Special Dispute Campaign NEC Report December 2006

The NEC met on the 14th to discuss what progress had been made in the "Ripping the Heart out of Our Public Services" campaign, and the negotiations around the national dispute.

General Secretary Mark Serwotka reported the response from Gus O'Donnell was disappointing. Some progress had been made on pensions for new entrants to the Civil Service, with detailed negotiations to begin in the New Year. However it was apparent that departments are acting in silo's around the issue of job cuts, and are not prepared to facilitate moves to areas that are recruiting, before issuing compulsory redundancy notices. PCS believes a corporate approach lead by the Cabinet Office is unlikely, given the threat of further redundancies in DEFRA, DTI, DWP and the LCS.
It was noted that there are now 16 departments in dispute over 2006 pay. With CPI running at 2.7% (its highest since the measure was first used by Treasury) many members in multi year pay deals face a pay cut in remaining years. PCS negotiators will have to face another difficult year in 2007.

PCS officials reported that discussions with the employer about national pay coherence have effectively stalled. More meetings are planned for the New Year, but it was felt there was no sign PCS was being taken seriously. It was felt that the Treasury Reward Principles guidance will do more harm than good, and that the employer simply isn't interested in a framework for national pay.
PCS Democrats welcomed the news on pensions, but regretfully agreed the lack of progress in other areas of the national dispute meant the ballot for industrial action must go ahead. The decision by the NEC to ballot members was unanimous.

The question now is can the union deliver a comprehensive yes vote, and a strong level of support on the 31st of January? There was a consensus that activists are engaged in the issues, but that membership support may be patchy. This means efforts to capitalise on post festivities doldrums is imperative. PCS Democrats believe there must be a blitz on campaigning and leafleting activity in the first weeks of January to engage members. It was noted that worsening employer relations in many bargaining areas could be used to make the link in members minds about how the issues affect them directly.

Democrats NEC members said that the union must also prepare members for ongoing discontinuous action after the initial day of action. Our view is that this will not be as straight forward as the 5th November 2004 one off strike, as the employer shows little sign of movement. Furthermore the Chancellors pre budget statement emphasis on the role of the "3rd sector" in delivering public services signals more bad news for the public sector, and PCS members, as work is moved outside the Civil Service. It was felt that delivering a strong yes vote is critical in giving our negotiators a platform to work from.