Over the fouteen years since PCS wasformed this question has been askedmany times. Communists long arguedthat the creation of a single civilservice union – or at least onerepresenting the majority ofemployees – could help organisedworkers defend their conditions aswas the case in the first major test onpensions in 2005. But life moves on and employers learn – thethreats of one day strikes are no longerenough. Some will argue for paid selectiveaction and it is true that in certain disputesmost likely at a Group level such action canbe highly effective. We doubt that this is thecase in a truly national dispute wheregovernment credibility is involved.In Broadening the Battle Lines theCommunist Party argued that in order todefeat the pensions’ onslaught public sectorunions needed to do much more than organiseone day strikes often months apart. The partysuggested firstly, a joint policy statementexposing government overall strategy andexplaining the political nature of thepensions’ fight.Secondly, that all unions work with theNational Pensioners Convention and othercampaigning groups.Thirdly that all unions redouble efforts tobuild local campaigns of resistance and workto maximise unity across all public sector

unions.The party argued that coordinated guerrillaaction including rolling programmes andnational days of action should be organised,coordinating with private sector strikes andthat unions target key dates of a national andindustry significance.Can our union deliver on such a strategy? As a union we argue that maximum unity todefeat the government attacks is needed butour experience is that strategic and tacticalunity is not guaranteed. Nothing demonstratesthis more than the aftermath of the biggeststrike for a generation on 30 November.Workers saw what was possible but manybelieved that was all that was possible.In this situation many PCS members andactivists need to be convinced of the need torenew the fight. Some are worried about how they debate theissue with members. This is not surprisinggiven that most lay reps were not elected tolead a campaign of such intensity.This requires PCS to take its organisingstrategy to a new level – focussing on groupsof members and issuing material which goesbeyond the general. It requires a high level ofpolitical education.Can we ask members to take sustainedperiods of industrial action without pay– PCSmembers in the private sector have done itand achieved significant victories. We need to recognise where other unions are

Redscare

Communists at the PCS Conference May 2012

Is unity enough?

Joint statement fromthe communists ofPCS and UNITE

At this stage, PCS and Unite can bothbe seen as two unions clearly on theLeft of the movement. Both wereprime movers behind the TUCdemonstration in 2011, both haveproduced material arguing that thereis a clear alternative to both theGovernment’s and Labour'sacceptance of the need for austerity.Both work with other outsideorganisations, such as the NPC etc,and both have rejected theGovernment’s pension offer. It istherefore natural that both unionsshould seek to work together incampaigning against policies that aredetrimental to members and societyas a whole. PCS Conference willwelcome these moves in a resolutionproposed by its NEC.

However, both unions are relatively new.PCS came into being in 1998, so has nowlargely settled down into a single union, withonly minor foibles remaining. But, whateverthe legalities of it, Unite actually onlygradually formed a new culture in a processthat took from 2007-2010. Internally, some inthe union may even consider that there arestill aspects of unfinished business. Bothunions still have right wing factions, whichmay seem quiescent, but they could onceagain take control – feasibly even of a newjoint entity – leading to a more insular andless optimistic union. Nor will merger beseen as an especially popular project amongstmany activists for a major focus of ourleaderships to be on organisational integrationover the next few years, especially in Unite,which is only now emerging from the rigoursof integration.Yet Communists in Unite and PCS stronglywelcome the links developed between our twounions – there is a lot to be gained from this.But, if these links move to anythingapproaching a full scale merger talks over thenext three years, as has been rumoured, thenthis can only happen if the following issuesare addressed.Any merger must have industrial andpolitical logic. Unite has members in thepublic sector – but only a few in the civilservice, where the majority of PCS membersare. This must inevitably raise questionsabout the structural character of any moreformal approach, which could providedifficulties.

