Public and Commercial Services Union

PCS is the largest non industrial union in the Ministry of Defence, with approximately 20,000 members who work at every MoD establishment throughout the country and abroad. We are the fastest growing union in the MoD and throughout the Civil Service.

Our priority is to improve the quality of working life for all of our members.

We do this by representing members on a range of issues every day of the year and through bargaining and campaigning hard to improve pay, terms and conditions.

We also aim to ensure that every member of our union is treated with dignity and respect at work.

We negotiate with the employer on every issue that affects our members in the Ministry of Defence.

Group executive committee

There is a PCS MoD group executive committee (GEC) which is elected each year by all members.

Below the GEC there are MoD regional committees and branch executive committees (BECs) also elected by you.

All of these individuals are civil servants who volunteer to help fellow members. We always need more volunteers so why not join us? Even if you can only spare an hour every now and then to distribute information to fellow members your active support and involvement can make a huge difference.

There are numerous PCS full time officers dedicated to the MoD based in London.

Our priorities for the year ahead

Our bargaining agenda priorities for 2008-2009 include:

• Campaigning on pay – The current imposed pay cut expires in 2008. Our union is campaigning hard to ensure all members receive a fair pay settlement this year with an award in line with inflation. Negotiations are taking place at a time when the government is trying to impose a yet more pay cuts on all civil servants.
• Campaigning against numerous privatisation and job cutting initiatives in every part of MoD. We are working hard and campaigning and bargaining to protect our member’s interests. We are facing a number of significant threats such as the Defence Training Review (DTR), DE&S Future Options/PACE, MGS Closing the Gap and outsourcing proposals, DE rationalisation, Project Hyperion and streamlining proposals.
• As well as MoD campaigning, we are playing our full part in the union's national campaign to defend jobs, services and pay.
• Commix/branch cleansing initiative, where we are looking to ensure members in MoD receive the best possible representation in the future. (Commix is the PCS membership records system).
• Equal pay and age discrimination cases are being brought against the MoD.

Chris Dando, the MoD group president is vitally aware of the part MoD members have to play in our campaigning:

"The victories we have had on scrapping the bonus scheme and saving the 500 jobs at Sapphire House in Telford has in my opinion only been possible because of the membership involvement in our campaigns and more importantly members believing that they were entitled to fight to get rid of a divisive bonus scheme and right fight to save their jobs and community.

"We are now facing potentially difficult pay negotiations and have further job cutting and privatisation programmes to face which will need all our members to stand together and fight in a united manner"