PCS Follow

SOME 290,000 civil service workers in the PCS union were receiving their ballot papers at the beginning of this week. They are balloting for a strike on Friday 5 November over New Labour’s plans to cut 104,000 jobs.

SOME 110 civil service workers in the PCS union at Stratford social security office in east London were set to begin a ballot for indefinite strike action on Wednesday of this week.

SOME 150 social workers in the Unison union are continuing their indefinite strike action in Liverpool. We have been getting good support from Unison, branches and other unions such as the PCS and FBU.

"THIS IS the biggest strike ballot in a generation, involving the whole of the civil service." With those fighting words Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the PCS civil service workers’ union, announced a ballot of 290,000 members.

THE NATIONAL executive of the PCS civil service workers’ union was meeting as Socialist Worker went to press.

THE CAMPAIGN for decent pay in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is still ongoing. Some 85,000 DWP workers in the PCS civil servants’ union rejected a pay offer last November.

The battle by civil service workers and their union, PCS, to resist these attacks is vital for every worker in Britain, particularly the millions employed in the public sector.

HUNDREDS OF civil servants in the PCS union were set to lobby parliament on Wednesday of this week as part of our long-running dispute against low pay.

THERE IS a full spectrum assault on the PCS union and jobs in the DWP.

THE CONFERENCE of the PCS civil servants' union last week saw complete opposition to the New Labour government's plans for pay, job cuts and pensions. Over the last year the union has grown to 310,000 members from 292,000 last July. That's because we have fought over issues such as pay. The left overwhelmingly won recent elections to the national executive.

HUNDREDS OF activists in the PCS civil servants' union were gathering in Brighton for our union conference this week. The conference takes place at an extremely important time for the union.

THE LEFT have won another landslide victory in the PCS civil servants' union national executive elections. This is a victory for everyone who wants a fighting, democratic union. There are no crumbs of comfort for the Cabinet Office and New Labour. The left continues to hold the majority of national executive positions, consolidating the position of left wing general secretary Mark Serwotka.