Just think of what has happened in the last 5 years in the Civil Service alone.
2010 – 2015
- Since 2010 90,000 jobs gone, 1 in 4 of them administrative jobs
- Pay frozen then artificially held down below inflation in prices to result in a 20% loss of value
- Made to wait longer for Pensions that are more expensive and worth less
- Redundancy pay entitlements cut
What’s coming in the next 5 years?
2016 – 2020
In November the Chancellor in his Comprehensive Spending Review announced a further round of deep cuts to Public Spending
- £20 billion cut from Departmental budgets
- £12.5 billion more cuts to the Welfare budget
- A Government Review of Redundancy Pay costs across the Public Sector
- Pay to be held to no more than 1% increases for the next 4 years
The impacts in the first five-year period have been devastating. What can we expect in the next?
- Up to 100,000 jobs to go (source Financial Times)
- Poverty pay rates with combined impacts as Universal Credit is introduced to replace Tax Credits
- Buildings sold off, leading to centralised smaller delivery of functions
- Privatisation/Outsourcing of jobs and services
- Attacks on terms & conditions such as sick pay, maternity pay to the lowest levels of the un-unionised private sector
Resistance
The Government knows that this will not be passively accepted, especially by unionised workers.
Workers join a union to protect their livelihoods in a way that most of us can’t do on our own
In the final analysis, the power of a worker is the ability to collectively (with other workers) to withdraw his/her labour, as recognised by United Nations Charter and the International Labour Organisation as a fundamental Human Right
PCS leads Resistance
In the past 5 years PCS has organised our members to
- Defend Redundancy Pay Rights
- Defend Pension Rights
- Fight for Fair Pay
- Oppose Job Cuts
- Oppose Office Closures
- Oppose Privatisation
Hence the Tory’s Trade Union Bill
One thing UK law is not short of is Trade Union legislation! Tony Blair, when he was PM, said the UK Trade Union law was the most restrictive in Western democracies.
So why do the Tory Government believe we need more?
To make it much more difficult for you to resist their plans
How?
- High ‘YES’ thresholds required in ballots for lawful industrial action which are not required in any other area of our civic democracy
- Even higher thresholds for ‘key’ workers, e.g in Health (Junior Doctors), Transport (Driving Examiners), Education, Borders
- Employers allowed to use Agency workers as strike breakers
- Abstentions counted as ‘No’ voters – imagine that used in the 2012 Crime Commissioners elections where turnouts of just 15%were recorded!
- Our ability to fund the campaigns to change politicians minds undermined
What Can You Do?
- Take part in events PCS is supporting with other Trade Unions in w/c 8thFebruary called Heartunions
- Ask your reps what is being organised in your workplace to mark our opposition to this legislation on the 9th February
- Support any joint activities with our unions in your workplaces and communities
- Ask a colleague/friend/relative to join the union to make us stronger
- Consider helping us by volunteering to become a PCS Advocate
Take a look at heartunions.org
PCS Fylde 