Watered Down Demands Bear No Fruit

Surprising precisely no-one, after more than seven weeks the Tory Ministers and the Cabinet Office have yet to provide any meaningful response to the reduced and weakened “interim” demands sent voluntarily by Mark Serwotka on behalf of PCS, and endorsed by the Socialist View/Left Unity-led NEC majority.

At a special NEC meeting on 19 February, it was agreed that the General Secretary would write to the Cabinet Office with a list of demands for the PCS National Campaign, in line with Conference policy and laying out a comprehensive bargaining position. This list featured amongst other things the 10% pay claim (including appropriate underpins), equal pay, swift pay scale progression, as well as an end to the age discrimination inherent in redundancy “tapering” and in the imposed 2015 pension changes. A letter containing these demands was sent on 27th February, and brought before the early March NEC.

Fast forward to the NEC meeting on 26th March, when NEC members were presented with a paper outlining how Mark and the recently-created NEC Senior Officers’ Committee had agreed and sent a reduced list of interim demands to the Cabinet Office on 23rd March, one day before the arranged negotiating meeting to lay out the PCS National Claim. The SOC had done this without informing the NEC of their intentions, or seeking NEC approval to change and materially weaken our bargaining demands without prompting from the Cabinet Office. The paper brought before the NEC (three days after this letter was sent, and two days after the meeting with the Cabinet Office) simply asked for the NEC’s retroactive endorsement of this position.

The reduced interim demands read:

  1. A suspension of the delegated pay process, and an immediate above inflation pay increase for all staff implemented across the civil service from the centre.
  2. A 2% reduction in pension contributions.
  3. No changes to the CSCS for at least a year.
  4. A moratorium on office closures and redundancies.
  5. National bargaining machinery for key coronavirus related issues not resolved at departmental level, including enhanced safety measures for those staff who are required to come into work during the coming period.

The letter explained that PCS expected to be able to return to the full demands at some unspecified future point. The General Secretary explained to the NEC that this decision had been taken because there just wouldn’t be time to negotiate a full list of demands whilst the coronavirus emergency is ongoing. This, notably, was his own assertion and forecast of events, and not as a result of the government rejecting or even querying our initial demands. It’s also a baffling position to take, as having made our demands considerably more vague and less detailed, they could arguably take just as long to negotiate.

Broad Left Network members of the NEC mounted firm opposition to this course of action, which they maintain is a material departure from the democratically agreed national position, and a gross overreach of authority on behalf of the SOC. Voluntarily reducing demands before negotiations have started is a massive strategic error, and one that will drastically undermine our position of strength against the employer. Sending a list of comprehensive demands only to send a stripped-back version less than a month later communicates an unconfident and hesitant leadership, at a time when union membership is climbing due to the visible and excellent work being done by PCS reps on the ground to protect our members during the Covid-19 crisis. We should be pushing forward, not cringing back. The Socialist View and Left Unity-led majority on the NEC of course vociferously supported and agreed with the interim demands, whilst decrying any objection as opportunistic and corrupt.

Most worryingly was the significant reduction in the pay claim from a 10% rise to merely “above inflation.” BLN comrades pointed out that this was the bare minimum required to prevent a pay cut for our members, and so had effectively reduced our opening gambit on pay to the lowest possible value, from which the only place for the Tory government to negotiate us was down. It also wrongly communicates to the employer that 10% is not a carefully-decided and necessary increase, but an opportunistic punt, and that just above inflation would actually be sufficient. This is patently not the case; it is an insult to members who have now fought tirelessly in two unsuccessful ballots, and who will now face even more disadvantage for any action in future due to the weak capitulating of their leadership. It is stunningly short-sighted and naïve to simply hope against hope that, after toying with our new skeleton demands for as long as they can, the employer will turn around and give credible consideration to paying PCS members the 10% increase they need and deserve.

As mentioned, we are now more than seven weeks on from submission of the weakened “interim” demands, and have received only platitudes and placeholders from Michael Gove and his grinning acolytes – unless you count the Cabinet Office expressing the Ministers’ gratitude at the SOC’s “constructive approach” to negotiations as positive news which, as a fighting socialist organisation, the Broad Left Network do not. We’re sure that the Tory Government are thrilled by PCS’s newly meagre bargaining pitch, as it will make their job of oppressing the working class that much easier. Unfortunately for the Left Unity NEC majority, a pat on the back from the employer is not what our members want, and it certainly won’t pay anyone’s rent.

