Socialist Party
PCS Conference Bulletin 2011
DEFEAT THE
DETERMINED LEADERSHIP AND A CLEAR STRATEGY TO
W
CUTS! ell over half a million people
demonstrated against
cuts on March 26th, proving
the
definitively that workers are prepared to
fight 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. PCS
has 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 pension’s 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
deficit. Pensions are only deferred wages,
and low wages mean low pensions. If you
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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 judgements
against 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.
continued on page two...
DEFEAT THE CUTS!
...continued from page one

U
nited 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 finally delivered on the first
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
Office. 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.

John McInally, PCS vice-president,

in a personal capacity, looks at the debate on political campaigning:

H
ard 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 been
thorough. 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 union’s 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 activists
have learned the hard fact that political
campaigning is inextricably connected to
our industrial campaigning. To campaign
only on the industrial field is fighting 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 were
elected 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 difficult 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 influencing the political process and
even winning concessions.
Genuine concerns were raised as to how
it would work in practise: i.e. how would
candidates 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.

www.socialist
 YOUTH FIGHTING FOR A FUTURE
Y
oung people have been hit hard
by the economic crisis. One in five
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 benefits.
Under-25s are blatantly discriminated
against in the benefits system. Under-35s
get unequal treatment in housing and
under-21s receive similar discrimination
in the minimum wage.
But young people are fighting back. In
Jobcentre Plus call centres, young people
are leading the fight for dignity and respect
at 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 magnificent 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 significant
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 other
unions 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 union’s 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 won’t 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 find 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 union’s campaigns and fighting
back 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 confidence of
workers in our collective strength. We see
the need to fight back but also recognise
that if we don’t get rid of capitalism, we will
be forced to fight forever. We understand
the need to develop and build the political
alternative to the parties of cuts - a mass
working people’s party which fights for a
future for young people and the socialist
transformation of society.

CONFERENCE FRINGE MEETINGS

“Terry Adams, former PCS activist and Socialist Party member, will accepting a DLM at
this year’s ADC on behalf of John Macreadie who sadly passed away before Christmas.
There will be a showing of the memorial DVD made of John’s 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

tparty.org.uk
MiDDLe eASt: ReVoLUtion in DAnGeR
T
he 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 powers’
interests in the Middle East, and his fall
has also weakened the position of Israel,
America’s client state in the region.
But important sections of workers in
both these countries realise that these
revolutions are not a finished 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 defiance of orders not to participate
show that organised resistance can still
develop the revolutionary movements of
earlier 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
Gadaffi 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 influence 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 build
support for socialist change in the region
and world-wide.
Tunisia, Egypt, Libya...
Region in revolt
For 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
PO Box 24697
London E11 1YD
0208 988 8768
info@socialistparty.org.uk
www.socialistparty.org.uk