Public and Commercial Services Union

Supporting campaigns

Opening the afternoon session, Karen Taylor of HMRC Northern Ireland Revenue, asked delegates to agree to affiliate to the UK Lesbian and Gay Immigration Group, which works with refugees and asylum seekers who are persecuted for their sexuality.

Karen said: “Whatever your views are about sexuality, no one should be killed for falling in love.”

UKLGIG is a charity which provides specialist legal advice on immigration law to LGBT people; conducts research on equality and diversity; and campaigns against discrimination.

Glenys Morris spoke for the NEC in support of the motion, saying: “This is a really worthy organisation and it desperately needs funding to keep going.”Delegates agreed to affiliate to UKLGIG at a cost of £125.

Conference also agreed to affiliate to the Hands of the People of Iran campaign, despite opposition from some delegates.

Moving motion A23, the Greater Manchester branch of the Ministry of Justice pointed out that PCS was the 13th union to affiliate to the Stop the War Coalition (STW) and appealed to delegates to agree to be the first union to affiliate to HOPI.

HOPI was set up to oppose the build up of the case by some western governments for a war against Iran, and to support Iranian workers in their struggle for independent workers’ organisations.
Opposing the motion, Anna Owens, of HMRC Euston Tower, said HOPI had “actively divided” the STW which has become a “central feature of British political life”.

Joy Dunn, for the NEC, supported the motion, saying: “PCS has a proud tradition on international solidarity.”

Public sector solidarity

President Janice Godrich then introduced the day’s guest speakers Christine Blower and Bill Greenshields, of the teachers’ union NUT whose members joined 100,000 PCS members on strike over pay on 24 April.

Christine, the union’s acting general secretary following the untimely death of Steve Sinnott in April, described PCS as the closest union to the NUT outside the teaching profession.

She said she was “delighted” to be able to speak at our conference and that the NUT’s NEC was meeting on Thursday 22 May to discuss the next steps of the campaign against the government’s public sector pay policy, adding:

“The campaign will continue until we have fair pay for teachers and everyone in the public sector.”

Bill, NUT president, said the action on 24 April, teachers’ first strike for 21 years, had rejuvenated many branches and enthused young teachers who had never been on strike before.

He closed by saying: “I’m absolutely sure that the growth of public sector unity is unstoppable and I’m sure that we can be confident of success.”

Our general secretary Mark Serwotka thanked Christine and Bill for their contributions. He said: “It’s a sad day for all of us that Steve, who was originally invited, was unable to attend.”

Commercial sector

The next session was dedicated to the commercial sector, the first time a PCS conference has set aside a specific section of motions for these workers. Moving A28, Andy Taylor, of Telford Aspire, pointed out that with privatisation threats on the increase, many civil service members could be facing the same issues.

The motion, which was backed by delegates, called for a campaign to put pressure on the government to amend the two-tier workforce code to protect staff regardless of whether they are ex-civil servants.

Moving motion A29, Mike Degnan of DWP Hull and East Riding, highlighted the plight of former civil servants made redundant as a result of the department’s office services contract being awarded to Haden.

Mike said the motion sought to right an injustice, where workers were the “victims of harsh realities of privatisation”.

Supporting the motion, which was passed by delegates, Chris Morrison for the NEC, said this situation showed the “complete minefield” of privatisation and outsourcing.

Motion A676, moved by Tony Reay of DWP East London, picked up on the same theme by condemning Haden’s announcement of job cuts shortly after it secured the contract.

Tony paid tribute to reps who, even though they face redundancy themselves, have travelled “all over the country to represent fellow workers”.

He added: “We need to provide an alternative to redundancy and redouble our efforts to keep members in employment. It’s better to be working for the DWP than claiming benefits from them.”
Delegates back the motion.

Andy Moreton, of Telford Aspire, moved motion A30 which asks PCS to remain neutral in relation to commercial sector companies, and to avoid promoting any as necessarily “good” employers.

Andy said “we need to very careful” because there was great pressure to try to gain a “stamp of approval” from the union because it can mean winning contracts worth millions of pounds.

A call to remit the motion was rejected and it was passed by delegates.

The final motion of the commercial sector session, again moved by Telford Aspire, called for a campaign against compulsory redundancies in the private sector similar to the one we ran in the civil service and its related agencies, which recently secured an agreement with the Cabinet Office.

John Jamieson, for the NEC, urged support for A31, saying: “The NEC gives an unequivocal commitment that where members in the private sector are under attack and are prepared to stand up and fight, we will stand shoulder to shoulder with them.

“The NEC does not draw a distinction between members in the public sector and those in the private sector.”

The rulebook

The next session covered motions designed to amend the union’s rules. To be passed and become policy, these motions require a two-thirds majority of those voting.

The first was motion A34, moved by Steve Bramhill of DWP Liverpool, which called for the death benefit paid to a member’s nominee to rise from £1,100 to £2,000 from 1 January 2009, and increase in line with the retail price index thereafter.

Garry Winder, for the NEC, urged delegates to vote against the motion saying the cost of the rise would be equivalent to a 30% cut in branch funds or reducing the number of negotiations officers by 10.

He said the NEC intended to increase the death benefit to £1,430 from next January and tie further increases to an increase in members’ subscriptions. The motion was defeated after a card vote.

Motion A35, moved by Rachael Bonner of HMRC Cumbernauld, was also lost after failing to receive the required two-thirds majority on a card vote.

The motion called for the model branch constitution to change to include union learning reps on branch committees.

Rachel said: “Learning and skills are essential for members to improve themselves either personally or in their careers.”

She added: “Learning gas also given rise to a new kind of activist and many go on to take on further branch roles.”

Union organisation

Assistant general secretary Chris Baugh introduced the next session on organisation with a speech presenting the 2008 national organising strategy.

Chris described the NOS as a “comprehensive set of statistics that give us an accurate profile of PCS”, which helps us to target recruitment and organising activity more effectively.

He said organising was born out of necessity to reverse years of decline in trade union membership. Chris also praised our young members’ network, describing it as “a model for the trade union movement”.

Two motions condemning the victimisation of reps by employers followed Chris’s speech. Moving motion A43, Nigel Sheehan of DWP East Sussex compared Hastings CSA management’s treatment of Eddie Fleming – who has been sacked for carrying out his trade union duties – with its decision to allow one of its employees to stand as a BNP candidate in the local elections in May.

Eddie received standing ovations at the start and end of his speech, during which he thanked activists, members and the national union for their unwavering support in his campaign for reinstatement.

He said management’s intention to smash his branch has backfired because he has been re-elected as branch chair, and members are now more active and more experienced in campaigning.

He added: “Let’s send a message that if you victimise one of us you victimise us all, and we will show you up for the cowards that you are.”
Both A43 and A44, moved by Steve West of DWP Fife, were passed unanimously.

Motion A45 covered call and contact centre workers and our efforts to organise them to win recognition and better terms and conditions.

Moving the motion for the NEC, Kevin Greenway referred to an article in the latest edition of our Young Members Newsletter about a day in the life of a call centre worker.

The article showed how workers in call and contact centres are excessively monitored and controlled, including restrictions on when workers can go to the toilet.

The final debate of the afternoon was on composite 4, moved by HMRC south west which aimed to determine how our members in the newly created UK Border Agency should be organised. The agency includes members from the Border and Immigration Agency, Customs and UK Visas.

Supporting the motion for the NEC, Alan Brown said many of our members in the agency have concerns about privatisation, job security, job design and allowances, adding: “It’s extremely important that we enable the union to best represent our members.”