Given the great bulk of members have not signed up to Direct Debit (DD) we can still change the form to allow them the option of paying the levy.

All it would take is one extra line being added to the form so that members could tick against a box to pay a £1, £2 or £5 (or whatever amount) to the levy. If we don’t do this then we will have to go back to members for the levy, after the DD campaign is over.

So why is something like this not being done?

Well it could be that nobody has thought of it (though we have argued before for the levy to be added to the DD form) but it could be that the PCS leadership in reality are not that keen on collecting the levy as it was not their idea (they have resisted it for years) but also because if the levy were successful then they might have to fight strike campaigns in a way that they are not very comfortable with.

As is well known, the PCS standard operating procedure is hope that other unions want to take strike action, we join up with them for the day and then nothing happens for months. That tactic has not won a penny on the pay of any member through we keep pursuing the same tactic again and again.

We too want to work with other unions but we don’t predicate our action on there being other unions willing to join us. Whilst seeking the greatest unity with other unions we know that we must be prepared to fight on our own as need be. That means we have to have more than one day strikes. We are for the most mass action we can win amongst the members allied to selective action and other non-orthodox actions (i.e. two hour strikes etc). For us, selective action is an auxiliary tactic that is used alongside mass action – it is not a substitute for mass action.

To have effective selective action we need money – hence the need for the levy. Therefore we urge the union to change the DD form now, to help us to start the levy collection now.