As previously reported, a special NEC, held on 12 August, saw the union’s General Secretary “welcome the concessions won during the campaign so far on pay, jobs and the civil service compensation scheme”, to “pause any plans for industrial action” and then to “seek membership endorsement of our (her) strategy in a consultative ballot”.
This position was one of surrender – a direct repetition by the General Secretary of the strategy of delay implemented in June 2023, when the government offered a £1,500 one-time, non-consolidated, pro-rata payment and the union’s then-leadership, didn’t ask for more and promptly cancelled all strikes, all ballots and the union’s strike levy.
Total surrender was blocked by the 19 members of the NEC who are supporters of the Broad Left Network, the Independent Left and independent socialists; these 19 are a majority on the 35 member NEC. Collectively, they proposed an alternative: to regroup through a Special Delegate Conference and to prepare the ground amongst members and reps for the battle that will come.
This alternative included a delay to delegated pay talks while the union’s national negotiators – Heathcote and Cavanagh in particular, who blocked any attempt to appoint better negotiators – were sent back to the Cabinet Office to demand more than 5% and guarantees around funding for the pay remit, to removethe threat to jobs. They could and should have done this in the weeks preceding the publication of the remit and in the days afterwards – without the delay and filibustering we are experiencing now.
Left alternative vetoed by Cavanagh on 12 August
The left alternative was unilaterally vetoed by the President. Cynically, two Senior Lay Reps forums, held the following week, were used by the General Secretary to one-sidedly argue that the NEC majority was the barrier to a serious campaign, rather than the bureaucratic wrecking tactics used by Heathcote herself and her puppet President.
The vetoes implemented by Cavanagh go far beyond the tactics that the National Moderate Group of CPSA and latterly PCS infamy used. Reps who have served the union for decades are proud of the defeat of the Moderates – exposed as being funded by the CIA, by journalist Paul Foot – but even Marion Chambers did not behave the way Cavanagh has behaved in simply blocking every chance at debate.
Reps attending the first Senior Lay Reps forum, representing areas with a mandate, made it clear that they were unhappy with the significant period of inactivity which left them feeling isolated and leading them to conclude that they should enter into delegated bargaining talks.
Reps attending the second Senior Lay Reps forum in particular, largely made up of reps from areas which did not get over the strike threshold in the union’s national ballot in May 2024 were concerned at the lack of campaign activity and said they should be permitted to go in to delegated pay talks so they could get the best deal for members with what was on offer.
Anger of lay reps completely justified
In part, this reflects the anger of the rep layer at the constant obstructive tactics of the General Secretary and the President. They blocked action during the General Election, they have vetoed dozens of motions and amendments that touch on everything from the levy to what guidance to issue to branches and members.
Reps remember that Heathcote, Cavanagh and their faction, the mis-named PCS Left Unity, which is neither left nor fosters unity, failed to build a serious strategy of national action when we won a mandate in November 2022, failed to get us over the line in May 2023 and then immediately bailed on a campaign at the first opportunity.
They then did nothing from June 2023 until March 2024, leaving branches and reps across the union to face questions from members about what the union was doing on pay, or with the mandates that had been won in some areas. This was worsened in May 2024 when some areas won yet another mandate and were nothing was done to use it, or to engage properly with the reps in those areas.
Thinking that they could exploit the anger of reps for factional purposes, the General Secretary and President called a further NEC on 27 August, to re-table the proposal for total surrender.
Showdown at the NEC of 27 August – further veto by Cavanagh
Recognising the anger of reps, arising from the obstruction of our national campaign strategy, the majority left – consisting of Broad Left Network, Independent Left and independent socialists – agreed that delegated pay negotiations should be allowed to commence.
A motion proposed by BLN supporter and national vice president Dave Semple, seconded by independent socialist Annette Wright, outlined a clear approach which BLN, published on this website prior to the NEC meeting. Here
This involved rejecting the 5% as insufficient, demanding full funding from the Cabinet Office and fighting for pay progression, eradication of low pay and fighting to secure the best possible deal for members. It also involved producing key guidance for negotiators, monitoring of the progress of delegated talks and retention on a reduced basis of the strike levy, pending a review, to build up our fighting fund.
This was vetoed by Cavanagh without discussion, the fourth time a motion relating to industrial strategy had been vetoed. In his contribution justifying the veto, the President even had the temerity to cite the “unanimity” on pay at the NEC of 17-18 July, when parts of a Heathcote-proposed paper passed…after Cavanagh vetoed the left alternative.
Each time this happens, the President misuses the NEC’s standing orders, indicating his view that no motion or amendment can be moved that disagrees with the General Secretary’s proposals. This is wildly anti-democratic and preposterous. This time he went further and stated that the veto was on the basis that the matters proposed had been discussed within three months.
They hadn’t, but it was revealing that the General Secretary opened her moving speech on her surrender proposal – which was defeated on August 12 – by saying that although the issues she was raising in her paper had been dealt with in the last three months, the difference was that there had been “a significant change in circumstances.”
So blinded by power-hunger and desperation to block the left from establishing democratic control and oversight of the union, Heathcote does not care what nonsense she spouts so long as she gets to do what she wants – to the detriment of our union’s campaigns and to the interests of union members.
Delegated pay talks on 2024/25 pay agreed
During a three-hour NEC meeting, Cavanagh vetoed 9 amendments, and 3 motions proposed by the majority left coalition.
Faced with either voting for the line in Heathcote’s paper that agreed delegated pay talks or with the NEC ending with no decision – thereby leaving in place the previous instruction unilaterally implemented by the General Secretary that there should be no delegated talks yet – the majority left voted to agree delegated pay talks.
It is absolutely clear, however, that the total dysfunction at the top of the union is a direct result of wrecking, obstructive tactics of the President and General Secretary and thiscannot continue. Members will be further angered by the blatant dishonest and factional use of official union comms by the General Secretary, shown again in the Members Briefing that was put out after this week’s NEC.
BLN members across the union are already working in branches and groups to ensure that we get the most out of this round of pay talks, including by raising in discussion a number of strategic objectives on pay, pay restoration, pay progression within grades, a minimum pay of £15 per hour and a wide range of improvements for members.
We know, however, that real progress is not going to come except through a serious fight – the fight we were blocked from having in mid-2023 by Heathcote and Cavanagh, and the fight they again directly prevented in Summer 2024 by their obstructionist tactics. We must prepare the union for that fight.
We call on all reps to support us in this endeavour, and to join the Broad Left Network, to help us build a fighting, democratic trade union, to defeat those who seek only personal position regardless of all else, and to implement socialist, campaigning policies that can win.
We also call upon reps to support a demand for a Special Delegate Conference to unblock this mess caused by the GS and President supported by the Left Unity minority on the NEC. To rebuild a serious national campaign on pay, jobs and conditions, determine who runs the union – the bureaucracy or members – and the fight against racism and fascism.
Starmer and Co have already been clear that it will “get worse before it gets better” – that means more cuts, more attacks on conditions and more low pay. We must be prepared for the struggle that must come.
PCS Broad Left Network 