Activate: How the employment rights bill could benefit PCS activists

The government has claimed that its employment rights bill will usher in a new era for workers’ rights and industrial relations.

For PCS activists, there are several key reforms contained within the bill that could positively impact the organising work they do.

One standout provision is for improved trade union access to workplaces. Under the proposed arrangements, PCS could request ‘access agreements’, allowing union access to sites to meet, represent, recruit or organise workers – whether or not they’re members of a trade union.

This would allow our activists to more directly engage with members and potential members, creating a more robust PCS presence across the civil service.

Those accustomed to digital organising techniques will be glad to hear that access agreements will cover virtual access. Although there is scant detail on what virtual access means, it is expected that we would be permitted to conduct more union activities – meetings, training, and consultations – on digital platforms.

Sectoral collective bargaining

PCS has long campaigned for sectoral collective bargaining in the civil service. The current fragmented system of delegated pay bargaining fails to give PCS a unified negotiating voice with employers.

We currently have the inefficient situation of over 200 separate pay bargaining units and negotiations each year.

While the bill supports sectoral collective bargaining for adult social care workers, it does not afford the same opportunity for civil servants, and we will continue to campaign for the same common, collective bargaining rights.

As PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote recently argued, a "good starting point for the government to demonstrate its benefits would be for its own workers in the civil service.”

As the bill stands, however, there are other reforms which may help PCS activists build workplace power.

Trade union recognition and industrial action

The bill aims to streamline the process for trade union recognition. The 40% workforce minimum threshold for holding a recognition ballot will be eliminated, strengthening unions’ bargaining positions.

In the area of industrial action, electronic balloting will be introduced to increase turnout in ballots; notice periods for industrial action will be reduced from 14 days to 10 days; ballot mandates will be valid for double the time (from six months to 12 months); and unions will no longer be required to disclose to the employer the number of employees in each category that are expected to take part in industrial action.

However, the bill doesn’t go far enough. Although it remains part of the latest version of the bill, the government has indicated it will delay the implementation of the pledge to remove turnout thresholds for strike ballots (50%) until after a review of electronic balloting has concluded.

Other positive reforms include the proposed creation of a Fair Work Agency to enforce trade union and employment rights law; the addition of the right to join a trade union to contracts of employment; improved equality measures, including strengthening sexual harassment measures and reporting measures; and improvements to statutory sick pay arrangements as well as parental, paternity and bereavement leave.

Opportunities for organising

If enacted in full or – ideally – strengthened, the Employment Rights Bill presents numerous opportunities for PCS activists to organise their workplaces.

Enhanced access rights will create favourable conditions for recruiting new members. Simplified recognition procedures and more democratic ballot rules will also provide activists with the tools they need to organise effectively and sustain collective action.​

If we take full advantage, these changes may allow us to expand our membership, strengthen collective bargaining, and improve our ability to withdraw our labour effectively.

While there are genuine improvements to workers’ rights within the bill, there is still much to do to improve its provisions.

PCS will continue to campaign and lobby to ensure the bill is as robust as possible through to its implementation. We have been meeting with the Cabinet Office regularly to secure early adoption of some of these measures before the bill is fully enacted.

We are determined to improve the bill for our members to ensure that it really is the biggest uplift in workers’ rights in a generation and places our members, reps, advocates and members at its heart.