It is bad enough that Mark and the Senior Officers’ Committee altered and sent demands without a full and accountable vote of the NEC, thereby side-stepping both ADC and the elected leadership of PCS on such an important and fundamental issue. But on top of this undemocratic action, they have also weakened our bargaining strength with no reward to show for it, and almost certainly secured worse outcomes for our members in the long run.

Covid 19 -Priority Protect Members Lives

The coronavirus crisis continues as does the pressure on our members and the claimants who rely on  us. Maintaining the service and the safety of staff are the major concerns of the union which have dominated meetings of the DWP Group Executive Committee (GEC).

Serious Incident Protocol Needed 

The most recent GEC meeting was 21/22 April. At this meeting Broad Left Network (BLN) supporters put forward proposals for a serious incident protocol (similar to that put forward in HMRC). This would lay down clear standards to protect staff and trigger an office/site closure if safeguards are not met. Such a proposal would form the crucial part of a comprehensive agreement which we believe should also include:-

* A clear plan that enables every single DWP worker to work from home unless it is agreed by the TUS as impossible or in cases of domestic violence.

* Full union consultation on all the planning being done to deliver services to the public.

*  Agreement that where a member of staff who stays at home cannot work, for example, due to childcare needs, are placed on paid special leave.

* A definition of “key worker”, with the object of the union being to minimise the number of members counted as key workers. 

* An agreed list of critical tasks which require staff to attend an office.

* An agreed list of offices which should remain open to deliver crucial services to the vulnerable.

* Continue to oppose the recruitment of agency staff and demand that management directly recruits permanent staff 

In absence of this protocol or until it is established, we argued that branches must be supported with the task of conducting updated risk assessments across every building to ensure capacity limits are updated to take account of the need for social distancing. This is particularly important in the context of DWP having the ability to redirect staff from office to office at will. Such redirection must be the subject of consultation at all levels and must be agreed before it happens. 

It’s a major criticism that 8 weeks into the virus crisis that many concerns remain unresolved and with no agreement in sight. Despite this fact our proposals were rejected by the Socialist View GEC majority saying they were doing most of these things – which we believe is not the case. Or they said could place individual members at risk of management reprisals – which we reject as we have always been clear that collective action is our best protection.

More Staff Needed 

We argued that even with all of the measures above there is an urgent need for further permanent recruitment and that a staffing demand of 20,000 permanent staff be immediately reiterated to DWP senior management.

Stop Office Closures 

We welcomed the temporary step back from office closures taken by DWP, but believe the office closure programme should be fully cancelled.

No To Outsourcing 

 The bringing of outsourced contracts back in house must be a priority along with supporting branches to recruit to the union staff from Interserve, G4S and other privatised services delivered in DWP buildings.

Special Leave Claim

BLN supporters raised the demand that staff working at home or in the workplace should receive some recognition for all their hard work and proposed a claim for 2 weeks  paid special leave.

A 10% Pay Increase For Public Sector Workers

BLN supporters raised this demand in as part of the approach to rewarding staff.  In the discussion SV supporters rejected this.

GEC Elections

BLN supporters believe democracy is important and that elections should be carried out to ensure a fresh mandate for the GEC.  SV majority say this is an NEC decision and it has been decided that the elections are postponed for safety reasons despite the use of electronic voting being available for the GEC elections.  

Using Technology and Email Addresses to Engage with Members

We raised the request for zoom accounts to be made available for all Branches that wished to use them. We were told we cannot afford these to be made available despite savings being made on travel and subsistence.  A cost of a zoom account starts from £11.99 per month. We also raised the request for branch officers to gain access to members personal email addresses and make the necessary changes with the Data Protection Officer to ensure GDPR compliance for PCS.  This was rejected.

