for Work and Pensions (the biggest department). For most of his time in office, John gave back...

15-16 March very likely (John Moloney's column)

All our initial reports are that the 1 February strike was solid. Particularly welcome was the number of picket lines. We think around 500 were in place, with some having over 60 members. Equally good was the number of rallies held in conjunction with the NEU, UCU, and other unions. There is now an emergency National Executive Committee (NEC) on 7 February to discuss the effectiveness of 1 Feb strike and what next. We know that the NEU have called strike action for 15-16 March, and I think it very likely that the PCS would want to go out on the same days. Certainly, I believe they should. The...

More after 1 February (John Moloney's column)

By the time you read this, PCS, along with other unions, will be on our one-day strike on 1 February, or will have been. As I write on 31 January, for the PCS the indications are that the strike will be well supported. We are aware of at least 350 pickets being planned; over a thousand members attended a digital meeting with our General Secretary last week; and in a meeting of branches who are on strike, over 140 delegates attended. These numbers are unprecedented. In conjunction with Trade Councils and other unions or on our own, we have set up rallies across the country. Following 1 February...

15-16 March, and more? (John Moloney's column)

The union is working hard to ensure our 1 February strike is successful. Some of that is very basic organising work, such as explaining to members what a strike is and what’s involved in participating in one. That basic work is necessary as many of the members involved will never have been on strike before. We want picket lines in as many locations as possible, including at buildings with multiple departments in them where some will be striking and some not. Extensive picketing is a key part of how we make the strike an active and empowering process, rather than a more passive experience where...

1 February can be a launchpad (John Moloney's column)

It’s a good step that we’re moving to all-out action on 1 February, especially as we should be striking alongside other unions on that day, especially the National Education Union. Strikes in schools have a wider impact, as parents often have to stay home from work to look after children, so we’re expecting 1 February to be very impactful. Our National Executive Committee will debate the next steps. It’s vital 1 February isn’t a one-off set piece, but a launchpad for further national action. Various proposals are under discussion, including some for further all-out strikes in March. My own...

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