We want a better union. One that works, is honest, gets things done, and wins things.

The PCS leadership has repeatedly argued, in support of their claim that a restricted, one off, non-pensionable, £1,500 pro rata payment and the worst consolidated remit in the public sector justifies abandoning our 2022-23 cost of living pay claim.

The Independent Left wants the union to win for members. One of the bed rocks for winning is a high level of engaged membership. Engagement went up wonderfully in many areas during balloting and on selective and national strike days, especially amongst young people, but nowhere near sufficiently after years of falling membership.

Despite the national union continually failing to understand our relative density in various employer groups, at the moment, PCS membership is below 50% in most areas and less than half of all civil servants at PCS grades are now in the union.

This is bad for members, bad for the people we need to inspire and recruit, and bad for the future of PCS. Low density (proportion of members as percentage of total workforce) was a problem representatives had to deal with when persuading people to vote and support strike action. Taking the unions membership figures against those employed in PCS grades, this is the dire state in some departments:

Ministry of Defence: 14%
Ministry of Justice: 25%
DWP: 49%
Home Office: 38%

Unfortunately, the Left Unity leadership, which has presided over this union-wide, record membership decline, lacks the drive and the plan to improve the situation. Indeed in their strong hold of the DWP, membership density seems to have gone down during the dispute.

Because of the dire state of organising in PCS, one of the planks in the platform agreed between Independent Left and the Board Left Network, on which Marion Lloyd (for General Secretary) and John Moloney (for Assistant General Secretary) are standing, is the Mass drive to recruit non-members: We need to have 80%+ membership. This can only be done with a radical overhaul of how we organise.

Just saying you want to do something does not mean it will get done. But without a declared destination you will have no direction of travel.

The current leadership, which includes the Left Unity’s candidates for GS and AGS, lack the same ambition and aim, which partly explains why they have presided over an ever poorer level of membership recruitment and retention.

If you believe PCS should be trying to recruit all staff into the union and should be aiming to become a super majority union, then nominate Marion and John.