Redouble our efforts to build our union – Fran Heathcote

Fran has been speaking at a host of meetings in Brighton today and had a unifying message.

“Our union is an effective campaigning force because we work together, build alliances and I hope always remember that eternal truth of our movement: united we stand, divided we fall. Let’s go forward, united,” she said.

She covered a range of subjects in her speeches, including:

• The Capita pensions crisis
• Pay
• The need for political campaigning
• Employment rights,

On Capita she said: “This is an insult to public servants who have dedicated their lives to public service and are being treated shabbily.

A waiting time of over six months continues to leave thousands of members without their expected income.”

She said the union would continue campaigning and “hounding ministers and officials until the administration of civil service pensions is brought back in-house and run in the interests of civil servants, not Capita’s profits.”

She said it is “nothing short of a disgrace that despite this – and many other – failures, Capita has been awarded the contract for the payroll of DWP and four other departments. We have to end the rewards for failure.”

Pay 

On the cost of living, Fran said members are anxious. They see the price of filling up their car rising, they see the forecasts of rising energy bills and food prices.

“We know many are struggling with rising housing costs. We know this matters,” she said.

She said that PCS is hopeful that this year we will see a central pay remit that reflects key parts of our bargaining priorities: to tackle low pay, to restore differentials, and to bring greater coherence across the civil service.

Political issues 

Fran said she is sometimes asked why the union campaigns on political issues, rather than focusing on members. She explained that members’ interests require campaigning on political issues. 

She highlighted how our political campaigning this year had:

• helped to defeat the government’s attacks on Personal Independence Payments.
• challenged the myths of the far right on migration and asylum 
• resulted in an expansion of staffing in HMRC through our tax justice campaign for a fairer tax system.

Employment rights 

She said that over the course of the next year more of the provisions of the Employment Rights Act will come into force that will strengthen our hand. Later this year, the 50% threshold for ballot turnouts will be removed, building on the changes to notice periods and balloting law.

“The removal of the ballot threshold cannot make us complacent,” she said. “Winning a ballot is only a means to an end. To be effective, strike action needs to be disruptive, mobilising as many members as possible – to exert maximum pressure on the employer.”

She said that while we can welcome the removal of Tory anti-strike laws, “we should also redouble our efforts to build our union, recruiting reps and members. Because there are other challenges facing us – including the threats of office closures.”

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