PCS FCDO Industrial action ballot result

Turnout was 48.76% in the ballot on FCDO2030 restructure

PCS members in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) have voted overwhelmingly for strike action and action short of a strike in the ballot which closed today (Monday 20 April). 

Unfortunately, the turnout was 48.76% which falls just short of the 50% voting threshold needed to legally comply with the anti-trade union laws. This means that action cannot be called at this time.

The ballot was over the department's controversial plans to restructure the workforce, failure to meaningfully consult PCS and the other unions, and refusal to guarantee no compulsory redundancies.

The elected branch executive is meeting urgently on 21 April to agree next steps in the campaign.

Results

Turnout

48.76%

Members voting for strike action

Yes - 76.93%

No - 23.07%

Members voting for action short of a strike

Yes - 93.80%

No - 6.20%

This was a huge effort by a workforce committed to pushing back against an unclear and discriminatory restructure. 

Thanks to dozens of PCS union advocates who worked tirelessly to get the vote out, contacting members outside the work system and holding 1-1 conversations with hundreds of members to check they'd posted their ballot paper back, and linking the importance of voting to influencing the outcome of the restructure. 

Mass leafleting sessions saw thousands of leaflets distributed, alongside weekly members meetings, and weekly comms to keep members updated.

Members' anger

Out of those who voted the support was overwhelming for action short of strike and strike action: 93.8 % voted for action short of strike and 76.9 % voted for strike action. This is a workforce which hasn't been asked to vote on industrial action outside of national ballots for at least a decade, with many only joining a union for the first time since the restructure was announced. Despite the disappointment of just missing out on the 50% threshold, the result undoubtedly shows how angry members are at the job cuts, restructure and the way FCDO are going about it. 

We have a strong mandate to step up the campaign to oppose job cuts particularly given the forced exit of the permanent aecretary last week. 

PCS argues that FCDO should be sorting out the crisis at the top of the organisation and prioritising the department's work in areas like the Middle East rather than diverting resources and energy to an internal restructure which is sapping the morale of a majority of its workforce. 

The strong message from those who have voted should make FCDO stop, think, and speak to us about a pause in the restructure and a no compulsory redundancy agreement. 

If a handful more members had voted, we would have got over the line to take industrial action. This is an important lesson for next time; every member must vote! Your PCS reps are meeting urgently to discuss next steps. 

Actions for members