PCS Independent Left

PCS Independent Left For a fighting, rank & file controlled union

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Civil Service World also says that 2.5% will be recommended for senior civil service. Will 2.5% be the public sector norm? If so, that sinks any hope (faint as it was) that the national talks that PCS is joining will lead to any real improvements.

This decision is a done deal. There will be no ballot. LU hope the strength of the union's arguments will persuade the government to make concessions. But why would the government pump in £10Ms of extra funding to improve pay unless they were under pressure to do so?

PCS i.e. Left Unity have posted 'Following delegated pay talks, and a series of consultations with groups and members, the NEC agreed that there is not a strong enough case to move to an industrial action ballot under the national campaign at this time, though this will be kept under review'.

Government negotiators know no ballot or campaign is under way and will see the union's case as a polite request, not a demand. Why would the government make serious concessions when the union is not putting them under any pressure?

PCS, that is LU, is entering civil service pay talks "unarmed" as it choose not to ballot members for industrial action. This lack of a strike threat strips the union of all leverage. They're relying on strong arguments (13% real-terms pay fall, recruitment crisis, pay compression) but power counts.

From day one of the full scale invasion the IL has supported the right of the Ukrainian people to self determination, as we do for the Palestinian people.

IL believes that PCS should actually have a membership campaign and work towards a ballot in the New Year. We are not opposed to the national talks, such as they are, but without a surrounding campaign there is no pressure on the government to make any concessions.

Shortly branches will be told that there will be no ballot and that the union is entering national talks on pay, job security etc. The Independent Left (IL) believes this approach is wrong. This moment demands activity as opposed to going into sleep mode.

One 'tool' they have no intention to use or contemplate is a Group strike. Instead they say to the branches, if you want to fight, we will support you. If you don't, we will support you. No sign of acting as a leadership, setting out proposals to win and testing those with members and activists.

DWP plans include closing the Lincoln Service Centre and Service & Support Centres in Dover, Warrington, and St Helens, plus run a VER scheme in Caxton House, London. The PCS DWP Group Executive Committee (GEC) states it will "fight every office closure with every tool at its disposal."

AAs and AOs in DWP & HMRC will be dragged up by the minimum wage again next year. Yet, where is the fight on any of this? No mass ballot. No campaign. Left Unity is inert and incapable of winning. We need a fundamental change of leadership and a new union strategy to win on pay. Vote them out!

The average pay award was 3.5%, but inflation (CPI) is stuck at 3.8% for the third month running. So 2025 pay round has delivered a real-terms pay cut for most members. We're worse off than last year. The basic duty of a union is to protect living standards—and Left Unity has failed - again.

For the Independent Left, talks are essential, but the employer must know they have to deliver. If the NEC meeting (tomorrow, Oct 24) does not authorise a move towards a national ballot, the union's leverage vanishes. Leaving only hope that talking to Labour will get us somewhere.

There is a debate within PCS over our strategy for pay/jobs and terms and conditions. One view (LU) sees talking to Labour as the primary means to achieve National Pay & job security. The alternative (IL) argues dialogue must be underpinned by putting in place the machinery for a national ballot.

We on the IL minority will argue for a campaign, but we need your help! Branches must immediately challenge the NEC, openly demanding a campaign plan & ballot timetable. For a better union, we also need a better NEC—so vote IL & others when the time comes!

We believe LU plans to argue at Thursday's NEC that members have no interest in a ballot, but they generated zero enthusiasm! They ran no campaign & kept members in the dark. We predict the LU majority will rubber-stamp the GS's recommendation to send the union into "sleep mode." We say: Wake Up!

Budget cuts, sub inflation pay, no job security guarantees, no national bargaining. There are solid grounds for a ballot. We’re asking NEC to task the NDC to produce a ballot plan for the December NEC. Prepare, organise, then let members decide.

PCS special NEC this Thursday. We think the GS will recommend “no ballot”. LU majority will support the GS. Independent Left says start now to build for a 2026 vote on pay, jobs & job security. Not a call for an immediate strike — get the machinery ready and start an actual campaign.

So Labour has to see, is that there's a cost if they don't treat us fairly. Despite that obvious truth, it seems at the special NEC on 23rd Oct, that LU will say there will be no ballot. PCS needs a leadership that stands firm, not one that folds. Back IL and others who are ready to fight.

Following on from yesterday. Labour’s fiscal rules are their own creation — a political choice, not an economic necessity. They say there’s “no money,” but there is. Notwithstanding that, the government believe they are in a bind. They are not going to increase our pay willingly.

Obviously we agree with Andy but in the absence of Union pressure, why would Labour give us this?

Imagine a PCS that brings all bargainers together before pay talks, learns from past mistakes, shares outcomes in real time, and supports bargainer with clear, unified direction. That would be a union ready to win fair pay in the civil service—not repeat the same old cycle.

PCS’s national approach to delegated bargaining in the civil service is broken - part 2. Ahead of the next pay round, the union must do better: provide bargaining lines to take, supported by arguments, share data, and provide training for negotiators. This isn't rocket science—it’s basic union work.

Secrecy kills campaigning. IL backs open bargaining — transparent talks with members shaping demands & strategy. Mobilising members puts pressure on management & makes the union truly membership-led. You can’t lead if you’re kept in the dark.

PCS gives little practical support to Groups & Nat Branches on delegated pay bargaining. This should be an organising opportunity — pay affects everyone, so comms must reach the whole workforce, boosting our union’s profile.

The NEC meets on 23 Oct. We expect LU will announce there’ll be no ballot because of poor feedback from the member's meetings. No doubt blaming activists instead of their own inaction for this. We need a fighting, democratic PCS led by members, not managed from above.

The UAW in the US are thinking big—aligning contracts to expire on 1 May 2028 and calling on the whole labour movement to join them. That’s bold leadership. In PCS, we can’t even coordinate pay bargaining across the UK civil service let alone between the Scottish and Welsh civil services!

We want to change that. If you do as well then we have to vote LU off the NEC.

There is no sub committee on the NEC to discuss pensions, nor is it regularly discussed by the NEC itself. Therefore despite how important this issue is, there is no systematic discussion, analysis or campaigning around pensions – occupational or state – by PCS.