From the letters page of The Independent 25 April 2014

Union’s democratic decision-making To claim, as Mark Leftly does, that Mark Serwotka “seized control” of the Public and Commercial Services union is just absurd (Westminster Outlook, 18 April). The truth is that in 2000 Mark won a democratic election of the union’s membership and Barry Reamsbottom, whose name was not on the ballot paper, tried to cling on to his former position, vacating it only when ordered to do so by a High Court judge after we had been forced to initiate a legal challenge. The possibility of a merger has been suggested precisely because, thankfully, we are now a union that aims to build the most effective possible trade union fightback against damaging cuts and privatisation. Decisions on merger will be made by our members after a full, open and democratic process. Janice Godrich, National President, Public and Commercial Services Union, London SW11

PLEASE VOTE LEFT UNITY IN THE PCS DWP GROUP EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ELECTIONS

In the next few days you will receive a ballot paper to vote in this year’s elections for the PCS DWP Group Executive Committee. Your Branch Executive Committee and local PCS reps recommend that you vote to re- elect the Left Unity candidates listed below. We believe they are strong, experienced union reps who will consult you and involve you in campaigns to back up negotiations for better pay and conditions at work. THEY HAVE GOT RESULTS They have a proven record of achieving results for PCS members by negotiation. • When the DWP cut time off for union reps Left unity used negotiations to get real improvements to make sure that your local PCS reps still have time to represent you when you need help • When the DWP callously sacked thousands of Fixed Term Appointment staff Left Unity used the law and won an employment tribunal that won over a million pounds in financial compensation for them. They understand that negotiations are not enough and have led strike action when necessary. • When Shared Services members were privatised Left Unity led strike action to get valuable concessions protecting jobs and pensions. Now that these members are facing cuts and offshoring Left Unity is again leading action to defend them. • When the DWP issued notices of compulsory redundancy your Left Unity GEC balloted for action and secured a job offer for every individual. THEIR PROMISE A re-elected Left Unity GEC will • Fight the threat to check-off of union subs and organise to make sure every member is asked to switch to direct debit. • Campaign for a pay increase in 2014 of 5% or £1,200 • Oppose the new harsh Attendance Management policies • Fight for more staff, recruitment and promotion • Left Unity will continue to work closely with Janice Godrich and Mark Serwotka to ensure that the full weight of the DWP membership is behind the national campaign to defend our conditions, jobs and pensions. YOUR VOTE COUNTS – MAKE SURE YOU USE IT Every vote for these Left Unity candidates sends a message to management that you want a strong campaigning union that will continue to defend your interests. Make sure you use your vote and talk to other union members about voting for a strong union. PRESIDENT - HEATHCOTE VICE-PRESIDENTS: CAVANAGH, FLANAGAN, KHALIF, WILLIAMS ASSISTANT SECRETARIES: BARTHOLOMEW, BURKE, CUTHBERT, FOREMAN, HALL, PAGE, SWAINSTON. ORGANISER: MCDONOUGH TREASURER: CHILWAN JOURNAL EDITOR: CHURCH GEC: CARASS, FERRABY, GODRICH, GRANT, GREEN, HATWOOD, MCCAFFERTY, MCINALLY, NAIRN, OWENS, POPE, REVELL, ROCHESTER, RUDDICK, SEMPLE, WEST, WILKINSON

Do we want to be United?

