Battle for the job

By New Worker correspondent

Voting for the general secretaryship of PCS is now underway. Three rival left candidates are in the race for the highest post in the biggest civil service union in the country. PCS, which now also represents many clerical and admin staff in the private sector, has been led by Mark Serwotka for nearly 20 years and he’s the firm favourite to retain his role in the ballot that runs until 12^th December.

            Serwotka can count on the support of the union’s old broad left that brought together a number of left factions together in the name of the “Democracy Alliance”. But it has come increasing under fire from the maverick “Independent Left” – a faction largely led by the Trotskyist “Alliance for Workers’ Liberty” and the rival Socialist Party that once held sway throughout the union.

            The union’s politics revolve around competing left factions following the complete collapse of the open right-wing in the union some years ago. Serwotka, who is in favour of the union affiliating to the Labour Party, is standing on his record as a unifying figure. But his Socialist Party and Independent Left rivals claim that his support relies on complacent union grandees who have done little to take on the employer, which is mainly the Government itself, over terms and conditions.

            In 2014 Mark Serwotka was returned to office unopposed. Only around 10 per cent of the membership bothered to vote in senior officer election last year. This time round the union is hoping that a much bigger response in the postal ballot will give the new general secretary a powerful mandate to take on the Government in the battles to come.

PCS welcomes Corbyn

By New Worker correspondent

JEREMY CORBYN got a rapturous welcome from PCS delegates last week. The Labour leader ticked all the boxes during his address on the last day of the civil service workers’ annual conference in Brighton last week.

“The success of a future Labour government will depend on the trade union movement,” Corbyn said. “When Labour comes to power, you come to power too. These changes are not possible without you.

“Together we will create a social security system that is about support not sanctions, tackle the climate emergency and smash racism.”

 He slammed the “ugly face of Tory austerity Britain” and vowed that the next Labour government would repeal all the oppressive Tory union laws, restore free collective bargaining and facility time for trade union activities, and introduce online balloting for strike votes and union elections.

Conference agreed to continue its national pay campaign despite an earlier strike ballot that failed to pass the 50 per cent turnout threshold that is now a legal requirement for strike action. Members voted by four to one in favour of strike action or “action short of a strike”. But turnout was 47.7 per cent and a further 3,000 votes would have been required to pass the threshold, introduced via the Trade Union Act 2016.

The National Executive Committee (NEC) remains in the hands of the major left factions that have dominated the union for years but the Socialist Party (SP), the main successor to the old Militant Tendency, was shaken by the surprise victory of John Moloney, a supporter of the maverick Trotskyist Alliance for Workers Liberty (AWL) faction, in the race for assistant general secretary, defeating the long-standing SP incumbent and a full-time union officer who was Mark Serwotka’s choice.

Earlier Serwotka seemingly discounted rumours of early retirement by confirming that he would run again when the general secretary elections come round in the autumn.

No comments:

Post a Comment