Concluding Remarks

Broad Left Network supporters put forward proposals at the GEC on all the major issues of concern to DWP members. We had some success in moving the GEC but mostly faced outright opposition or ‘it’s in hand’ excuses. The GEC can and should do better in challenging management and using our collective strength in securing agreements which will give guarantees of safe working for members working at home or in the workplace.

Coronavirus DWP –  Support Claimants Needs and  Safe Working Conditions 

Claimants and staff have a common interest:- an effective social safety net for all those affected by the crisis, and full protection for our members in providing the service

Workers and claimants are now facing the consequences of Tory austerity cuts, from health care workers having insufficient PPE and testing, to DWP not having the IT to enable staff to work from home safely,  sufficient permanent staffing to process and pay benefits to and the lack of cleaning materials and protocols to maintain social distancing and safety in the workplace.  

Given the enormity of the crisis in the DWP a left leaning leadership should want to ensure democracy involving elected branches, regions and the Group Executive Members.  This being important to ensure members and claimant needs are fully understood and acted on.  The response from the SV faction of DWP has been the opposite.   The GEC was sidelined for example to one emergency meeting before Easter and with another only being taking place as part of the scheduled meetings for the year .   In contrast the Yorkshire and Humber Region with BLN supporters have been organising weekly meetings and using social media to engage reps more frequently.  

At the emergency Group Executive Meeting the lack of democracy was further highlighted when the SP and BLN supporters motion was ruled out of order by the SV Group President on the grounds that it mentioned the death of a DWP member – too sensitive an issue.  That ruling was really cover in our view to prevent a discussion and debate on key demands and details to hold them to account. 

In fact their own recommendations only appeared 6 minutes before the meeting and was the first time most of us including the officers had seen the demands that the GEC was going to vote on. At the meeting BLN attempted to amend the recommendations but our amendments were ruled out as being too detailed. Only small amendments were allowed. When it came to the vote the Group President rather than allowing a decision on those amendments put their recommendations to the meeting for agreement which meant all amendments fell when their motion was carried.  

Our demands clearly influenced the SV approach but SV did not go far enough. We wanted an additional 20,000 permanent staff and protocols developed covering the following points:

* A clear road map that lays out the immediate steps DWP is taking to enable every single DWP worker to work from home unless this agreed by TUS as impossible or in cases of domestic violence.

* An agreement that where a member of staff who stays at home cannot work, for example, due to childcare needs, they are placed on paid special leave.

* A definition of “key worker”, with the object of the union being to minimise the number of members counted as key workers, whilst taking account of the crucial work members of all grades and from all business areas may be able to perform in delivering front line benefits, as an emergency measure.

* An agreed list of critical tasks which require staff to attend an office, on condition that proper equipment is provided and the explicit commitment that staff remain on paid special leave in all cases where this is not adhered to.

* An agreed list of offices which should remain open to deliver crucial services to the vulnerable which cannot be delivered by staff working from home.

* A cast iron guarantee that DWP will not seek to use the Covid crisis to bring in agency staff, with all the dangers – including risks to health and safety – that this implies.

In absence of this protocol or until it is established, we also wanted the GEC to support branches with the task of conducting updated risk assessments across every building to ensure capacity limits are updated to take account of the need for social distancing.  

We recognise the employer may not agree to those demands and consequently there needed to be a threat if the demands could not be met so we demanded Branches must be supported to serve Section 44 notices and prepare walkouts where social distancing is not respected and where consultation is not satisfactory to ensure the safety of staff.  

We also pushed the GEC to bring outsourced contracts back in house must be a priority. This means supporting branches to recruit to the union staff from Interserve, G4S and other privatised services delivered in DWP buildings. 

The BLN motion sort also to instruct Group Officers to keep the GEC fully informed about negotiations, including by the organising of telekits to ensure GEC members are able to play a full role in shaping the demands and strategy we adopt over the coming period. Where it becomes clear that our demands will not be agreed, we also demanded an emergency GEC should be called and Group Officers should propose our next steps. This should include consideration of responses under the Health and Safety at Work Act, the Employment Rights Act and strike action if necessary.

Unsafe Workplace – NEC tell reps & members “it’s up to you”

Covid 19 poses a serious risk to all workers. This is especially true for those at work during the crisis, which is why we demand the highest Health and Safety workplace standards. 

