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PCS Cfrc Bull 2011

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Well over half a million people

demonstrated against thecuts on March 26th, proving

denitively that workers are prepared to

ght the ConDems vicious programme of

austerity. But the big question arising from

that tremendous TUC march is where does

the movement go from here?

Emily Kelly, PCS NEC

(personal capacity)

The strength of the demonstration lifted the

sights of the hundreds of thousands on it

and the millions of workers watching. PCShas called for widespread and coordinated

strike action uniting all in opposition to the

ConDems programme of privatisation, job

losses and the right to strike.

The PCS has been at the forefront in

building the anti-cuts movement across

unions and communities. But the key to

defeating the coalition government agenda

is widespread, coordinated industrial

action that will build on our national

demands.

Our demands are: no pay freezes, no job

cuts, no further privatisation, justice on

the Civil Service Compensation Scheme

(CSCS), and no attacks on our pensions.

Our pensions costs are sustainable

and affordable and the fact is that any

proposed increase in contributions will not

go back into the scheme but straight into

the pockets of the Treasury to pay for the

decit. Pensions are only deferred wages,

and low wages mean low pensions. If you

remove the tiny percentage of high earners,

the average pension of our members is 4,200, hardly a fortune. The argument

that public sector pensions must be cut in

line with those in the private sector is an

argument for an equality of misery for all

and a race to the bottom. John Cridland,

CBI big business boss, recently said that

pension reforms are necessary to make

privatisation affordable. This Tory mantra

has implications on all our members hard

earned terms and conditions, as well as

other workers across the public sector.

In 2005 PCS, along with other public sector

unions, were able to secure an agreement

on pensions through the threat of industrial

action. The fact is this is a weak coalition

government and we can beat it.

Running in parallel to our ballot PCS has

launched major legal action over the

imposed changes to our CSCS and the

un-agreed re-indexing of our pensions.

We won in the courts before and we can

win again. However we cannot rely entirely

on legal action as successive judgementsagainst unions like UNITE and RMT have

shown. The courts are no friends of the

trade union movement.

Effective action

At this stage PCS is working with the

education unions on defending pensions.

The NUT has already voted for an industrial

action ballot and others are likely to

follow.

Scals ParyDeteRMineD LeADeRShiP AnD A CLeAR StRAteGY to

DeFeAt theCUtS!

continued on page two...

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Hard experience has taught civil

service workers that the main

political parties are all tied to

corporate interests. These underpin the

cuts and privatisation agenda that started

under Labour and is escalating under the

Tories.

The debate on whether to decide

whether or not to ballot members with

a recommendation, in certain limited

circumstances, to stand or support

candidates in national elections has beenthorough. It has spanned two conference

debates, two major consultations and

ongoing discussion throughout the union

for a number of years. Now conference must

decide if a membership ballot goes ahead

with a recommendation to implement

this potentially historic initiative. It would

greatly enhance the unions campaigning

effectiveness.

It is an un-contestable fact that none of

the major political parties represents the

interests of our members, the public sector

or working people generally. PCS is not a

political party but members and activistshave learned the hard fact that political

campaigning is inextricably connected to

our industrial campaigning. To campaign

only on the industrial eld is ghting with

one hand behind our back.

Despite the positive impact of the Make Your

Vote Count campaign one inescapable fact

emerged: politicians felt under no pressure

to support our members interests. They

either just parroted cynical commitments

that were dumped the minute they wereelected or, especially Labour politicians,

refused to engage at all.

It is proposed that PCS would only engage

in the electoral process in the absence of

any other candidates prepared to defend

our members interests. It is difcult to see

what objection there could be to such a

proposal. To stand in such circumstances

could only enhance the effectiveness of

our campaigning, setting the conditions

for inuencing the political process and

even winning concessions.

Genuine concerns were raised as to how

it would work in practise: i.e. how wouldcandidates be selected, the civil service

code, backing candidates from political

parties, splitting the anti-right vote,

deciding electoral programme, etc. Debate

and thoughtful discussion show none of

these issues present obstacles to standing

candidates.

Backing candidates in elections can be

an effective method of developing and

strengthening our campaign and should

be given the full support of conference.

j Mcially, PCS vc-prsd,

a prsal capacy, lks a dba plcal campagg:

United strike action by PCS and the

education unions would represent

a major step forward in the battle

to oppose the cuts, accompanied by

demonstrations and campaigning in our

communities.

If agreed by this ADC, industrial action

in June seems inevitable unless the

government is prepared to negotiate.

PCS has consistently argued that the TUC

should coordinate effective industrial

action and that all unions should ballot

at the same time and strike together.

However the cuts are happening now and

PCS cannot wait to organise action.

