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23rd July 2010

Attacks on Jobs, Pay, Services: Fighting Back

MB/013/10

All areas of the public and related private sector are facing a government committed to attacking jobs, terms and conditions, accrued rights and trade union democracy itself. PCS has launched a major national campaign and is planning a summer of activity, including political lobbying, demonstrations, protests and other initiatives across the UK. If we are to successfully defend our members’ jobs and the public services we deliver and rely on we will need the support of all our members.

GOVERNMENT POLICY
The Emergency Budget on 22 June set out the government’s five year strategy, purportedly aimed at cutting the spending deficit. The measures include a two year public sector pay freeze, a recruitment freeze in the civil service, and cuts of between 25% and 40% in all departments. This is in the broader context of a Budget that penalises the lowest paid and unemployed, with £11 billion cuts to welfare, a rise in VAT to 20%, reductions in NI employer’s contributions and the freezing of Child Benefit for three years. 

In addition, the government has chosen to bypass its responsibilities over the civil service compensation scheme (CSCS) following successive judgements against it in the High Court by introducing legislation to radically reduce the terms of the CSCS, leaving it free to sack thousands of civil servants on the cheap. Further attacks on pensions are expected when the Hutton Review reports in October, in addition to the change from RPI to CPI index linking which has already been announced and will serve to reduce the real value of public sector pensions by at least 7% over the next 6 years. 

THE ALTERNATIVE TO CUTS
The government says cuts in jobs, public services, pay and pensions are essential to pay for the national deficit. We need to recall, however, that we are in debt because the banking sector collapsed and it is this which sparked a recession. Bailing out the banks cost £1.3 trillion, and the recession hit tax revenues and increased unemployment. People working to provide public services did not cause this crisis and we should not have to pay for it. 

Every year, £70 billion is lost to the economy, through tax evasion, and a further £25 billion through avoidance. Much of this could be recovered if HMRC employed more staff and the legal loopholes were closed. By just collecting the tax that is rightfully ours, including from the wealthy and big business, we could avoid public service cuts. The proposed Robin Hood Tax on financial speculation could additionally raise $400 billion globally. 

Contrary to claims that public spending is out of control, spending in the UK is among the lowest in Europe. We need investment in public services to help pull the economy out of recession. Creating jobs would boost employment and tax revenue. We could invest in renewable energy, create a million ‘climate’ jobs, high speed rail links, and build new housing for the 1.8 million families on council house waiting lists. It is true that not all government money is spent wisely. Millions could be saved on consultants and from the waste of holding 230 separate pay negotiations in the civil and public services. 

CAMPAIGNING AND LOBBYING
The PCS demonstrations held in June again served to highlight the case against cuts. Hundreds of members gathered outside Parliament Street, and across the country at local tax offices, to generate media attention and take the case to the wider public. Further demonstrations will be taking place and we will be urging members to take part. 

In July we held parliamentary meetings in Westminster to brief MPs on the case for investing in HMRC. Judging by the number of MPs attending our briefing sessions it is clear that MPs, across all parties, are prepared to listen to alternative ideas which avoid cuts and preserve jobs in their constituencies. MPs came to the drop-in, and took part in the debate of the tax gap which took place in the House of Commons earlier on that week, because PCS members who are their constituents wrote to them and asked them to attend or show support in Commons’ debate. An early day motion (EDM – a ‘petition’ which we ask MPs to sign) will be tabled shortly and again we will be asking for PCS members to encourage their MPs to sign it and show their tangible support for investing in HMRC, reopening offices and employing additional staff to collect outstanding tax revenues. 

National and R&C group PCS negotiators will be meeting with Lesley Strathie in the next two weeks as well as requesting meetings with key government Ministers. We will use every opportunity to highlight the profound damage that further cuts in HMRC and across all government departments will cause. We will challenge directly the government’s and the department’s assumptions about the value of cuts and the efficiencies that the government believe this will realise. 

ACTION
Whilst the policies that this government intend to implement might be reminiscent of attacks that working people faced in the 1980s, this is not a government resting on sound foundations or with a clear mandate. There are already tensions between the coalition partners, and we must exploit these weaknesses by seeking explanations about government policy directly from local MPs, particularly from Liberal Democrats.

We must continue to build and create links with other public minded bodies, with other unions, campaigners and members of the public who believe, as we do, that public services should be properly funded and remain in public ownership. Joining forces with other like minded individuals and organisations will strengthen our argument and help to challenge the ambitions and assumptions of this government. Preparations for what promise to be a long and sustained battle are now being made. We will be consulting with your branch representatives over the course of the next two weeks and putting in place plans for local campaigning activity in workplaces and communities where you live and work. We want all PCS members to get involved and urge you to:

  • Attend PCS meetings where you work or live;

  • Get involved in local campaigns to save public services, such as schools, libraries, social services and hospitals, as well as tax offices; 

  • Use the opportunity to make links with trade union members in other union and to make the case for investment in HMRC and the alternative case for cutting public services;

  • Make contact with your local MP over the summer recess period when MPs are back in their constituencies. Give details of the likely impact of further cuts in your area, and making the case for the alternative to cuts. Focus particularly on areas where there is a sitting Liberal Democrat MP;

  • Better still, make an appointment to see your MP and ask them to support the aims of PCS and demonstrate their tangible support by signing up to our early day motion.

PETER LOCKHART          DAVE BEAN
GROUP SECRETARY       GROUP PRESIDENT