continued on page 4

in the struggle and seek to include notcriticise. This approach means that sometimesPCS will be in dispute other times it won’t.Communists argue that the pensions battleis unending – workers have been fighting alltheir lives for decent wages on retirement. Wewill need both to be involved in sustainedaction with other unions and on our own.Members need to be prepared for this. Recentstatements from the OECD and IMF show thatthe capitalist class demand we pay more towork longer for less – even after the currentcuts. PCS members are already paying more,as they will do in the next two years. Therevised pension scheme is due to come inbeing in 2015. Pension ages could go beyondthe existing one of 66. There is still a lot to bedone but it requires a significant uplifting ofthe campaign.Rather than a series of protest strikes (eachof which could be smaller than on 30November, the campaign now has to be basedon where and when we can muster industrialstrength. This will require new tactics butalso a new focus on permanent secretaries andsenior civil servants rather than directly onministers who in many cases are isolatedfrom, or inoculated against, the impact of thestrikes.The national mandate must be utilised withmore confidence. That means allowing ourindustrial groups to prosecute campaignsunder that mandate – regardless of whether ornot individual group specific disputes exist.In that regard, every group secretary shouldhave a clear instruction to draw up proposalsfor the most effective industrial contributionthey can make to the campaign between nowand this time next year.Our union and others across the public

sector hve real political and industrial power– as demonstrated by our Home Officemembers. We must be prepared to use it. HBroadening the Battlelines: thepensions struggle by Bill GreenshieldsISBN 978-1-908315-07-6 £1.50 fromhttp://tinyurl.com/c8kw3rw

A note of caution, and of optimismIf 30 November was a high point theweeks that followed could have easilybecome a pit of despair. But the veryscale of our mobilisation has bluntedthe ruling class offensive.This crisis is deep, profound and has notended. We are not defeated and theCommunist Party argues that the continuing,viable and vitally important pensions disputemeans that the battle lines must be broadenedand that one-day periodic protest strikes,while a legitimate part of the strategy, shouldnot represent the campaign in its entirety.The coalition of unions constructed for N30was highly impressive. It is to the credit of allinvolved at the grass-roots – in tradescouncils, public sector alliances and localunion branches – that it was made possible atall. But, as anyone with any experience of theTUC locally, regionally or at General Councillevel will know, the beast is difficult to shiftfrom its comfortable position of respectfulpragmatism.That so much progress on that scoreappeared wasted by Christmas was difficult toaccept or understand. Recriminations wereperhaps inevitable but are damagingnonetheless. With battles to come onprivatisation, local pay, jobs and welfare anydisappointment at the turn of events has to betempered by the size of the task of rebuildingand the risk to the same of ill-consideredoutbursts.It is therefore incumbent on all those seriousabout winning in the long run – including andespecially those in leadership positions – tomaintain discipline and focus in the face ofwhat might sometimes seem like outright

provocation.In the last two-years the TUC has re-foundits relevance and willingness to coordinateactivity on the back of apparent consensusfrom affiliates about what was required. Ifthat consensus has fragmented, urgent actionis required immediately to reconstruct it.Clearly, that will not be fully realised iffriction amongst and between members of theGeneral Council persists and impedes it.PCS is a union viewed with suspicion –included within the hierarchies of some of theLabour affiliates. As such, we perhaps bear agreater responsibility than most to ensure thatwe do not provide those, who are cynicalenough to wish for it, with the excuse to fatallydamage the ability of unions to work together.And it would be a mistake to characterise theleadership personalities of other unions as outof touch with their respective memberships.More subtle, but equally important, is theexistence of the curious dynamic which sees,even those critical of their leadershipsdecision, consistently demonstrate loyaltytowards the same leaders and forcibly rejectcalls for internal rebellion orchestrated fromoutside.So the task facing us is hugely important andfraught with pitfalls placing an enormousresponsibility on the leaderships of all theunions - especially those, like ours, involvedin the pensions battle. Regardless of where each union is inrelation to that campaign, a clear and crediblestrategy to win the wider struggle based onunity and on promoting a much moredeveloped level of political understandingamongst members is essential. Ahead of theTUC Congress in September, an agreed jointprogramme of action would prepare theground for the restoration of a fully united andrenewed struggle in the near future. H

