PCS, that is the Left Unity leadership of our union has posted on the  PCS website:

“In negotiations with the Cabinet Office we are seeking an agreement on pay, jobs and flexible working across the civil service…

We have further detailed talks scheduled in the coming weeks with senior officials and ministers to push our case…

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.”

This decision means the PCS is heading into so-called national pay talks completely unarmed as Left Unity has chosen not to ballot members for an industrial dispute, citing a perceived apathy among the rank and file.

Leadership’s Failure, Not Membership’s Apathy

The Independent Left fundamentally rejects this justification.

This supposed lack of enthusiasm is a direct result of the leadership’s own failure to act. By ensuring “nil publicity” around a possible ballot and failing to run a proper campaign, Left Unity effectively neglected to inform or engage the membership about the potential for a vote. It is disingenuous to cite a lack of enthusiasm when the groundwork for generating it was intentionally neglected. The leadership’s position is thus a self-fulfilling prophecy of their own design.

The Union’s Strong Case, Weak Hand

Our negotiators will undoubtedly present a solid case that civil service pay needs radical change.

They will correctly point out that the pay system is deeply flawed after over 30 years without a substantive review. They will highlight that:

• Pay is lower in real terms than in 2010.
• Uncompetitive salaries make it difficult to recruit and retain specialists.
• Pay restraint and National Living Wage hikes have destroyed pay differentials between AAs, AOs, and in some cases, EOs in many areas, leaving tens of thousands of staff on the minimum wage.

The union will also correctly argue that extra pay funding is affordable if our Tax Justice Campaign proposals were adopted, and that higher wages will actually boost the economy and GDP.

These are good, solid arguments. If we lived in a fairer world where good arguments win, we might get somewhere. But we don’t. We live in a world where power counts.

Stripped of Leverage

The government negotiators know the Left Unity leadership is ignoring the ADC motion to ballot. They can see there is no visible campaigning seeking to pressure them.

Without a tangible threat of industrial action—and having successfully suppressed the energy needed to generate one—the government sees the union leadership walking in with a polite request, not a demand. The decision not to ballot has stripped the union of all its leverage.

A loyal Left Unity member will say: “Ah, we will tell them that if they don’t offer us something serious then we might ballot.”

That threat only works if the other side genuinely believes it will be followed up. Otherwise, it is a weak bluff. And judging by this initial retreat, Left Unity are not very good poker players. The Independent Left believes we should have walked in with our demands backed by a live, active ballot mandate.

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.

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.

Over the next week, we will post more.

The pay remit for the UK civil service was for an average pay award of 3.5%. And that’s what most members got. Of course an average covers a multiple of sins and many people didn’t get 3.5% and even if they did, many would have had an unconsolidated award in whole or part.

We know that particularly in DWP and HMRC, AAs and AOs will again be caught by the rise in the minimum wage next year.

Now for the third month in a row, inflation as measured by CPI, has remained at 3.8%.

That means that inflation has overtaken the pay awards of most members, so most of us are worse off than last year.

In other words, yet again, PCS, which means at the moment Left Unity, has failed to make any breakthrough on pay, let alone ensuring that all members are better off after a pay round – the basic duty of any union.

Has this failure triggered a ballot, a union push back, a union campaign – NO.

Left Unity is inert and incapable of winning at pay. They have run the union for decades and have delivered decades of failing living standards. They need to be voted out.

But changing the leadership is not enough – we need to change the union as well.

A special meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) is scheduled for Thursday, October 23. We expect a recommendation from the General Secretary against holding a national ballot of UK civil service members.

If that happens, it will be challenged by the Independent Left (IL).  We argue that PCS should re-start preparations for an industrial action owing to the political and economic climate we face. IL recognises though, given the lack of action from Left Unity that there needs to be a proper run up to a ballot. Realistically we think therefore the vote will have to be next year.

Factual Basis for Proposed Ballot

Here are the concrete developments driving our demand for a national ballot in 2026:

•              Government Policy: Labour is committed to implementing cuts to departmental administrative budgets. The government has acknowledged these cuts will result in job losses.

•              Future Political Pressure: Both the Conservative and Reform parties have publicly committed to “massive cuts in civil service numbers,” creating a political climate that could pressure Labour to adopt deeper cuts.

•              No Job Protection: The existing Jobs Protocol redeployment process is “wholly inadequate,” providing no guaranteed protection against compulsory job losses. We need real guarantees around job security.

•              Pay Dispute Justification: The “objective conditions” for a pay ballot are met, as evidenced by:

o             The outcomes of the 2025 pay round which resulted in living standards falling for most members.

o             The high number of members on or near the minimum wage.

o             The continuing gross inequalities in pay systems and terms and conditions across the UK civil service.

Due to the Labour government’s “self-imposed fiscal rules,” talks alone won’t secure an adequate pay award in 2026 or address systemic pay disparities, including the failure to uphold the principle of equal pay for work of equal value across the UK civil service.

Independent Left’s Proposals

We want policy of “aggressive industrial preparation” and will argue:

1.            Immediate Preparation: The union should begin working immediately towards preparing for a national ballot in 2026 of UK civil service members concerning pay terms and conditions, and job security.

2.            NDC Tasking: The National Disputes Committee (NDC) should be formally tasked with planning for this national ballot.

3.            Reporting Deadline: The NDC must present an initial, comprehensive plan for the 2026 ballot to the December NEC meeting for review and approval.

So we are not committing the union to calling strike action immediately; we understand the mood of members and activists, but we have to put in place the machinery for a ballot, and we actually have to campaign around pay, jobs, terms and conditions and national bargaining.