Public and Commercial Services Union

Tackling pay problems

At the start of the third and final day of conference, delegates highlighted the need to overcome low pay for public and civil servants.

Addressing conference to move motion A109, assistant general secretary Chris Baugh stressed that we need to reject the assumption that low pay will help solve the economic crisis.

He pointed to the “classic divide and rule” that the breakup of pay bargaining in the early 1990s had brought about. “Members under one pay unit earn more than a third more than those under a separate pay unit,” he said, and that recognising such inequality had to be the starting point for any serious discussion on pay.

He went on to criticise the government for acting in bad faith following the Cabinet Office agreement in late 2008.

Chris also pointed out that our members were the poor relations compared to the rest of the public sector. “We don’t have formal bargaining rights, access to statistics or a formal body to negotiate with those who pull the strings,” he stated.

He called on the union to continue to lobby against low pay and to tie it in with other issues.

Referring to Will Hutton’s appointment as head of a fair pay commission he said he should not just focus on the pay of a few senior civil servants. He urged Hutton to “engage with us to recognise that pay is riddled with inequalities and to establish formal bargaining rights.”

Seconding the motion Paul McGoay, group president of the Identity and Passport Service said that it was vital to press the new government on national pay bargaining for pay coherence.

“We should join up with other unions to fight for fair pay and learn the lessons of Greece,” Paul said. Conference agreed overwhelmingly to support the motion.

Moving motion A110, Dave Ellis of Charity Commission Liverpool, spoke of the need to oppose flexible starting salaries. He highlighted a situation that is rife in his office where new starters are being appointed on as much as £3,500 more than colleagues who have been there for five years.

Seconding the motion Mike Wheeler of DWP Avon, pointed out that this was a divisive issue. “How can it be right that new inexperienced staff earn more than those mentoring them?” He said that management’s excuse that they couldn’t recruit at our level showed “complete contempt for civil servants,” and questioned, “why not up all of our pay, not just for new entrants?” The motion was passed.

Improving working conditions

Motion A111 was moved by Martin Jones of the DWP Fylde Central and Benefit Services. He called for the need to raise the upper level of annual leave from 30 to 35 days.

Dave Vincent of MoJ Greater Manchester, opposed the motion. “It is unrealistic and will play very badly in the press,” he said.

Speaking on behalf of the NEC, Joy Dunn asked the branch to remit the motion. “This motion would commit us to campaign on something that is not a priority,” she warned.

The branch agreed to remit the motion.

Tim Donovan of DWP Derbyshire, moved motion A112 calling for the annual leave allowance to be increased to 35 days for those who achieve 25 years service.

There was opposition to the motion from Tom Bishell of DWP Sheffield. He said that it would be discriminatory to people of different ages.

Opposing the motion on behalf of the NEC, Dominic McFadden further cautioned that it would be in breach of age discrimination.

During his right of reply, Tim Donovan said that he could not understand the logic to the opposition. The motion was lost.

Gerry McMahon, of DWP Glasgow North branch, moved motion A114. He highlighted a recent TUC report on the long hours’ culture which found that 3.3 million people are working 48 hours or more a week.

“We need to bring this to a halt,” he said, stating that the motion seeks to “cut the working week for all.”

Moira Olsen, of HMRC Cumbernauld, seconded the motion. “Cut hours, not jobs. Cut hours, not pay,” she urged. The motion was passed.

Environmental issues

Motion A115 was moved by Rachel Boyd, EHRC in the PSg, northwest branch. It highlighted the need to lobby the government for one million environment sector jobs. “The only way out of the recession is to create jobs,” Rachel said.

“Instead of spending £34 billion on Trident they (the government) should invest in a clean efficient, nationalised transport system,” she added, “trade unions and PCS must lead the way and call for action that will protect our world.”

Steve West of DWP Avon, seconded the motion. “Don’t allow those with money to destroy the planet just because it’s not profitable,” he said. The motion was passed.