The strike in June will be the beginning of

an unfolding industrial campaign capable of

bringing millions of workers into struggle.

The PCS-sponsored National Shop

Stewards Network organised a hundreds-

strong march on the TUC congress

last September demanding a national

demonstration and coordinated action.

The TUC nally delivered on the rst

demand, but pressure needs to be kept up

on the second.

PCS will also look to coordinate any action

that arises in the individual departments

and groups across the union. Already

action is being planned or taking place in

the Department of Work and Pensions on

call centre workers rights, in HM Revenue

and Customs over unacceptable managing

attendance procedures, as well as in the

Driving Standards Agency, Equality and

Human Rights commission, and the Home

Ofce. Many other groups are preparing

membership ballots.

PCS is unequivocal in our rejection of

the idea that the cuts are necessary and

inevitable. Socialist Party members in the

union will continue to help build effective

action to defeat the cuts and build support

for the socialist alternative.

DeFeAt the CUtS!...continued from page one

www.scals

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Young people have been hit hard

by the economic crisis. One in ve

of them are out of work. The Tory

government and its spineless Lib Dem

allies have priced out thousands of people

from accessing education, provoking mass

opposition.

Nick Parker, PCS YMN

(personal capacity)

18-21 year olds will be expected to do

slave labour to get miserable benets.

Under-25s are blatantly discriminated

against in the benets system. Under-35s

get unequal treatment in housing and

under-21s receive similar discrimination

in the minimum wage.

But young people are ghting back. In

Jobcentre Plus call centres, young people

are leading the ght for dignity and respectat work. The PCS Young Members Network

plays a very important role in encouraging

young workers to get involved in the trade

union movement. On protests such as the

TUC A Future That Works demonstration

in Manchester, and the magnicent TUC-

organised demo on 26th March, PCS

young members formed a vocal bloc that

attracted many young people.

The Democracy Alliance-led NEC, in which

Socialist Party members play a signicant

role, understands the vital function of the

Young Members Network not as window-

dressing or box-ticking but as a way of

developing young activists in the workplace

and the community. The PCS Young

Members Forum assists with this work

in bringing young PCS activists together.

For three consecutive years, the PCS has

produced winners of the TUC Youth Award.

The TUC youth conference has seen young

PCS members playing a decisive role in

reaching out to young activists from otherunions and winning support on demands

such as getting rid of differentials in the

minimum wage and demanding that the

TUC General Council takes young activists

seriously.

Working with the Youth Fight for Jobs (YFJ)

campaign, young PCS members have

been able to provide important advice

about the areas in which they work, such

as Jobcentre Plus and HMRC. PCS has

also received continuing support from

YFJ in the unions campaigns, particularly

in call centres and anti-cuts campaigns.

In October this year, YFJ will be restaging

the historic march of unemployed workers

from Jarrow to London; it was 75 years ago

that the march took place, yet now we face

a return to the 1930s with young people

hardest hit. We wont be a lost generation

and YFJ will use the march to highlight

the plight of young people. PCS young

members will be joining the march and our

union nationally has pledged to help fund

it. Visit jarrow2london2011.wordpress.

com to nd out more, including how your

PCS branch can get involved, donate, and

organise demonstrations and rallies in

your town when the Jarrow march comes

through.

Socialist Party members in the PCS Young

Members Network play an important part in

building the unions campaigns and ghtingback in the workplace and the community

against the agenda of the capitalists. We

understand that building strong unions is

a vital part of increasing the condence of

workers in our collective strength. We see

the need to ght back but also recognise

that if we dont get rid of capitalism, we will

be forced to ght forever. We understand

the need to develop and build the political

alternative to the parties of cuts - a mass

working peoples party which ghts for a

future for young people and the socialist

transformation of society.

YoUth FiGhtinG FoR A FUtURe

ConFeRenCe FRinGe MeetinGS

pary.rg.uk

Terry Adams, former PCS activist and Socialist Party member, will accepting a DLM at

this years ADC on behalf of John Macreadie who sadly passed away before Christmas.

There will be a showing of the memorial DVD made of Johns life at the PCS Socialist

Party fringe meeting. Speakers at the meeting including myself in a personal capacity

and Socialist Party general secretary Peter Taaffe

Janice Godrich, PCS President (personal capacity)

Socialist Party Fringe Meeting:Wednesday 18th May, 5:30pm,

Umi Suite, Umi Hotel, 64 Kings Road, Brighton Seafront.

