Public and Commercial Services Union: Difference between revisions
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It has a balanced overseas solidarity campaign, e.g. in 2013 it gave a £500 donation to the Cuba Solidarity Campaign which supports the communist regime in Cuba and gave £500 to Amnesty international which criticises the communist regime in Cuba.<ref name="PCS Annual financial report"/> |
It has a balanced overseas solidarity campaign, e.g. in 2013 it gave a £500 donation to the Cuba Solidarity Campaign which supports the communist regime in Cuba and gave £500 to Amnesty international which criticises the communist regime in Cuba.<ref name="PCS Annual financial report"/> |
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The union campaigns for abortion on demand and the legalisation of [[sex-selective abortion]] through their affiliation with Abortion Rights <ref>Abortion Rights document on Trade Unions Affiliation http://www.tuc.org.uk/sites/default/files/extras/arleaflet.pdf</ref> |
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==Strikes involving PCS members== |
==Strikes involving PCS members== |
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Revision as of 16:38, 9 December 2014
Public and Commercial Services Union | |
| File:Public and Commercial Services Union (logo).png | |
Members | 250,000 |
|---|---|
| Affiliations | TUC, ICTU, STUC, NSSN, PSI, EPSU |
| Website | www.pcs.org.uk |
The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) is the sixth largest trade union in the United Kingdom.[1] Most of its members work in government departments and other public bodies although some work for private companies.
History
The union was founded in 1998 by the merger of the Public Services, Tax and Commerce Union (which mostly represented the executive 'managerial' grades of the Civil Service) and the Civil and Public Services Association (mostly representing the administrative grades). The General Secretaries of the two unions, John Sheldon and Barry Reamsbottom respectively, became Joint General Secretaries of the new union. Sheldon retired in 2000. Opinion was divided between whether Reamsbottom should remain as sole General Secretary until his retirement date, or holding an election. An election was called and, despite continued disagreement, Mark Serwotka was confirmed as having been duly elected.[2] Serwotka has held the position since, last re-elected in 2009 for a five year term.[3]
Membership and organisation
The union has under 250,000 members [4] and is the largest trade union representing civil servants in the UK.[5]
PCS is organised into groups that deal with different bargaining units such as Revenue and Customs, Department for Work and Pensions and Law and Justice.
It has a balanced overseas solidarity campaign, e.g. in 2013 it gave a £500 donation to the Cuba Solidarity Campaign which supports the communist regime in Cuba and gave £500 to Amnesty international which criticises the communist regime in Cuba.[4]
The union campaigns for abortion on demand and the legalisation of sex-selective abortion through their affiliation with Abortion Rights [6]
Strikes involving PCS members
 |
2004
In November 2004, PCS workers across government departments undertook a one-day strike in protest against government plans to cut the Civil Service by 20%. This action was followed by further one-day strikes on 31 January and 1 May 2007.
2006
2007
Three one day strikes over pay in Liverpool Museums.[7]
2010
On 8 March 2010, 270,000 civil servants began a 48 hour strike over government changes to redundancy payments.[8]
2011
The union voted for a one-day strike on 30 June 2011.[9]
There were stints of hour strikes during the summer months of 2011 but these were not full walk outs.[citation needed]
A further strike was voted for by members for 30 November 2011, over pensions negotiations with the government.
There was a three-hour strike on 12 December 2011 over privatisation of call centres, with further action planned for 16 and 31 January 2012.[11]
2012
Action was planned for 16 and 31 January 2012.[11] Although original hopes of a national strike on 28 March, only a London strike materialised, due to lack of support from other unions rejecting national strikes. The PCS later joined a national strike on May 10 alongside UCU, NIPSA and Unite (Health)
2013
Strike action was organised for New Year's Even 2013 for all Metropolitan Police Service Civil Staff due to a pay dispute. Taking strike action on this day was deemed to be most effective because of the busy nature of the day for police.[12] The MPS offered a below inflation wage increase of 1%. Another strike ballot was announced on the 6 February 2014 for strike action on 12 and 13 of February 2014.
2014
PCS announced a strike on the 10th of July over pay.
Equality networks
PCS has a network for young members (aged 27 and under).
PCS has a network for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender members.
PCS has a network for associate and retired members.
See also
References
- ^ "About PCS". Public and Commercial Services Union Website. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
- ^ Daniels, Gary; McIlroy, John, eds. (2009), "Trade Unions in a Neoliberal World", Routledge Research in Employment Relations Series, vol. 20, Taylor & Francis, p. 154, ISBN 9780415426633
- ^ "Mark Serwotka re-elected". PCS News centre. 17 December 2009. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
- ^ a b Mark, Serwoka. "PCS Annual financial report". http://www.pcs.org.uk. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
{{cite web}}: External link in|website= - ^ "PCS union renews pension strike threat". BBC. 11 January 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
- ^ Abortion Rights document on Trade Unions Affiliation http://www.tuc.org.uk/sites/default/files/extras/arleaflet.pdf
- ^ "Third one day strike to hit Liverpool museums". PCS. 22 August 2007. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
- ^ "270,000 civil servants join 48-hour strike". BBC. 8 March 2010. Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ McSmith, Andy; Morris, Nigel (16 June 2011). "Britain walks out: UK braced for biggest wave of strikes since the 1980s". The Independent. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
- ^ "Union put brave face on strike turn out and insist walkout was 'best ever' response". Daily Mail. London. 1 July 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
- ^ a b "Defend call centres from privateers". PCS. 3 January 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
- ^ "Metropolitan Police civilian Staff on New Year's Eve strike". BBC News. 31 December 2013. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
External links
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