Public and Commercial Services Union

Government cuts: Our response

Date: 26 May 2010             Ref: BB.57/10

The coalition government’s announcement of an extra £6.2bn cuts on Monday 24 May, followed the next day by the Queen’s Speech legislative programme, highlighted the scale of the attacks we face and the urgent tasks we must undertake.

These cuts, described as ‘cuts in Whitehall waste’ and ‘efficiency savings’ are the tip of the iceberg. As the Treasury Chief Secretary, David Laws MP, said “tougher decisions await us in the [22 June] Budget and the Autumn Spending Review”.

The main items outlined in the cuts announcements are:

• £600m from cuts to “quangos”
• Freeze on civil service recruitment
• £1.7bn from delaying or stopping contracts and projects
• £1.165bn from local government cuts
• £1.15bn cuts in consultancy and travel costs
• £520m by reducing ‘lower value spend’

The Queen’s Speech also confirmed a renewed attack on welfare, and a new bill to facilitate the abolition of what are described as “quangos”.

Since ‘efficiency savings’ in the civil service of over 100,000 jobs were first announced by the then Chancellor, Gordon Brown in 2004, our members and the public have suffered the consequences of job losses, office closures and reduced local services – often in areas of high deprivation.

The coalition government has said that their planned savings will be taken out of budgets without affecting the quality of frontline services, but we know by experience that this is not possible and that services will be severely affected.

Pay & pensions

In the coalition government’s programme published on 20 May they commited to establishing an independent commission to review the long¬ term affordability of public sector pensions, while protecting accrued rights.

Moreover, all civil service pay remits for this year will need approval before they are agreed, and they are a pay freeze is threatened – at a time when RPI inflation has hit 5%.

These attacks are an unjustified targeting of often low paid civil and public servants at a time when the banking sector has been bailed out to the tune of £200bn and the “tax gap” stands at nearly £130bn.

PCS alternative

We know that there is an alternative to public sector cuts based on our Tax Justice campaign to close the tax gap, on cutting the hugely expensive Trident renewal programme and ending the scandalous waste of millions every year on consultants. In fact, the UK’s level of debt remains well below that of most other major economies.

Civil Service Compensation Scheme

We know that where we stand strong and fight we can get results. The CSCS dispute has shown us that.

The judge will determine the terms of the quashing order, following our successful outcome of our legal challenge, on 9 June. In the meantime the new CSCS terms imposed on 1 April are not to be used in any form, whether on compulsory or voluntary terms.

What happens next?

Motion A1 on ‘Protecting Public Services’, carried at ADC 2010, sets out our strategy. It involves launching a new national campaign to defend our jobs and services, working with other unions in joint campaigns and, if necessary, in co-ordinated industrial action. Local government services, Royal Mail, the education sector, and public transport are also particularly hit by the proposals already announced.

The NEC will meet on 10 June to discuss our strategy post-conference – in the light of the finalisation of the CSCS quashing order in court on 9 June, and of the coalition government’s cuts proposals.

The Council of Civil Service Unions will be meeting with new Cabinet Office Minister, and Chair of the Efficiency and Reform Group, Francis Maude MP to discuss these proposals.

Group negotiators have been asked to contact management urgently to to find out exactly what is being proposed in each bargaining area.

Branches are urged to:

• Request information from management about how the proposals in the cuts statement and Queen’s Speech affect their areas and to feed information back to group offices
• Keep up to date with information on the proposed cuts that is available on the PCS website and also the TUC touchstone blog
• Make links with other local trade unions to build resistance at local level to the cuts
• Recruit your colleagues to the union – there’s never been a more important time to join PCS

Hugh Lanning                                           Janice Godrich     
Deputy General Secretary                       President