Probably the biggest debate of our conference to be held in just under a month is whether PCS should join Unite, the largest trade union in Britain. Last weekend, The Independent on Sunday was claiming that it was a done deal and that far from being a merger, it was a takeover by Unite. The speculation led PCS national president, Janice Godrich, to post the following on Facebook: There has been a lot of traffic on FB sites and elsewhere on the subject of a merger between PCS and Unite and the I am making this posting to ensure that the there is an informed and serious debate. There are activists of course who are genuinely engaging in the debate and are seeking information in order to come to some kind of understanding of the issues involved and that is good, heathly and positive. I wouldn’t expect any less in PCS. However it is equally clear there are others who have decided already, without any debate whatsoever, they will oppose even formal talks on the issue. The back ground is this. A few years ago when Unite general secretary spoke at our conference he raised the issue of closer working and even the possibility of a merger. PCS ADC 2013 gave the PCS NEC authority to discuss this is issue if approached by Unite. The period since has been one of intense activity for both unions and it is only in the period prior to Christmas that any talks at all have taken place. These have been reported to the PCS NEC and material has appeared in union publications and a briefing has been sent to branches. It was only on Thursday 17th April that the Unite NEC agreed continue these talks. An PCS NEC motion sets out a process in order to engage with Unite. It is PCS Conference which will decide whether or not to continue these discussions. More than that the motion sets out the most rigorous democratic process including, full reports to the PCS NEC and branches on the talks, a widespread consultation on any proposals, a special delegate conference to debate any such proposals and lastly, a ballot of members on any such proposals. In PCS the accusation that a merger is either being rushed through or the property of the NEC or “bureaucrats” is not true. Not only is a full democratic debate already taking place any potential merger could only ever take place on the basis of the most thorough democratic discussion throughout the union and on the basis on a democratic “Triple Lock” as outlined above i.e., consultation, special conference and ballot. It has been suggested that any PCS NEC member who has not mentioned the merger and stated their “position” in their election address should not be supported. How could anyone have a position at the stage when the terms of the proposals have not been discussed or set out to express an opinion on? For the record Left Unity itself has no position on the merger other than engage in talks. How could it have? LU will decide its position in the course of the debate. It would however be entirely disingenuous to suggest this is an a “neutral” take it or leave type exercise. There is enormous potential for building maximum solidarity and unity in fighting austerity and the relentless attacks on the public sector and a clear industrial logic in building a campaigning public sector group that can, within the context of the biggest union in the UK, coordinate a fightback on pay, pensions and privatisation and terms and conditions. But any such merger could only take place if we can maintain the fighting, democratic campaigning traditions of PCS. That will mean getting it right on the key issues of political representation and our democratic structures within Unite, particularly as far as our branch and group structures are concerned. Of course, it is also correct to say that differences between a union of 240,000 members and a union with over 2million members will form part of the discussions. Only proposals resulting from formal talks will allow us to decide whether or not this can be achieved. I believe a merger could be a good thing in building a real force to defend the interests of our members and our class. But not at any price. We can only decide on the basis of a full democratic discussion. So why are some people trying to close the debate down before it has even properly begun. Well, of course it is PCS NEC and group election time and their are some who prefer to attack the most campaigning union leadership rather the employer and they believe spreading rumour and misinformation about any potential merger will gain them votes, or to be more precise, take votes away from the Democracy Alliance. Right wing union leaders who have consistently sold out their own and other public sector workers interests, most infamously over pensions are determined to do all they can to scupper any chance of a merger between PCS and Unite because they see the formation of a united public sector group as a threat to their collaborationist strategy. In this they have the strong support of the worst New Labour types who are simply apoplectic about even the idea of PCS and Unite getting together. Exaggeration?, well just go look at the Independent article by Mark Leflty, a New Labour stooge posing as a journalist who invoked the discredited ex-general secretary Barry Reamsbottom to launch an utterly vicious attack on PCS and Mark Serwotka with the express intention of destroying any merger. That this has happened during the NEC elections is reminiscent of the how the Moderates used the tabloid press to attack the left. Along with Mark Serwotka I campaigned to defend the democracy of PCS when Reamsbottom launched his coup. I will continue to defend the democracy of the union I have spent my life trying to build. I do not know if this merger will take place. What I do know is it will be up to our activists and members to decide. So let’s have a genuine democratic debate in order to make an informed decision in the interests of our members and our class. It is clear from Janice's long post that the issues are not straightforward and that members have genuine fears about being swallowed up by a union affiliated to the Labour Party and whose current democracy is not as good as our own. On the other hand, PCS could force Unite to be more democratic and Milliband's reform of Labour means that no-one automatically becomes a member of the party by simply being a member of a particular trade union. Most importantly, it might be argued that being part of Unite makes us a huge and strong pole of opposition to austerity and all political parties that support it. But the fact remains that making the decision to effectively wind-up PCS is not one that anyone will find easy, including those who might support merger. Our delegates need to know your views on this. It is crucial that we vote knowing that whatever way that is, it is what you want us to do. Of course, the vote in May only starts, and not completes, the process and as you will see from the Unite/PCS briefings on the PCS website a lot has to be done yet. But it cannot be disguised that the vote this year will be a defining one and it needs to be fully backed up by members support either way. Make sure between now and conference that you let us have your views.

My NEC ballot paper has arrived. Please make sue that you use your vote. The branch nominated the Democracy Alliance candidates and therefore this is our strong recommendation. See the foot of Janice Godrich's election address on page 1 for a full list.



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Meeting with CMG Management on 17 April 2014

PCS from both DWP branches in Leicestershire met with managers from CMG and the BC and PC in Leicester.

The meeting was useful, productive and, I think, helpful for both sides.

Here are some of the issues discussed.

We first of all discussed the equality analysis.  We were assured it had been done but as there was no legal requirement to publish it we had not seen it, nor been involved or consulted in the analysis.  I got the impression that local managers were not the problem and this item has been escalated.

We got some more detail about the work that would be processed.  Both major roles involve telephony but this will not be full time contact centre style work.  There will also be some other EO work available so everyone will have a job.

With a little luck the training dates will be out this week and whole office meetings to follow to answer questions and fill in some more detail.

There will be training in both Leicester offices and Loughborough but this should only be for those who can get there.

There is still some concern about the playscheme but we have a plan to work with management to try and ensure a future for it.

If anyone wants more detail please get in touch.