Darren Williams, PCS Secretary, Office for National Statistics (personal capacity) MEMBERS of the 250,000Public Commercial Services union (PCS) have just voted overentitled Partnership Working in the Civil Service'. The margin was more than 7 to 1.
leaders It aims "to promote a positive relationship between departments and agencies and their Trade Union representatives", members generally saw only favourable comThe leadership's recommendation was sent out with the Dallol But does it give civil serprotection of their rights and interests at work? co-operate with eficiency drives initiated by the govlooking for "continuous improvement" This phrase comes from the jargon Management Techniques pioneered Japan and which gradually spread about enhancing productivity, not the interests of staff.
The agreement commits of the accepts "the overall framework and policies set by govconfidentiality, financial and other resource requtrements In other words, we are givto challenge public spending cuts and their consequences - including any further civil service pay freeze because these are a makter for governThe present government is committed to continuing pay restraint, performance-related pay and 'best value' youtics Benefit staff could be among the first to pay the price for PCS capitulation vatisation, outsourcing and compulsory redundancies? market testing. Should the There are slightly more unions go along with these definite policies simply because they training and equal opportuare part of the government's nities, and mobility between programmer Of course not! acpartments in precience The unions are accountable to redundancies. to their members, and no- But most departments are already have such commitreturn? The partnership ments in their own condiment to employment secu- agreement imposes no addirity, good conditions of ional legal obligations Will carlier ing best employment prac- involvement in reviews and tice, and fair and equitable proposals for change in the is that this is not translated more opportunity to protect into clear, measurable tar- their members interests? gets. On the evidence, it seems One objective is to "Seck to more likely that the avoid compulsory redundan- union leaders will simply ox cies." Bul which govern better equipped to act as the ment doesn't government's propaganda They will reassure us that 'change" in the Civil opportunity - not the process of continuous upheaval and insecurity that it might seem.
The PCS leadership did its best to ensure that members didn't get critical not know the date of the balot until members received their envelopes in the post. The balloting period was less cutting down the opportunity for meaningful debate.
As with every other major (and including) PCS's foundation, a closely-controlled plebiscite has been used to rubber-stamp a decision by the union's right-wing bureaucracy which sacrifices An agreement that applies to all civil service departments nation-wide is being implemented very people who predecessors) allowed the government to abolish This underlines the necesser acaso oremise to defeat the current leadership in May's biennial delegate conference and NEC clections. Failure will see the guise as a tame staff association which Tony Blair rely upon to sell his policies to civil servants.
Outlook