The question facing us is how do we respond, if and when, despite local union reps best efforts, the employer has not done enough to ensure that our working environment is safe.

A clue to this is provided by PCS reps and members at Paisley Jobcentre on Friday 24th April. They had an outdoors union meeting (with proper social distancing arrangements in place) following an outbreak of Covid-19 in their office. 

More than twenty staff, whose numbers had already been drastically reduced by the need to keep home and safe colleagues with underlying health conditions, voted that their office was not safe to work in. After the vote members stayed out of the building for several hours while they waited for the union’s negotiators to get a deal out of senior managers.

National managers, however, were unwilling to budge. They insisted, despite the concerns raised by staff at the site and by Health and Safety reps, that a thorough clean had been conducted and that staff should return to work.

A compromise was eventually reached that allowed staff to go home on full flexi credits with the office closed for 72 hours. Local union reps were applauded for their work.

Union reps at Paisley acted decisively to protect themselves and their members. They correctly determined that the health and safety of members was paramount and collectively refused to work in a workplace they deemed unsafe.

Had the Paisley reps and members relied on advice and a lead from the union nationally they would have been disappointed and still waiting.

A PCS Briefing “Coronavirus – can employees refuse to attend the work place” has been recently issued. At the end of a lengthy cataloguing of bits of legislation on health and safety the Briefing concludes with a statement bereft of guidance and leadership -. “This briefing provides general information about statutory rights which are available to all employees in the UK. We are NOT advising you to do, or refrain from doing, anything.” 

Current health and safety legislation provide only limited protection. The anti-union laws are another obstacle.However the health and safety of union members must always come first.

The incident at Paisley highlighted the need for the DWP Group Executive to secure arrangements which give better protection to members. Something BLN members on the GEC have been arguing for.

Other areas have successfully achieved this. For example a “Serious Incident Protocol” has been negotiated by the PCS Group Executive in HMRC. It can be found here. It’s not perfect. The Government advise self-isolation if a member of your household has (or is suspected to have) Covid 19. Unfortunately, the employer refuse to apply the same standards to contact with a person at work. However, it has forced the closure of several HMRC buildings for periods of up to a week. The DWP GEC should negotiate a similar or better agreement for our members, and the NEC should try to get a similar or improved agreement to cover all our workplaces.

The NEC also needs to act more decisively to ensure staff (our members) and reps are in a safe place whether at home or in the workplace.

BLN members were active in the Paisley Jobcentre demand for a safe workplace and in the action supporting this demand. We have no hesitation in recommending reps follow their example.

PCS should demand of management that they make all the workplace adjustments needed to ensure workers safety. These include:

• Everyone should work from home unless their work is both critical and can’t be done at home.

• All staff with underlying health conditions, live with someone with underlying health conditions or have caring responsibilities must work from home or be placed on paid special leave

• Where office attendance is necessary, agreed social distancing of at least 2m in all areas of the office – no compromise on capacity.

• Thoroughly cleaned premises and equipment

• Hand sanitisers available at every point where they are needed

Where demands are not met to the satisfaction of reps and members a car park meeting should be held (with proper social distancing arrangements in place) to agree collectively how to respond. Stick together until a solution is agreed and accepted by members. Yes, unity is our strength in these difficult times. A lesson it seems the national leadership of the union has yet to learn. Our members’ safety is not for sale.

Bold Response Required Against Government On The Run

The Tory government have had to acknowledge the key role played by PCS members in delivering vital services alongside the rest of the public sector and also low paid private sector workers and the “extraordinary efforts” we are making.

Extraordinary efforts that have been made very much more difficult as a result of the year on year cuts and under-funding that have impacted on our staffing levels and ability to deliver services. PCS reps are having to respond to the crisis management trying to undo over a decade of austerity – recruiting extra staff, trying to get decent IT equipment so that our members can work safely from home at the same time as fighting to keep our workplaces safe.

It is critical that the trade union movement clearly stand up for the working class and our communities and demand and fight for what is needed to get us through this pandemic. Mass pressure on the Tory Government can help deliver what is needed – as we have seen with widespread outcry over demands over income for workers who face the temporary or permanent loss of their jobs and income forced the government to introduce some measures.  However there are still many who fall through the gaps in these measures and in many cases the Tories are letting big business off the hook who should be paying their workers.