Steve Martin, of DEFRA Natural England, moved motion A116 condemning the sacking of Vestas workers. This motion, which was seconded by MoJ Hertfordshire, sought to continue to support Vestas workers in their campaign. The motion was passed.

Moving motion A117 on behalf of the NEC, Chris Baugh highlighted that it is estimated that 57% of carbon emissions come from workplaces and therefore unions have vital role to play.

“The fight to defend jobs and to save the planet is compatible,” he insisted. “The massive demonstrations in Copenhagen showed how unions can play their role.” The motion was passed.

Sue Catton, of DWP East London, moved motion A120. She called for the introduction of a free public transport system which would reduce carbon emissions and also lead to an increase in disposable incomes. She pointed out that 12 American cities and one in Belguim already have free transport systems because of heavy subsidies.

Seconding the motion, John Maloney, of DfT London and HQ region, said that some might dismiss it as unrealistic and utopian but that “in terms of practicality it is relatively easy as students and over 60s already have free bus travel.” He added, “This motion points to a better world where human need is the highest goal of all.”

There was opposition to the motion from Dave Vincent, of MoJ Greater Manchester. He warned that road tax and food transport costs would go up. He also raised concern about what would happen to those currently employed to sell tickets on public transport.

In her right to reply, Sue Catton stressed that there are currently very little subsidies in Britain and that funding would be raised through green taxes. The motion was passed.

Caroline Lucas MP – guest speaker

Two weeks after becoming the Green Party’s first MP, Caroline Lucas addressed conference about her concerns on public sector cuts and for the need for new green jobs.

Having spent the last few days finding her way around the House of Commons, she gets the impression that anyone seeking real change and progress will be sidelined. She said that in the new “cosy coalition” the promises of change had been abandoned and that minds have been changed instead. She accused the Liberal Democrats of “getting into bed” with the Tories when “shaking hands would have been quite enough.”

Caroline criticised the coalition government’s planned cuts programme that she warned will fail to tackle inequality. She asked that when every £1 earned in the public sector 60 pence goes back into the local economy, “Shouldn’t we be giving the public sector a central role in building and developing the economy?”

She called for a green new deal. “Let’s invest in new green jobs. The best way of getting people back to work is investment in green infrastructure.”
The Green Party leader said that she looked forward to working with PCS for a “genuinely progressive and greener future.”

Social and economic campaigns

The first of the social and economic motions A121 and A629 were debated together.

Andy Lawson, of DWP North London, moved motion A629. He said, “the best news of the general election was the result of the Nazi BNP. They lost 27 council seats and were completely wiped out in Barking and Dagenham. It showed what we can achieve.”

He warned that we cannot get complacent and pointed to planned English Defence League marches in Newcastle, Cardiff and Bradford. He called for protests against the EDL wherever they appear. “United we can drive them back into gutter where they belong,” he said.

Seconding the motion were HMRC Stockton, who said that trade unions had a responsibility to combat the EDL.

Duro Oyewunmi, of PSG London and South East, supported the motion saying, “they look for the softest targets and we need to stand up to protect these people.”

Supporting both motions. deputy general secretary Hugh Lanning, took the opportunity to congratulate everyone who participated on the campaign against the far right in the lead up to the general election.

“The key priority is unity of anti fascist groups working together,” Hugh said, “we are the majority, there are more anti fascists.” He stressed for the need of a counter demonstration protocol to ensure the safety of our members.

Moving motion A121, Paul Jones, of IPS North West, criticised the policing of counter demonstrations. Using a football analogy he said that we had been treated like away fans when demonstrating against the far right.

“We want activists to be able to demonstrate without the threat of violence,” Paul said.

Both motions were passed.

John Davidson, of HMRC East Kilbride, moved motion A122. He called for the need to continue to join forces with other trade unions to campaign to reduce inequality. He said that a 10% wealth tax on all millionaires would raise enough revenue to pay for 15,000 new schools. The motion was passed.