Speakers include: Janice Godrich PCS President (personal capacity)

Peter Taaffe Socialist Party General Secretary

National Shop Stewards Network Fringe Meeting:Wednesday 18th May, 12:30pm,

Syndicate Room 1, The Brighton Centre, Kings Road, Brightom Seafront

Speakers include: Chris Baugh PCS Assistant Gen Sec (personal capacity)

Rob Williams NSSN Anti-Cuts Convenor

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The whole world has been inspired

by events in Tunisia and Egypt as

brutal dictators were swept aside by

workers movements.

Mark Baker, PCS NEC

(personal capacity)

From the massive trade union protests

in Wisconsin where placards read Egypt

showed the way to our own protest

against the cuts on 26th March, millions

have had their sights lifted by these awe-

inspiring mass movements. They have

ignited uprisings across the whole Arab

world which continue to develop.

The hypocrisy of the Western Allies,

particularly US, Britain and France, offering

support to the peoples of Tunisia and Egypt

was there for all to see. Mubarak had long

been a strong ally of the Western powersinterests in the Middle East, and his fall

has also weakened the position of Israel,

Americas client state in the region.

But important sections of workers in

both these countries realise that these

revolutions are not a nished process.

Since these events the old ruling class has

been able to reassert itself in both Tunisia

and Egypt where the military in charge

have announced plans to criminalise

strikes and protest marches. The Western

powers are looking to them to re-establish

stability (i.e. protect their interests) in the

area. Remnants of the old regimes remain

in place. There must be no trust in these

new leaders. The task of both Tunisian

and Egyptian workers, small farmers and

youth now is to follow up their tremendous

struggles to remove their corrupt leaders

through developing independent workers

parties and organisations that represent

their interests and can carry through a real

transformation in their societies.

In Egypt in particular the trade union

federation is closely associated with

the old corrupt Mubarak regime and the

demand is developing to organise an

independent trade union movement. In

Tunisia, where some in the leadership of

their trade union federation have links

with both the ousted Ben Ali regime and

the interim government, the call has gone

out to organise to oust these elements

from the unions. Whichever route is taken,

what is key is that working people have

genuine democratic control of their own

organisations.

On 8th April a new round of workers

protests in Tahrir Square echoed these

demands. The presence of some military

in deance of orders not to participate

show that organised resistance can still

develop the revolutionary movements ofearlier in the year. These have been met

with increasingly repressive measures

from the ruling military clique, but workers

across the world are looking to these

developments and we give the Egyptian

masses full support in these steps to take

destiny into their own hands.

The war in Libya complicates the situation.

The Socialist Party completely opposes

Western intervention. The masses of Libya

can have no trust in imperialist powers who

not so long ago were friends and allies of

Gadaf and other dictators.

Again the hypocrisy of the US and Britain in

particular has been exposed as they have

made a military intervention in an oil rich

Middle East state citing humanitarian

reasons and posing as liberators of the

Libyan peoples from a brutal dictatorship.

However no such intervention has been

made in Bahrain or Syria, for example,

as Western economic interests in the

region would not be furthered in this way.The imperialist powers have been quick

to sideline the more radical elements in

Benghazi and install the Interim National

Council (INC). This will rightly be seen by

Libyans as a tool of the imperialist powers

and to increase their inuence in the

country.

The working masses of Tunisia and Egypt

have already shown that determined

struggle can overthrow dictatorships.

They need now to independently and

democratically organise in trade unions

and a mass party of workers and the

poor with a clear programme, to be

able to struggle to prevent the gains of

their revolutions being snatched away

by remnants of the old elite or a new

elite in formation, in collaboration with

imperialism. As internationalists our task

is to provide whatever practical means we

can to assist them and continue to oppose

British military intervention at home.

The Socialist Party is part of the

Committee for a Workers International,

which organises in over 40 countries

across the globe. Members of our sister

parties have been actively involved in the

revolutionary struggles unfolding across

North Africa and the Middle East and we

are committed to doing all we can to help

these mass movements develop and buildsupport for socialist change in the region

and world-wide.

MiDDLe eASt: ReVoLUtion in DAnGeR

Tunisia, Egypt, Libya...

Region in revoltFor up-to-date news and analysis on the

revolutionary wave spreading across

North Africa and the Middle East, make

sure you visit www.socialistworld.net the

website of the Committee for a Workers

International. Recent highlights include:

Middle East and North Africa

Revolutions in danger

http://bit.ly/lhHjAk

Tunisia

Militant Mayday march calls for

continuing the revolution

http://bit.ly/lWuqlE

Libya

The no-fly zone and the Left

http://bit.ly/ikBNEH

Egypt

Nasser and Arab nationalism

http://bit.ly/fNNG6R

Socialist Party

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London E11 1YD

0208 988 8768

info@socialistparty.org.uk

www.socialistparty.org.uk