For a fighting, rank-and-file controlled union
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Our take on the DWP Ballot and GEC Elections
Doesn’t The DWP Ballot Mean That Left Unity Isn’t As Bad As You Claim? No. We’re tempted to leave it at that, but no doubt a Left Unity loyalist will demand proof positive of the No. So here goes. Firstly, we must recognise the very narrow focus of the demands set out in the ballot:…
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Confronting Left Unity’s Fake Optimism
In PCS’s most recent update, ‘News from the NEC – December 2025’, you will read Left Unity negotiators express “cautious optimism over [PCS’] core demand to end delegated pay bargaining and to introduce more coherence through national pay bargaining.” However, they also quietly admit there is “nothing concrete” at this stage. As the Independent Left…
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The Budget and the DWP Employee Deal: Why it still matters and why members should vote ‘Yes’ to action in January!
The chancellor has announced a rise in the statutory Living (minimum) wage for workers over 21 years old of 4.1%, to £12.77 an hour. For Civil Servants in the DWP who are contracted for 42 hours a week, this translates into an annual salary of £27890 This rise will take place in April. Below is…
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Left Unity’s Real Reasons for Retreat – Part 2: It’s About Low Membership
This is a follow up to an earlier posting Left Unity’s Real Reasons for Retreat – Part 1: It’s About Control Firstly we have to be honest and say that PCS in is a minority union. Left Unity believe this low membership density makes effective collective action difficult and limits the union’s ability to deliver…
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2.5% in 2026
At the end of October, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) submitted its written evidence to the NHS Pay Review Body (PRB). The wording in this document is critical for all of us in the UK Civil Service, especially as we look at pay year 2026 The key passage from the DHSC submission…
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Left Unity’s Real Reasons for Retreat – Part 1: It’s About Control
When we call for national action—the kind that might actually win something—Left Unity (LU) usually has one tired answer: “We’re too weak to deliver it.” Or more accurately “Activists and members keep failing us”. They point to internal hurdles like low engagement or the “failure” of their so-called stress tests, which supposedly gauge our readiness…