The trade union movement should be at the forefront in developing the demands that are needed to support the working class, protect our health and safety and fully resource the services that are needed. We have had to fight hard for our private sector members in our workplaces to get the same protection and their normal pay and conditions when they are unable to be in the workplace, as our public sector members.

It is surprising to see that just at the point when our arguments about how vital the work that our members do is really hitting home, that Serwotka and co are promoting the idea that we park our key policies and instead put forward watered down demands at this time of crisis.  We do not trust the Tories and their sudden commitment to public services and heaping praise on our members, to remember all this when the pandemic is over. And in any case fine words butter no parsnips.

The worries our members normally face day in day out over low pay, lack of staff, high workloads, threats to close offices and losing their jobs still remain and make it even more difficult to deliver services in the even more stressful, pressurised crisis we are working in. It should be straightforward to put forward demands to address these concerns.so that our members can focus on delivering public services. 

Our union could play a key role as we did in 2011 in giving a lead and uniting public sector trade union members. A straightforward call for a 10% pay rise for all public sector workers would reduce the need for lengthy talks and recognise members are working flat out delivering vital public services despite our pay being held down for years.  We need investment in full staffing levels for the public sector and the equipment that is needed to deliver services safely. Planned cuts like the office closure programme should be reversed and stopped and the threat removed recognising the fact that jobs and services are needed in local communities to deal with the coronavirus crisis but also into the future. Trade unions should be demanding that no workers furloughed or laid off during the crisis should lose their overall pay and also for a substantial rise in benefits linked to a rise in the national minimum wage to £12 per hour (£15 in London)

We cannot afford to have the leaders of our movement lining up behind the national effort and its failed leadership under Tories whose primary focus is protecting the interests of big business and not the 99% in our workplaces and communities. We need to provide a lead to the working class and articulate the demands on what is necessary to protect people and deliver the services. We cannot shy away from demanding the resources that are needed to undo the damage that decades of cuts have made to deal with this crisis but also for quality public services to deliver our vital services into the future.

BLN NEC Slate

We’d like to thank everyone for all of the support the BLN has received so far and are pleased to announce our recommended candidates for the forthcoming NEC elections. We’d encourage everyone who wants to see real change in PCS to nominate and support the candidates recommended by the BLN – and would encourage everyone to share the attached leaflet which explains why the BLN is standing candidates and what we want to do

President: Marion Lloyd

Vice Presidents: Fiona Brittle, Sarah Brown, Zita Holbourne, Dave Semple

NEC Members: Angela Appleby, Dave Bartlett, Rebecca Borland, Fiona Brittle, Sarah Brown, Clive Bryant, Kevin Denman, Gill Foxton, Paul Guinnane, Rachel Heemskerk, Kris Hendry, Tom Lowry, Marion Lloyd, Nick Parker, Dave Rees, Rob Ritchie, Dave Semple, Roger Thomas, Saorsa-Amatheia Tweedale, Dave Vickers, Hector Wesley, Katrine Williams, Craig Worswick, Colin Young

For more info, please read the BLN Nomination LeafetDownload

What next after the General Election, for PCS and the left?

Preparing our union to withstand the attacks of the new Tory Government is urgent. PCS, alongside unions like the RMT, which are left fighting unions, will be key to ensuring the whole of the trade union movement is able to respond to the attacks which are coming. 

Johnson, in his victory speech, talked about being a ‘one-nation Conservative’ and promised increased spending on the NHS. This is difficult to believe. Many of us remember Thatcher quoting Frances of Assisi, promising to bring harmony and hope to Britain when she won in 1979.

Instead, she ruled ruthlessly in the interests of her class and attacked working people including Civil Service workers and their families. It was Thatcher who privatised huge areas of the Civil Service, broke up national bargaining by introducing ‘delegations’ and cut thousands of jobs in her attempts to reduce the power of the union.

Johnson will do the same. Already he has launched an assault on the rights of rail workers to strike. This, combined with the recent brutal anti-democratic court rulings against the postal workers’ union, the CWU, gives a glimpse of the attacks that are to come.

