Pay restoration

The real value of civil service pay is in long term decline, with awards year on year below the rate of inflation. PCS must fight:

• Fight for the restoration of the purchasing power of our salaries, taking inspiration from the junior doctors’ demand for pay restoration.
• For an end to the endemic low pay that grips tens of thousands of our colleagues.
• For above inflation increases to salaries – not for one off, non-pensionable, pro rata bonuses.
• For a return to national civil service pay rates and national bargaining.

A campaign to win

In the face of government intransigence, we must adopt a rational and democratically agreed plan of national and selective strike action, and action short of strikes, to defeat the Tories’ ongoing squeezing of our living standards. We must put in place a permanent arrangement for building the Fighting Fund. Build key issues – such as jobs, office closures, flexible working – into national campaigning.

We need to fight the 66,000 planned job cuts, office closures, chronic understaffing, the erosion of sick pay and other rights, including in privatised sectors.

End multi-tier Terms & Conditions

Campaign to end the multi-tier work force, which sees newer, predominantly younger, staff on worse conditions than longer service staff with “legacy” terms, by uprating the newer colleagues.

Defend flexible working

Workers should have ultimate flexibility to choose to work from home or the office, including operational staff where this can be enabled by technology. Employer policies that mandate any arbitrary percentage for office attendance should be rejected as unnecessary, unworkable and unequal in impact.

Begin a campaign to reverse detrimental pension changes

Retirement age, including for state pension, should be 55. In the civil service, 68 is still too late. We pay too much and get too little, and privatised PCS members often have it even worse.

Put equality genuinely at the heart of what PCS does

For an end to inequality across the civil service, devolved and privatised areas. Fight to halt all discrimination in pay, terms & conditions, and employer policies, and root out harassment and bullying in all workplaces. To include insistence on equality impact assessment prior to, and post implementation, of all employer proposals. Give full support for reps to build anti-discrimination cases and campaigns from the ground up. Reaffirm our commitment to fighting for trans rights and opposition to gender critical ideology.

Mass drive to recruit non-members

For a powerful union in every workplace, with a radical overhaul of how we organise, in full dialogue with Groups, branches and regions.

Organise, resource, and support PCS members in the private sector

Commit to a serious struggle to improve levels of unionisation and organisation in private, privatised, and outsourced companies and services; improve terms and conditions at work across all private sector members, particularly on pay, holidays, sick leave, sick pay, bullying and trade union recognition. End outsourcing and bring all staff back in-house.

Build membership engagement, accountability, and democracy in PCS

For a democratic union run by and accountable to members and elected representatives, that values the role of branches and puts its power and money behind their campaigns:

• Develop membership engagement, deepen democracy, drive up election turnouts.
• Timely and informative reports to members on key bargaining issues to improve accountability and the ability of members to inform and shape negotiations.
• Empower Region Committees to improve membership engagement with PCS.
• More power and resources to left behind areas such as the Met Police and the Culture Group.
• Greater devolution of power to members in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Members in the Scottish and Welsh Governments determining the pace and form of their pay, terms and conditions, campaigns.
• Retain annual elections for the National Executive Committee and the right of all
• Members to vote for all the NEC, based on the current size of the NEC.
• Election of PCS employed full time officers with bargaining responsibility for our members.
• Bringing pay of full-time officers more in to line with the wages of union members (salaries well in excess of £100k pa for top officials are unacceptable).

Reinvigorate PCS political campaigning

Build greater public awareness of the vital work undertaken by PCS members. Fight for the repeal of anti-trade union laws. Oppose all public sector cuts. Campaign for energy democracy and for a National Climate Service; for a universal social security net run in the interest of staff and claimants; for Tax Justice in the UK; against racism and fascism.

Artificial Intelligence

Negotiate a national agreement on the development and use of artificial intelligence (AI), including protections on jobs and services and reductions in the working hours and working week with no loss of pay.

Better Legal Services

At the moment legal services are not consistently delivered. That has to change. Every member and branch asking for advice should get that advice in a timely way. Groups and National branches needing legal advice and help for industrial relations reasons should get such advice and help. This is not a criticism of staff working in PCS Legal but a recognition that the current system is not working for all.