PCS Conference

Submitted by Matthew on 28 May, 2013 - 8:40

This year’s Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) conference (21-23 May) heard that the union will be taking action in early and late June and hopes to link up with the teaching unions for their action from 27 June.

DWP and HMRC members have a week of regional one-day strikes from 3 June; smaller departments and commercial organisations will strike on 30 or 31 May.

Conference finally voted to support the introduction of a strike levy and the inclusion of selective action as a tactic, after years of Workers’ Liberty supporters and others unsuccessfully proposing this. The leadership has made no attempt to explain why it was so resistant to the proposals in the past.

The union refused to print a motion calling for DWP workers to refuse to sanction claimants. Instead, a fudge was created in another motion which said a refusal to sanction could be a tactic in the national campaign. Outside conference, disabled and welfare rights activists staged a road blockade in solidarity with PCS members and calling for help in opposing sanctions.

Another motion called for union full-time officials to be paid an average workers’ wage. This principle is hypocritically opposed by the Socialist Party, who dominate the PCS leadership, though they push it in other unions.

More hypocrisy from the SP came on the issue of Cuba, which was uncritically celebrated at a conference social (despite the llegality of independent unions there), and on the boycott of Israel, which the SP oppose in other unions but nod through in the PCS.

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