We have to stand ready to campaign again united in solidarity in defence of social security

The joint event yesterday with Unite Community, PCS and Disabled People Against Cuts considered why social security is a trade union issue.

We should be proud of social security: the purpose of the welfare state is to reduce poverty, homelessness and ill-health – and to empower people to live more independent and fulfilling lives. But that is not the tenor of the debate around social security.

For many years now, PCS has been working with Disabled People Against Cuts and Unite Community – both to resist cuts to social security under successive governments; and to put forward what an alternative based on a fair system would look like.

At the end of last year we helped to defeat the government’s attacks on Personal Independence Payments – an attack that would have taken thousands of pounds out of the pockets of disabled people – including thousands of PCS members.

Administering and relying on social security 

PCS members administer the social security system, but they also rely on it too.

Thousands of our members claim Universal Credit to top-up low pay; tens of thousands will receive Child Benefit; and thousands claim disability benefits like PIP. 

We have members over the state pension age, who will be claiming their basic state pension – and thousands more who are looking forward to that day. Some claim Carer’s Allowance – and many live in households where others claim benefits.

That is why social security is a trade union issue – not just an industrial issue for our members in DWP.

We should be proud of social security: the purpose of the welfare state is to reduce poverty, homelessness and ill-health – and to empower people to live more independent and fulfilling lives.

But that is not the tenor of the debate around social security.

• Firstly, benefits are too low, workers too under-resourced and jobcentres too understaffed to achieve those aims.
• And secondly, the social security system is under attack from this Government, the official opposition and from the party leading the polls, Reform.

We as a country spend less than most other countries on our social security system. Let me give you just two examples:

• Unemployed workers in countries such as Ireland, France and Germany are entitled to more than double what UK workers get if they become unemployed. We have one of the least generous unemployment benefits of all advanced nations
• The UK spends less than other comparable countries on pensions, with only 5.7% of UK GDP going on pensions, compared to 10.4% in Germany, 13.9% in France and 16% in Italy. We have the least generous basic state pension in Europe.

And our members are under-resourced. Last year a National Audit Office report found “DWP has reduced the level of support it offers to Universal Credit claimants due to a shortage of available work coaches at jobcentres”.

The NAO estimated there was a shortage of 2,000 work coaches across the jobcentre network. We estimate that to be higher, but unemployment has increased since then so the shortage has likely got worse.

One of the things our social security pamphlet does is bust the myths about social security, because too often those attacking social security do so dishonestly.

We keep hearing the benefits bill is spiralling. Frankly, that’s a lie. UK spending on social security has been flat for the last 15 years and is forecast by the OBR to remain flat in the future too.

When they came for PIP last year, they kept saying “those who can work should work," yet PIP is not an out of work benefit. Many of our members claim PIP – and for many of them it’s only because they receive PIP that they can work at all.

But while we’ve seen off attacks on the winter fuel payment and on PIP – there are cuts to the health element of Universal Credit and to the Motability scheme that have gone through.

And we know some in this Labour government want to come back for more. We have just a made a submission to the Timms review - and we have to stand ready to campaign again – united and in solidarity in defence of social security.