Two steps forward, one step back

21st Century MarxismFestival 21-22 July 2012

A weekend of rallies,meetings, debate, food, music and Marxism

www.communist-party.org.uk

Rob Griffiths on apolitical voice forworking peopleMillions of working people are on themove, demanding change. In Britainmillions reject the idea promoted bybig business and media, the banks,hedge funds and Con-Demgovernment that past levels of publicexpenditure are the main cause of theeconomic and financial crisis.They reject too, the remedy dictated by Cityof London financial institutions and the EUCommission and European Central Bank,notably that massive public spending cuts anda savage attack on the wages and pensions ofpublic sector workers are necessary in order toreduce the public sector deficit.The policy of the Labour Party leadership toalign itself with this analysis and theseremedies is a betrayal of the millions ofworkers and their families who look to Labourfor support and solidarity. In particular,statements by Ed Miliband, Ed Balls andLiam Byrne backing deep cuts in publicsector wages and pension entitlements, and inwelfare benefits, represent a shamefulcapitulation to the banks, the Con-Demregime and the right-wing mass media.Labour's lead in the opinion polls is morethe product of government mistakes andreflects a change in public opinion shapedgreatly by the resistance to cuts. The refusal ofthe Labour Party leadership to give a lead onpolicies that would defend public services,jobs, wages and pensions and so revive

economic growth highlights the extent towhich the interests of the labour movement –which are also those of the people of Britaingenerally – go largely unrepresented in theCommons. Millions of working people, in Labour-affiliated and non-affiliated unions, need aLabour Party that defends their interests,stands up for public services, opposes thewhole rotten set-up in corrupt, big business,rip-off Britain – and renounces a Britishforeign policy that mires us in aggressive war,the mass slaughter of civilians, internationalkidnapping and torture and a new generationof nuclear weapons.This, in turn, raises the need for theaffiliated unions to campaign in a moredetermined, planned and coordinated way tochange the policies and if necessary thecomposition of the Labour Party leadership.The duty of the affiliated unions to fight forprogressive, left and socialist values in theLabour Party could not be clearer.At the same time, this is an important part ofan even bigger question: how can the labourmovement best ensure that its collective viewsand interests are represented in theWestminster parliament?This challenge must be faced by the wholemovement, including those unions, like PCS,the education unions and others, not affiliatedto the Labour Party.The Labour Party was founded by the tradeunion movement. It receives the support ofover one-third of voters and, as shown byrecent election results, can reach widersections. But this support is not guaranteed, isincreasingly volatile and could quicklydisintegrate if the party's right-wing course is

maintained. The trade union movement, andits members locally, have a duty to interveneto reclaim the party.Three steps to take the power«Affiliated unions should respondimmediately to demands from their membersand cease paying financial donations to theLabour Party centrally until its leaders andMPs oppose real cuts in public sector servicesand wages and express solidarity with workersfighting to defend their pensions.«Affiliation fees should be maintained inorder to step up the challenge to the Labourleadership's current policies from inside theparty as well as from outside.«Affiliated trade unions should meet toconvene an all-Britain conference at theearliest opportunity to discuss the currentcrisis of political representation for workersand their families.Communists believe these actions are themost realistic and effective way of ensuringthat the interests of working people arerepresented. Should the Labour Party continueon a right-wing course, its future will be atrisk and the trade union movement will have aduty to re-establish a mass party of labourcapable of winning elections, forming agovernment and enacting policies in theinterests of the people not the bankers.

Two more steps:H Affiliated unions should also considerdemanding that a special emergencyconference of the Labour Party be held toconsider a fundamental change of economicand financial policy on the capitalist crisis,public spending and investment, public sectorwages and pensions, privatisation andtaxation. H At some point either at the initiative of theTUC or some other body must result in aspecial conference of all labour movementorganisations to discuss the politicalrepresentation of the labour movement inparliament.In the face of the current ruling classoffensive against the working class and themass of people generally, the labour movementneeds to develop the maximum clarity andunity. For its part, the Communist Party willcontinue to develop its Marxist analysis,project an alternative economic and politicalstrategy for the working class and its alliesand strengthen non-sectarian left unity. H

Rob Griffiths is general secretary ofthe Communist Party. He has writtenan open letter on the crisis of politicalrepresentation. H

Go to http://tinyurl.com/d93mynvHe asks for comments and calls fordiscussion and action. E mail your comments toopenletter@communist-party.org.uk(please indicate whether you wishthem to remain confidential).

