Burnham Bounce does not mean better pay, jobs protected and pension crisis solved.
PCS Annual Delegate Conference in May, voted for to build a serious campaign to tackle pay, protect jobs, sort out the pension crisis and improve members terms and conditions. Almost simultaneously, members voted for a NEC Left Coalition majority – not least because it stood on a platform to build a serious campaign capable of winning as set out in Motion A375.However, reps and members would be forgiven for not knowing about any campaign, nor the decisions taken by the NEC to build the campaign as determined by members through conference. This is because the General Secretary, Fran Heathcote, is not implementing them. Decisions of the NEC are being delayed, or simply ignored.
Members have instructed the union leadership to build a serious fight on pay, jobs, pensions and other crucial issues at three consecutive conferences. The Democracy Alliance led NEC at the time, “paused” action 40 months ago and are still intent on sabotaging our attempts to build the necessary campaign.
Members recognise that this is the only way to fight and win our demands against a government still rooted in cuts and passing on austerity to the public and its own workers. This is as true of a Burnham led government as it is of a Starmer led government and no amount of waiting around to see if Burnham delivers, will change that. The 3.5% remit is still 3.5%, job cuts are still taking place and our members in FCDO and elsewhere are still bravely fighting on to defeat these in their areas, the crisis in Capita shows little sign of resolving itself with thousands still suffering hardship, delayed pensions and delayed retirements, low pay is still prevalent amongst thousands of our members and our offices are still threatened with closure and the cost-of-living crisis rages on.
The Broad Left Network members, as part of the Left Coalition were elected on a platform to build a serious strategy to win. And we remain determined to do so. To do otherwise is a serious betrayal of an approach that has been overwhelming endorsed by members through conference and is the only way to tackle the serious issues facing PCS members day in day out.
Use industrial leverage
PCS members have huge industrial power and not to recognise this and not use it is a serious betrayal of members interests. With Andy Burnham taking over as Prime Minister, we must apply pressure to ensure Labour delivers for workers rather than continuing to govern in the interest of big business. And the early signs are not good. Many trade union leaders may wish to give Burnham “a chance to make changes”, but all we have seen so far is yet more machinery of government changes for the civil service, vague announcements about devolution without any guarantee of job protection for our members, and blaming climate change on BBQs whilst authorising further oil drilling in the North Sea. He has made no commitment to increase the public sector pay remit which restricts our members’ pay to around 3.5% (only partially funded), or to bring pensions administration back in house to resolve the appalling Capita pensions crisis. Our members can’t afford to “wait and see”.
NEC make decisions to build campaign but General Secretary refusing to implement
From the point where the decision was made to support A375, it is clear that General Secretary, Fran Heathcote and her supporters continue to do everything possible to undermine this decision and not carry out the instructions she is responsible for implementing. Far from “holding the employers feet to the fire”, her election pledge when she won the GS election with less than an 800 vote majority, she has done the opposite, not even publishing the result of the conference vote to members, the absence of any social media or website announcement, which if done, would have put not only the whole of PCS on a war-footing, but would have sent a very clear message to the employer, just in advance of the publication of their paltry 3.5% pay remit..
From the very first meeting on 29th May, the NEC have repeatedly instructed the General Secretary to urgently publish materials on the PCS website and social media, and comprehensive branch briefings to announce the new Conference policy to fight, and to equip reps with advice and information to build support and momentum for the campaign amongst members. We have instructed her to provide proposals for giving lay representatives access to members’ contact details and the ability to communicate with them directly. We have agreed members meetings right throughout the union and a plan to work with all of our lay structures to build the campaign necessary.
None of this has been done, and the General Secretary refuses to explain why. In fact, Deputy National President Dave Semple produced specific website articles to rally members following the 29th May NEC and was told this was “disrespectful” to the General Secretary.
There have been multiple social media posts, emails and articles on other issues, but a deafening silence on the national campaign. To most reps and members this NEC looks no different than what they’ve had for years. Members and reps have not even been told officially that PCS laid campaign demands on the Cabinet Office within weeks of Conference ending, indicating that we consider PCS in dispute if no progress were made.
This is not an accident. Rather it is the latest way that the General Secretary aims to stop PCS members having a national campaign, having lost the ability to do so via the National President and NEC following the elections. She and her Left Unity allies have vocally opposed a national campaign on pay, jobs and conditions. They voted to oppose A375 in the NEC last year (as well as similar motions A353 and A315 in 2025 and 2024). The General Secretary does not want this campaign, and rather than sticking up for those she has been elected and paid to represent, she is acting as an apologist for a Labour Government who have no intention of delivering the “respect” in the form of jobs, pay, pensions promised when Labour was elected two years ago.
Beyond this, she hopes that by frustrating the efforts of the NEC and making us look ineffective, members will continue to be disillusioned with the leadership. She hopes this will keep voter turnout low in the next round of NEC elections, to increase the odds of returning her allies to power and with them a lacklustre approach to trade unionism.
The General Secretary would clearly prefer to continue endless talks, which have produced nothing of substantial benefit, with the Cabinet Office, with no industrial action campaign, and hope that Burnham sorts everything out. Her supporters in Left Unity have made it clear that they want to see the outcome of pay talks before even building for a campaign. This is a nonsense when we know that offers will be around 3.5%, far too low to combat the years of pay erosion due to austerity, and anything above that will only be offered in exchange for selling off members’ terms and conditions. Even the 3.5% isn’t fully funded, with only 2% of that coming from the Treasury as new money, and Departments will have to find the rest from within existing budgets. We know that means staffing cuts, recruitment freezes, and mounting workloads for remaining staff.
We have no faith the General Secretary will implement conference and NEC decisions, so we will need to organise in our Branches, Groups and Regions/Nations to apply pressure.
If you agree with the need for a fighting campaign, join the Broad Left Network and raise the issue in your branches.
PCS Broad Left Network 