Where next for civil service dispute? The PCS needs to involve pensioner groups and other Unions into its campaigns. Concretely it should be calling on the TUC and other Unions to organise a joint day of strike action around pensions.
However it should be still pressing ahead with further national and selective strike action amongst Civil Servants to defend jobs and services whilst trying to build up joint action with other Unions.
The PCS needs to improve its political campaigning and the National Executive must arrange soon a political tund ballot.
As Mark Serwotka, the PCS General Secretary states civil service job cuts have to be made an election issue. All the major political parties are currently hostile to the PCS viewpoint.
This is unlikely to change, however pressure should be put on candidates now to state Paul McGowan Over 200,000 Civil Servants struck on November 5 against Government plans to cut 104,000 jobs. It was the first time, the PCS, the Civil Servants Union has called a national strike of its members from all Government Departments and agencies.
The strike saw major institutions like the British Museum and Science Museum closed. Picket lines were mounted outside even tiny Departments like the Export Credit Guarantee Department in the Docklands.
More workers were out in the Department for Work and Pensions than during any of the recent strike days over pay. Demonstrations were organised in all major cities with a 'Guy Fawkes' carrying a timebomb at the head of the march through London.
Although the Government claims it will not change its plans despite the Civil Servant's show of strength, Brown and Blair will be shocked that the Union could pull of a national strike. They hoped the union membership would not be up a fight, but there was a solid vote for strike action. The Government tried to stop the strike through High Court action, but it lost in the High Court.
Now it not only faces future strike action if it presses ahead with job cuts, but there is the potential for strike action by Civil Servant's over a PCS national pay claim.
Many speakers at the PCS London rally on November 5 stated the Government's attacks on Civil Servants are worse than one could have expected under the Tories.
As well as the job cuts, New Labour wishes to make Civil Servants work longer for their pensions and abolish their final salary scheme.
Also New Labour wants to stop paying them for the first three days of any period of sickness absence. Obviously the PCS is mobilising members to strike on all these Issues.
As in all New Labour's disputes with workers, they are trying to spin negative stories in the press about Civil Servants.
The Sun is running a shop a skiver' campaign, asking the public to ring them up about missal while on strike from 8 to
FIC SHAVICES NEED any Civil Servant who appears to be skiving from work under the pretence that they are sick.
Civil Servants are also being portrayed as porn surfing Sir Humphries.
The truth is that Civil Servants are usually low paid women that work in local offices in local communities with very stressful jobs trying to do their best for the public.
In a recent study on sickness it was found that job insecurity' is a major cause of illness amongst Civil Servants. The Government's policies are making its workforce sick! demned the delegation for failpcs UNION
Also the real wasters are Brown and Blair. They are giving away vast amounts of money to private contractors producing useless computer systems for the Civil Service, spending billions on the war in Iraq etc.
Obviously job cuts will decimate public services. To give an example the Government wants to sack 14,000 out of 21,000 Civil Servants who work for the Pension Service.
How will the Government improve the pitiful numbers of pensioners taking up Pension Tax Credit whilst making drastic cuts in the Pension Service?