But if the Trade Union movement fights with a strategy that unites workers across trade unions then Johnson’s attacks can be defeated. The seeming strength of Johnson’s government can be shattered. In 1987 Margaret Thatcher had a majority of 102. Within 12 months the campaign of mass non-payment against the poll tax began and led to her resignation just a few years later.

Today’s Tory party is far weaker than it was then. It is bitterly divided, and Johnson has only been able to win by linking BREXIT with promises to invest in health, housing and education and falsely claiming he is standing up for ‘the people’.

His promise to “get BREXIT done” by 31January is impossible to achieve and the road is fraught with dangers for big business and the Tories. It is entirely possible that this will cause huge political problems for the Government. If the Brexit arrangements trash the economy, all the other promises on taxes and spending will become impossible to deliver. The worst estimates say that a No Deal exit could cause twice the damage of the banking crash.

These false promises will become apparent very quickly and provoke a response which the Tories didn’t anticipate. The relevance of the anti-austerity agenda promoted by Corbyn will be back in the minds of working people.

The Trade Union movement must prepare now. PCS should demand the TUC call an urgent ‘council of war’ to plan the fight back against Johnson’s attacks. In the here and now this means immediate support for the PCS, education, postal and rail workers currently in dispute.  But that also means giving the lead to quickly co-ordinate a campaign against the Tories to give a voice to working people. This must include demands for socialist policies. If the TUC doesn’t act then PCS must meet with like-minded unions to organise an effective and quick response.

Already politicians, commentators and the Labour right wing, are arguing that Labour’s poor result was caused by Corbyn’s left-wing manifesto. This is nonsense. If Corbyn had maintained the commitment that he gave in the 2017 manifesto that a Labour government led by him would recognise the referendum result, seek to negotiate a deal in the interests of workers the outcome might have been very different.  Supporters of the Broad Left Network moved an emergency motion at the September NEC that called for the TUC Congress, which was meeting the following week, to mobilise workers to fight for a general election, just as Johnson was losing crucial parliamentary votes. However, this was opposed and defeated by Mark Serwotka and his supporters, meaning that the mistaken approach of Jeremy Corbyn to instead limit himself to parliamentary manoeuvres with pro-Remain parties wasn’t countered.  

Even so, Labour got 10.2 million votes, the second time under Corbyn it has reached over 10 million votes, something that was not achieved by Blair after the 2001 election, or ever by Brown or Miliband. Had he won, and implemented his programme it would have changed the lives of millions of working people including PCS members.

The battle lines are now being drawn with Johnson, aided and abetted by his side-kick, the unelected, unaccountable Cummings, planning their overhaul of Whitehall which will impact all PCS members and the communities we serve. Let’s not forget it was Cummings who lectured that a permanent civil service belongs in the history books!

The agenda for PCS members is already set. Fair pay, a return to national bargaining, investment in the key services we provide and an end to office closures, job losses and pension cuts. In short this means a fight to preserve a permanent, properly trained and rewarded Civil Service. We must also step up our campaigning to stop climate change.

The Broad Left Network will have a vital part to play in the struggles ahead. We must hold the current PCS leadership to account. Marion Lloyd won a tremendous vote in the General Secretary election, as did Bev Laidlaw, who came third. The NEC must take into account the views of those members, who include many key Union activists. They want:

  • A return to a member led union
  • A joined-up strategy to rebuild PCS which links bargaining to organising
  • A fight back against office closures to save jobs, with PCS Groups and National Branches fully consulted and
  • Lay structures (the activists who are PCS members), and not full-time officials, directing the best use of union resources.

The Broad Left Network will be standing candidates in the PCS 2020 elections with a programme to counter the Tory attacks and fighting to defend our members interests. Attend the event we have called on the 18th January in Manchester. Join us in this struggle by joining the BLN.

Why Tax Justice is Still Relevant

With the possibility of a change of government, it is important that the Campaign for Tax Justice is reinvigorated by PCS.

