The president always wants the last word!

I write in strange times. We have a Labour government, supposedly pro-worker, but all we see is more austerity and when we have a chance to tax the rich fairly our bank-friendly chancellor does not want to take it. Meanwhile we are yet to see any of the promised insourcing and, as you will see elsewhere in Commercial Break, staff in MyCSP remain on strike over recognition in possibly the longest strike in commercial sector history but also one of the most important for our union.

The big IT and outsourcing companies remain with big chunks of government contracts with the usual pressures to increase digital and AI, reduce costs and eventually reduce headcount. They all claim to have the same pressures: reduced pay budgets, difficult global financial conditions etc. All excuses to not value workers properly and to make sure that shareholders get payouts before the people at the coalface.

We need to keep up the pressure on the current administration to stick to their manifesto promises and to ensure that our members see the benefits of better trade union legislation and the possibility of a return to the civil service and not to put money in the pockets of private individuals.

Until then our PSMA colleagues face the day-to-day battles that they have faced since they were privatised. Let’s keep winning the battles, regardless of whether we win the war.