An Emergency NEC was called for the 29th May to discuss PCS’ response to the pay remit guidance published the previous week. Despite having only 7 NEC members, (out of the 35 strong NEC) the Left Coalition wasted no time and tabled four motions: one to clearly reject the 3.25% pay limit published and build the campaign necessary to see-off the raft of attacks coming from Starmer’s Labour Government; a second motion aimed specifically to combat the threats to London members, given the recent pronouncements to move 12000 jobs out of London; one on trans liberation and the conduct of National President Martin Cavanagh at the recent Annual Delegate Conference (ADC), and lastly a set of alternate NEC standing orders submitted by BLN member Marion Lloyd. The last two motions were not printed.
At the beginning of the meeting, Marion asked for an update on the ruling from the TUC against PCS in favour of the GMB, which may impact on our live disputes with facilities management staff. None was given.
National Campaign – build a serious campaign to fight
Moved by BLN member Fiona Brittle and seconded by Gemma Criddle (independent), this motion sets out a fighting strategy on how to deliver motion A383 carried at conference, including laying demands on the Cabinet Office and the immediate agreement of specific actions to build members’ confidence and prepare them for a strike ballot in September.
This was counterposed to the General Secretary’s paper, which was sent out at the eleventh hour and contained several points of disagreement. The GS paper called for the rejection of 3.25% yet immediately undermined this by instructing negotiators to enter delegated talks. This is in stark contrast to our motion, which instructed negotiators to demand national discussions to improve the pay remit whilst simultaneously building a campaign amongst members and reps.
The refusal of the Democracy Alliance to campaign and implement conference policy is on clear display. They did not push for a clear rejection of this sub-inflation, unfunded pay remit; they called the demands set out in Motion A383 – passed mere weeks ago at PCS Conference – as “aspirations”; there has been no detailed report, members briefing, or even a social media post about the national campaign motion A383. Indeed, the report of the NEC on PCS’ website emphasised entering local talks above all else. This is a leadership with no will to fight for our members and a contempt for the parliament of our union.
Our National Campaign motion, based on the express will of PCS Conference, was called “sheer stupidity” by one returning LU NEC member. In moving it, Fiona challenged the GS on what must be done about the weekly if not daily media reports promising attacks on our members from the Government – most recently, an article from that morning in the Financial Times revealing intentions to cut 50,000 jobs in five years. She pointed out that the GS is wrong to “welcome” an insulting 0.45% move from 2.8 to 3.25%, or even claim that we have “moved” the government to do so. She asked what concrete steps the GS believed PCS had taken to achieve this, given no industrial action was allowed to be debated last year? The GS simply said “well if we didn’t shift them, who did?”. We would suggest that it may well be the other public sector unions who have already declared their intention to fight. Or perhaps, it was a (apparently correct) gamble that the PCS bureaucracy would jump at the chance to sell out their members for less than half a percent.
BLN and Left coalition members pointed out that we have never rushed straight into delegated pay talks as soon as a remit is published. The figure is nowhere close to our demands, and it is not funded. This means job cuts, which is not a secret – the government is shouting its “brutal” cuts scheme from the rooftops. The paper focuses wholly on pleading with the Government for consideration of our “aspirations”, and immediately tosses the responsibility for achieving anything at all to departmental negotiators. Some may be able to achieve above-remit awards, like the Home Office last year, but that is not because their negotiators are unbelievably skilled – it is because the Government does not want Border Force and HMPO out on strike again. Note they did not throw the same bone to DWP, HMRC, or any of our other members. What about them? National pay bargaining with national pay systems – levelled up to the best rates – is the only way to end the divisions created by delegated pay.
It is not possible for any one person (or any small negotiating team) to win an entire campaign. Even if the GS was putting her best effort into fighting for A383 and A315 from 2024 in pay talks (which we know she is not), it fundamentally misses the point to think that is sufficient. Only a mass mobilisation of our membership, ideally united with other workers organised in their unions, will be enough to leverage and force the government into concessions. The GS should not take this as an insult – it is a basic tenet of socialism, an ideology she purports to represent.
The other motion deemed acceptable was on the specific needs of London members within our National Campaign. Location-specific attacks on London jobs are already underway, and require a dedicated (while aligned) strategy to tackle. Shockingly, this was opposed and voted down by LU as it was “too London-centric”. Devolved Sector members should be concerned by this signal that, apparently, the required “unity” with the General Secretary’s proposals now extends to a ban on any flexibility of tactics taking into account specific needs of members depending on where they live.
The GS’ paper was put to the vote, and was carried with 25 votes for, 7 against. As a result, the pay motion fell automatically.
However – very notably and unlike last year – the President allowed the counterposed motion to be moved but declared there would be a felling if the General Secretary’s paper was agreed – which he knew it would be due to the considerable LU majority; a rediscovery of democracy once the votes are there to support his preferred position!
At almost every NEC last year, the President ruled out of order motions from BLN and other Left coalition members on the grounds that they disagreed with the General Secretary. This was always an evident attempt to avoid debate and crucially, a vote and carriage of the alternative fighting strategies we put forward when we held a majority. It was cynically used to undermine any action, and blame it on the Left Coalition. Now it is even more clear that is the case – when the President is sure those strategies won’t pass and need to be put into action, he’s more than happy to hear them.
Levy
In their apolitical election campaign, the new Left Unity majority prioritised discussion of “refunding the levy” rather than winning for members. Left coalition NEC members asked how the General Secretary planned to plug the £3m hole that will be left by carrying out her faction’s apolitical promise – described as “cash for votes” by one delegate at ADC 2025. She and her allies on the NEC could not answer, other than to say “we shouldn’t have had that money in the first place.”
Motion A383 passed at conference clearly instructs the NEC to build a campaign on the widest possible basis, that sets us on a war footing against a Government gunning for our members. Motion A85 was carried, but many speakers expressed their distaste or apathy for the censure – they just wanted the instructions, which albeit insufficient, spoke of the need to seriously grow the funds we have available for fighting campaigns.
BLN and Left coalition NEC members will continue to vote against attempts to pay back the levy, because it is a massive tactical error. It will rob our members of ammunition in the struggle ahead, and even worse, broadcasts to the Government that PCS will give them the industrial peace they want regardless of their attacks. What LU promised in their copy and paste manifestos in an election with 6.4% turnout is their business – properly equipping members to force what they’re owed from the employer is ours.
Victory needs a fighting leadership
Broad Left Network supporters have consistently pushed for a fighting strategy on pay, pensions, terms and conditions, and so on. Last year, and at the last NEC, we laid out the steps needed to seriously build a campaign to win on the key issues. At this NEC, just like the ones last year, Left Unity have refused to do so. There is a desperate need to go out to the membership, to explain the demands and the strategy of our national campaign motion, and to win members over. This is the leadership the union needs, but has been denied again and again by an anti-democratic faction interested in preserving its positions above all else.
We call on all reps who want to build a fighting, democratic union with a socialist programme that could win for members to join with us – to join the Broad Left Network – and unite to build a massive national campaign across every single area of the union, not one left behind.
PCS Broad Left Network 