Mark Serwotka says trade unionists are increasingly standing together for a fair deal on work and wages
THERE is little doubt that the economy is in trouble. But while no one seems keen to accept the blame, there is a general consensus among politicians and employers as to who should pay for it.
Public sector workers face a pay squeeze which we have not seen since Nigel Lawson was Chancellor of the Exchequer. It is clear to all (outside the Treasury) that this has little to do with controlling inflation – public sector workers can hardly be held responsible for fluctuating prices of oil or wheat. At the same time, the long-term unemployed, disabled and single parents are threatened with benefit cuts in order to drive them into work.
Gordon Brown argues that the route out of poverty is through work. Not in the public sector. We have many members – far too many – who can tell him that working for the Government still leaves them poor.
Workers in all branches of public service are struggling to make ends meet by taking second jobs or scrimping and saving just to buy children birthday presents. Many are trapped in low-quality, rented accommodation or living with their parents well into adulthood because they cannot afford anything better. And after years of slog, gaining the experience needed to do a good job for the public, PCS members who have reached the top of their pay scales now see their wages frozen.
Public sector pay will be a key debate at the TUC Congress this year. Workers across Britain are feeling the pinch and they are getting angry. This is a challenge to which trade unions must rise. The pressure on pay is most intense in the public sector, as we are squeezed as an example to the rest of the workforce. But unions are also strongest in the public sector. We have a chance to show how organisation can make a difference to workers’ lives.
I am pleased that the TUC is organising a major fringe meeting on pay and that so many unions will be represented on the platform. The PCS has been arguing consistently for mobilising the members of as many unions as possible over pay, at the same time. This year, I feel we are closer than ever to winning that argument.
In April, we took action alongside teachers and lecturers. Then, in July, some of our members joined local government workers on strike in England and Wales, while others joined their Scottish colleagues in August. Every rally that took place showed there was a growing enthusiasm for more unity and more joint action. We expect to start balloting in September for national industrial action over pay and we will be looking at every opportunity to stand together with colleagues in other unions.
Having to do this under a Labour Government is shameful. I am often asked if I would prefer the Tories. The answer, obviously, is no. But the truth is that currently this would represent a seamless transition in policy. We know that the other main parties would do pretty much the same on pay. We also see them in total agreement with the disgraceful attack on the welfare state launched in James Purnell’s recent green paper. An obsession with privatisation is coupled with the wholly unsupported claim that people will only seek work if they are forced to. Our members know that if you can offer meaningful, flexible and personalised help to get into work, there is no shortage of volunteers. There is no need to recruit religious charities and private multinationals on a payment-by-results basis.
Public opinion is overwhelmingly against public sector pay cuts and privatisation. But who is speaking for those views? While the mainstream parties remain so unresponsive, we have to consider alternative forms of political action.
So the PCS, together with the RMT, NUJ and FBU, will be announcing at Congress the formation of the Trade Union Co-ordinating Group. We will be co-ordinating our parliamentary and political work much more closely in order to strengthen our messages both inside and outside Parliament.
We also support proportional representation as a way to break the sterile, pro-market political consensus. PR opens up the possibility of candidates more responsive to our concerns being elected. At the same time, we are in the forefront of anti-fascist activity. We cannot rely on electoral mechanisms to keep the British National Party at bay. We have to campaign both among our members and in the community at large to ensure that the real threat posed by fascism is exposed. The PCS is also campaigning against fascists working in public services, where their racist ideology puts them at odds with any notion of equality of access to services.
For public servants, the route out of poverty is an organised fight for change. In fact, all but the very wealthy have something to gain from us winning a change in direction. This TUC Congress should mark the beginning of the campaign for that shift.
Mark Serwotka is general secretary of the PCS
This article is posted for debate at www.compassonline.org.uk