Take the power

DizzywithsuccessSolving ourproblems of organisationOur pensions, pay and jobs dispute isthe most significant industrial battle ina generation and our union – themembership as a whole and our localand national leadership collectives –have played an exemplary role inmobilising the fightback. Our strategy focuses on developing a broadanti-cuts coalition of public service tradeunions. We have seen great triumphs but ayear of campaigning has taught us that alongwith great opportunities this strategy is notproblem free. The industrial objectives of our sister unionsand their strategies naturally differ. It is acoalition not a monolith and whilst we canoffer leadership on the crucial strategy ofcollective co-ordinated action not everythingis within our grasp.The question arises: “What happens if atsome point in the campaign PCS is on itsown?” We naturally prepare for all contingenciesand it is clear from recent history thosepreparations should focus on strengtheningour own organisation and on our campaignissues. We cannot lose our sovereign right orability to take industrial action. Those preparations must include action totackle the organisational problems that affectour union. A broad and progressive coalitionof the left and its allies has held leadershipresponsibility within PCS for over a decade. Inthat time culture of the union has beentransformed to become one of the most active.There is a great influx of new young activistsand an increasing cohort of experienced andbattle-hardened local and group leaders yetthere are still branches which fail to take upcampaign issues, sometimes for politicalreasons, or that fail to get an effective balancebetween personal cases and mobilisation andcampaigning.Both problems need sorting urgently. Thereare too many branches that are poorly run, andas a result membership activism is down.High membership density can lead tocomplacency, and too often long serving

officers on 100% facility time have becomerather too exclusively focused on personalcases. High densities take a long time to buildand can too easily slip away. Where largebranches fail to engage in the campaigns ofthe union; don’t attend trade councils, orparticipate in regional briefings or supportlocal town/area committees it is highly likelythat ballot and election turnouts suffer.Departmental Facility time has led to manyactivists taking such time for granted andviewing it as a personal right. If we are toprepare for long term sustained campaignsthis culture must change. There are too manyactivists on 100% facility time. This timeshould be shared more equally amongst reps.Every rep should have some time at theirnormal place of work. It keeps activistsgrounded in the industrial issues membersface and it helps members if they see theirrepresentatives working alongside them.Equally branches should prepare for a morehostile employer; the inevitable attacks onfacilities by the government can and must becountered by extra curricular work: offsitemeetings, setting up members private emaildistribution lists, leafleting entrances ofworkplaces, and meeting in our own time.Personal cases are vitally important butshould not be the exclusive responsibility ofkey leading officers of the branch to thedetriment of other equally vital campaigningwork. We should play to the individualstrengths of branch officers, allow otheractivists to take on personal representationand focus the collective strength of the branchleadership on the broader strategic battles ofthe union. H

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Joint statement continued from page 1PCS does have a growing number ofmembers in private sector industries,particularly in facilities management and ITand there is some overlap between the twounions. In addition, with Governmentstreating public sector workers where ever theywork in the same way – with pay and pensionrestraint and cuts – there is a growing logicfor merger. But mergers must be for our members’benefit not for that of leaders, or even tosatisfy strategic planners. Any merger mustembed lay democracy within any new entity –minimally, that must mean election of all verysenior officers by members, especially the GS,DGS and AGSs. All other paid officials mustbe subject to a clear process of lay democraticcontrol. For us, the prime outcome of anymerger must be to enhance lay democracyeven further.Moreover, there must be real benefits formembers – the union must not become moreremote from their needs. All unions facesignificant organising challenges, but acursory inspection of the ballot returns in therun up to the pension’s strike of 30thNovember reveals that larger unions produceproportionally smaller turn-outs. This couldbe a symptom of dislocation between therespective grassroots and the leadership andany new super-union needs meaningfulstructures and constitutional commitment tofull participation and democracy. Both of these factors are, for Communists inthe PCS and Unite, fundamental matters ofprinciple. We urge fellow progressives toconsider them and this issue carefully. H

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