The Tax Justice Campaign is undoubtedly one of the most important campaigns over the last decade. In the early days of austerity, almost every political commentator and journalist slavishly regurgitated the Tory line – that austerity was an economic necessity rather than a political choice. PCS, thanks to the work of Left Unity, launched a campaign which successfully challenged this narrative, bringing the impact of tax fraud into public consciousness.

The Tax Justice Campaign was based on academic research commissioned by PCS which demonstrated that the UK tax gap (the difference between tax due and tax collected) amounted to £120 bn per annum, which was predominantly comprised of corporate tax avoidance and evasion. At this time the UK Chancellor, George Osborne, argued that the UK Budget Deficit (around £100 bn when the Tories came to power) necessitated cuts in public expenditure, bringing about the start of the government’s austerity programme.

The PCS argument was clear – if the government closed the tax gap, it could wipe out the budget deficit and in doing so make arguments for austerity redundant. The government’s refusal to do so clearly demonstrated that rather than being an economic necessity, austerity was simply an instrument via which working class people were forced to subsidise rampant corporate tax fraud.

In practice, this means that the Tory attacks on public services & social security, which have been so damaging to the British working class, were all carried out so that people like Philip Green could spend £150 million on a new yacht. For PCS members, the same thing applies – office closures, redundancies, pay restraint and attacks on terms & conditions are all being thrust upon PCS members purely to enable the government to continue lining their City friends’ pockets with billions of pounds of public money.

BLN believes the PCS Tax Justice Campaign is still as relevant as ever and in the context of the current Labour Party consultation being run by the NEC, it should form the basis of the key political demands.

 Namely, the BLN believes these demands are for the government to simplify tax law and in doing so close tax loopholes, particularly in relation to offshore activities. Similarly, the government must invest in HMRC to ensure that the department is equipped to close the tax gap, which would include ending the current office closure programme, instead focussing on the reintroduction of local compliance offices as these will allow HMRC officers to visit businesses in all parts of the country. This is the only way to ensure that business practices are compliant with tax law.

BLN welcomes the long-standing support the Tax Justice Campaign has received from Jeremy Corbyn & John McDonnell, but we also recognise the fact that throughout the UK, councils led by the Labour right-wing have been enthusiastically implementing Tory austerity measures for a decade – and that same position will undoubtedly be pursued at a national level, should the Blairites regain control of the party. Similarly, the anti-austerity sentiment expressed by the SNP, Liberals & Greens is undermined by all three parties’ willingness to impose the Tory austerity programme wherever they hold power.

If we’ve learned anything from the last decade, it is that PCS members and more broadly, the UK working class, cannot rely on the rhetoric of political parties to ensure that the economy is run to benefit anyone other than the capitalist class. PCS must build the anti-austerity movement amongst its membership, alongside campaigning for this at the TUC and within the wider working class, in order to ensure that any incoming government takes action to close the tax gap.

PCS members have a unique contribution to make to develop policy in this area. Our members operate the tax system and can contribute ideas for legislation, policy changes and a different operational approach. The PCS Revenue & Customs Group, alongside the NEC, must continue to lobby opposition politicians on these issues makes sure that Tax Justice is high on the agenda of an incoming government.  Ultimately, the UK ranks as one of the most unequal nations in Europe. PCS has to lead the fight to end austerity to ensure that any future government is forced to implement PCS policies, including public ownership of energy and utilities and a progressive tax system that redistributes wealth and income in favour of working people and their families.  

General Election Now

The decision by the Tory Prime Minister Boris Johnson to suspend parliament lays bare how quickly the Tories and their supporters will ditch democracy when it suits them. This move is nothing more than an undemocratic manoeuvre designed to over-rule elected MP’s and force through either a Johnson Brexit deal or no deal at all.  Ironic, given the Prime Minister has been elected by less than 0.25% of the electorate.

The PCS Broad Left Network believes that Jeremy Corbyn and the whole of the Trade Union movement need to urgently launch a mass campaign to force an immediate General Election.  It is crucial that we grab the moment and build on the demonstrations which took place in the wake of Johnson’s announcement.

