The attempt by former General Secretary of the PCS Barry Reamsbottom and his Moderate grouping to prevent Mark Serwotka, his socialist successor, from taking office is a serious attack on the democratic rights of all trade unionists.
The actions of Blairite Reamsbottom and his cronies has led to a situation where the courts will decide who is General Secretary of the Union not PCS members.
In October 2000 Mark Serwotka was elected PCS General Secretary with 42,000 votes in a postal ballot. However due to an agreement between Reamsbottom and the Union, Serwotka was only to take over all the General Secretaries duties after May 31 2002, when Reamsbottom should have retired.
Unfortunately Reamsbottom refused to go quietly, claiming he had a legal opinion stating Serwotka’s election was illegal and he should retain his position until 2004. His supporters on the National Executive Committee claim to have removed Serwotka and reimposed Reamsbottom at a meeting at the end of May.
The President of the Union, Janice Godrich, ruled this meeting was unconstitutional as notice of it was not properly served. In order to defend the democracy of the Union, Godrich and Serwotka have taken these issues to court.
So far the court has ruled that Serwotka should remain as General Secretary elect until a full hearing in July and that both sides should have their court costs paid by the Union.
Mark Serwotka is viewed by the press as one of a ‘dangerous’ breed of new union leaders, perceived as willing to take on the government and represent their members’ interests.
So far Serwotka’s leadership has been instrumental in leading to a growing membership and growing militancy in the union. He is openly a supporter of the Socialist Alliance.
According to The Sun, Tony Blair was ‘delighted’ with Reamsbottom’s coup. Blair needs right wing union leaders to quell growing discontent over his Thatcherite policies.
Unfortunately for New Labour their attempts to interfere in the internal politics of the unions do not seem to be paying dividends at present. A Blairite candidate recently lost the election for Deputy General Secretary in the Transport and General Workers Union.
Meanwhile New Labour’s favourite union General Secretary, Ken Jackson is facing a tough fight to retain control of amicus, the engineering and white collar union.
Support for Serwotka has come from many of the leftist union leaders. Bob Crow of the RMT and Billy Hayes of the CWU have both backed him: they recognise the Blairites in the PCS cannot be allowed to get away with thwarting the democratic wishes of members.
The key to the struggle in the PCS is the mobilisation of grassroots members of the union in Serwotka’s support. So far the signs are good. Serwotka reached out beyond the traditional constituency of the left in his election campaign, and has remained popular ever since.
Left Unity (the main left grouping in PCS) despite their failure to galvanise support for Mark in his election bid, have now taken him to their heart and are mounting a vigorous campaign in his defence. Even Hugh Lanning, his defeated opponent for General Secretary is backing him.
The attack on Serwotka is a symptom of the weaknesses of Left Unity. Reamsbottom was encouraged to take action by the victory of his Moderates allies in elections to the National Executive Committee, on a very low turnout.
Left Unity’s dismal NEC results should partly be blamed on their poor running of the Jobcentreplus screens campaign through their control of the Benefits Agency (BA) and Employment Service (ES) Executives.
Left Unity’s defence of Serwotka seems more spirited than their defence of members’ terms and conditions. Many of their own leaders’ jobs are on the line if Reamsbottom can get rid of Serwotka.
These leaders have often seemed more concerned in the past with protecting their positions as left bureaucrats rather than representing members willing to fight.
Even with a victory for Serwotka in the courts, the Moderate majority on the NEC will remain. The Moderates are rattled by the level of support Serwotka has amongst ordinary members. However they will only become less of a thorn in the side of the Union, if the left can inspire the membership.
The left must ensure members are mobilised around the big issues of the day, as well as the Serwotka dispute.
In the Department of Works and Pensions(DWP), management are attempting to shut a third of old BA and ES offices and introduce outrageous sickness and disciplinary policies.
Despite what is happening elsewhere, the Left Unity DWP Executive must start to lead a fight against such plans.
Members voted for Serwotka as they could see he had a record second to none of struggle on their behalf. Left Unity must demonstrate it can lead a fightback against management, and is not a vehicle for Left bureaucrats to gain positions. Only then can it start to make real progress in the PCS.
Hopefully Reamsbottom and the Moderates are courting disaster. Mark Serwotka and PCS members deserve our support in their fight for a democratic Union. Trade Unionists can exert pressure on their leaders to isolate Reamsbottom. His breed has no place in the labour movement.