Public and Commercial Services Union

Commercial sector forum – Brighton 18 - 19 May 2009

Fifty representatives from across the private sector gathered in Brighton for the annual commercial sector forum.

Delegates heard from senior figures in the national union including general secretary Mark Serwotka, vice president John McInally and deputy general secretary Hugh Lanning as well as hearing presentations from representatives and full time staff on organising, the credit crunch and on achievements and challenges faced by PCS representatives.

Opening the forum commercial sector association (CSA) president Chris Morrison reflected on the grim picture that faced members working for private companies where pay freezes, pension closures and redundancies were now a fixed part of the union agenda.

Even against this background PCS had made significant gains for members and was at the forefront of defending workers against company cutbacks designed to satisfy the short term demands of share holders.

Four motions were discussed and agreed at the forum. In agreeing the motions the forum took vital steps in taking the commercial sector in to the heart of PCS activity.

Delegates supported the ongoing commercial sector review with the commitment of the national union to resource the work of reps in the private sector.

We agreed a day of action utilising the PCS parliamentary group to campaign for PCS members in the commercial sector.

The forum launched the IT sector – a crucial step to enabling the union to run campaigns across companies and also committed groups and branches to focusing their attentions on improving the way we communicate and drawing up action plans to help us to do this.

Whilst there was a huge amount to take in over the two days delegates enjoyed the event and the opportunity to get together and have time to mix socially as well as work.

One delegate commented “this year was the best for the last two years” and a first time delegate was “very impressed” and found the Forum really friendly.

As ever the forum plays an important part in allowing us to review the previous year and look ahead and prepare for the coming challenges.

The quality of contributions and the enthusiasm displayed shows the commercial sector to be stronger than ever and determined to get a fair deal for PCS members.