PCS has a pivotal role to play in this and the union must now use the opportunity it gives to lead the call for a General Election and the return of a Corbyn led government on an anti-austerity programme. The fact that the current General Secretary Mark Serwotka is the President of the TUC should be used to pivotal effect to the advantage of not only PCS members but for working class families the length and breadth of the UK to mobilise workers and build support for the demand for an immediate General Election. The TUC congress in less than a fortnight could become a real call to arms for this demand across our movement. The intervention from PCS could be decisive and needs to be the subject of discussion at the National Executive that meets next week.

PCS must pull out all the stops to support Jeremy Corbyn’s intention to institute a vote of no-confidence in the Tory government of Boris Johnson, to force a general election and campaign for a Corbyn-led Labour Government on an anti-austerity programme.

We do not support the attempts by politicians to support a ‘national unity’ government led by right wing Labour politicians, Tories or Independents.  The capitalist establishment support this as they fear that anything led by Jeremy Corbyn may lead to an elected Corbyn government which would act against austerity and in the interests of working people including thousands of Civil Service and public sector workers. A so-called “national unity” government not led by Corbyn would act in the interests of big business and capitalism.

It is crucial now that the TUC and the unions mobilise to build on the protests breaking out all over the country, demonstrations for a general election and for a government to be elected with a clear anti-austerity programme , including the repeal of anti-Trade Union laws.

It is only the trade union movement, mobilised for a general election, which can really  unite working people by cutting through the fog that right wing politicians and media have created over Brexit. We can reclaim the ground to put forward our demands about fighting for decent jobs, pay and conditions and our services to help win the implementation of an anti-austerity programme to benefit thousands of working class families including PCS members.

School Student Strikes: Climate Change

The response from students across the world to climate change is inspirational. The Trade Union movement has a key role to link together the issues for workers, youth and broader society and build on the lead already given.

The evidence is now compelling that global warming and extreme weather events are linked to climate change. Since the first earth summit in Rio in 1992, the emission of greenhouse gases have actually increased. Capitalist governments have shown themselves incapable of the decisive and radical action needed. It is capitalism itself that has shown itself to be the obstacle to the scale and pace of change needed to end our reliance upon the burning of fossil fuels and move to a zero carbon economy by 2050.

Trade unions need to heed the call for action raised by the inspirational and global school student strikes and the peaceful civil disobedience of the Extinction Rebellion protests we saw in London.

The Broad left Network believes climate change is a trade union issue. The Earth’s temperature has already risen by one degree above pre-industrial levels. The Autumn IPCC report warned we have 12 years to keep global warming to a maximum of 1.5 degrees. Carbon emissions need to be cut by 45% by 2030 to reach zero carbon by 2050 in order to avoid a dangerous tipping point. It is clear to all rational people, unfortunately that doesn’t apply to the current occupant of the Oval Office, that the future of our planet is at risk if we don’t organise now to force governments to cut emissions in line with the IPCC Report.

The Broad Left Network believe PCS and trade unions in UK must use their collective power to win support for the decisive action needed.

We stand for;

* Statutory rights for Green workplace reps and Trade Union led environmental risk assessments in every workplace.

* Machinery of government changes to ensure the Civil Service is ready to deliver environmental policies as part of a National Climate Service.

* Tax Justice to fund the investment, clean transport, energy efficiency measures and training programmes that can help create millions of new, skilled, unionised jobs while cutting greenhouse emissions.

*Build on the Lucas Plan, One million Climate Jobs, Just Transition: A civil service perspective and many other initiatives across the world to set out plans for a Just Transition that places the interests of workers and trade unionists at its centre.

* To campaign alongside Trade Unions for Energy Democracy, TUC affiliates and the Labour leadership for the public ownership and democratic control of Energy from the community, municipal to the government and global level.

* Strengthen the links between the trade union and environmental movement in UK and globally through joint campaigns, protests, peaceful civil disobedience and strikes to mobilise support for the system change needed.

* Support the call for a global climate strike on 20 September 2019 linking school students and trade unionists across the world.

* PCS support for the UCU call for a 30 minute stoppage on the 20 September 2019 and lobby the TUC to call for a nation- wide stoppage with actions in and outside workplaces and protests across towns and cities in the UK.

If you’d like to get involved with the Broad Left Network, please get in touch via our contact page. Thanks.