Moving motion A123 was Martin Menear, of HMRC South West. He called for a Tobin or Robin Hood tax that would generate hundreds of billions of pounds across the world. He criticised bailed out bankers for having the audacity to claim more bonuses.

“We will not pay for their crisis,” Martin asserted. The motion was passed.
Anti-trade union laws were the subject of motion A144, which was moved by Steve Ryan, of HMRC northwest England. He said laws meant that unions had “more hurdles than the grand national to jump over.”

“Solidarity with other unions is the key,” Steve said, “when working people move in action we can turn that tide.”

Rob Williams, of the NEC, supported with statement. He said the events of this week had shown the need to abolish these unjust laws. The motion was passed.

Moving motion A124 was John Millard, of CPS London and South East. He called for improvements to state pensions and support for the National Pensioners Convention. The motion was passed.

Steve Ryan, of HMRC north Wales and Marches, moved motion A125. This sought to influence the new commission on ownership and explore the possibility of “self managed offices.”

Tony Conway, on behalf of the NEC asked the branch to remit the motion. Tony said that while the NEC was happy with the spirit of the motion it questions whether it will solve the crisis. The remission was lost and the motion was passed.

Andy Mead, of HMRC Northern Ireland, moved motion A126. Andy called for pressure to raise the limit of the current £30,000 redundancy tax threshold. He said that this would complement our civil service compensation scheme campaign.

Paula Brown, on behalf of the NEC, supported with statement. She said that PCS would need to campaign through the TUC as we have no right to negotiate directly with HM Treasury. The motion was passed.

Motion A127 was moved by John Andrews, of DWP Northamptonshire. John spoke on behalf of carers who he believes are in reality “a massive un-unionised workforce.”

“The chances are that every one of us will require a carer or become one ourselves,” he said. “Let’s campaign to get them out of poverty.”

Robert Day, of Ofwat, supported the motion saying, “Carers allowance rates are inadequate to provide 24 hour care. They are based on a discriminatory unequal assumption that carers will be family members within a married couple and that that carer will be supported by a working partner. What about those who have given up the option of marriage in order to care for an ailing parent?”

The motion was passed.

Guillotine section

Conference then went on to the guillotine section. Motion A614 was moved by Sam Buckley, branch secretary of CSA Hastings branch. The motion dealt with the attempted sacking of five branch officers in his branch, of which he was the latest.

Commenting on the sackings Sam said, “It’s a systematic attack to destroy the union so they (the management) can continue with the cuts agenda.” The motion was passed.

Motion A78 was moved by Josh Hancock, of HMRC Liverpool city branch. He said, “Capping union subs is unfair on low paid members,” and called for an equality impact assessment on subscription rates.

HMRC southeast Essex seconded the motion. Steve Martin, of DEFRA Natural England, supported the motion but stated that if it was passed it should include all equality strands and not just gender. The motion was passed.

Jawid Iqbal, of Government offices DfT/DCLG Birmingham, moved motion A68. “Israeli lobbyists are challenging democracy in order to protect war criminals,” Jawid said. He highlighted the horrors of January 2009 when Palestinian civilians were deliberately targeted. These had been described by the United Nations as war crimes. He criticised the then Labour Foreign Secretary for looking to protect Isreali war criminals. The motion was passed.

Helen Flanagan, of DWP Wigan, moved motion A46 which sought to raise awareness of trade unions through schools.

Helen argued, “Taking unions into schools would be a good investment of resources.” The motion was passed.

Greater support to assist members in tribunal proceedings was the subject of motion A96 which was moved by Tim Megone, of Treasury Solicitors.

Tim said that dealing with a complex employment tribunal case could be like “trying to tackle a sophisticated nuclear arsenal with a club sandwich.”

Mary Ferguson, of the NEC, supported with statement. The NEC statement was in relation to the final paragraph of the motion as she said that the insurance policy would be impractical. The motion was passed.

Tony Reay, of DWP southeast London moved motion A137. He said that it gave the last word of conference to the public we serve. Conference agreed to back the motion which called for all telephone numbers used to access public services to be free of charge.