This is a guest post by Howard Fuller, writing in a personal capacity
In a turnout of just 20%, members taking part have agreed to the proposal put forward by Serwotka and his Socialist Worker allies to stand or support candidates in forthcoming Parliamentary Elections. This was described as “historic” in a report that recently appeared on the Public & Commercial Services Union (PCS) website and was according to the anonymous writer the “first time a union not affiliated to the Labour Party” had taken such a decision. How “historic” that decision is remains to be seen as the General Election is around three years away and there no parliamentary by-elections in the offing as far as I am aware.
The big winners in this result are not PCS members but the two political parties that have come to dominate our union over the past decade under Mark Serwotkas leadership. I refer of course to the Socialist Workers Party and the Socialist Party who have had PCS in their sights for some time to help promote their failing electoral front the Trade Union & Socialist Coalition. Whilst PCS policy currently prohibits the union from affiliating to any political party, money and resources has been diverted from your subscriptions to these organisations for some years now through affiliations to various “front” organisations such as the “Coalition of Resistance”, Youth Fight for Jobs” and so on.
So yes, formally the PCS remains an independent organisation but through the dominance of their members on the National Executive Committee and other leading bodies of the union and their current hegemony amongst “activists” PCS has now had its future mortgaged to political fringe. Of course the union will not change over night but a certain urgency now exists to restore the concept of PCS being a Trade Union, first and foremost to the centrality of the unions business.
I do not believe that supporting fringe candidates from tiny political parties no matter what grand name they collectively give themselves will serve the members general interests. Indeed when deposits are lost and derisory votes cast for such people, the mainstream political parties will be come more dismissive of a union lead by the likes of Serwotka and PCS will be marginalised even more than it is already.
In time members will come to view the ballot result in much the same way as all those TV adverts that go on about PPI (Insurance) as something they didn’t need, ask for or fully understand. Members will end up asking for a political refund as the unions influence enters further decline.
I firmly believe that PCS can be restored as a proper Trade Union. It may take some time but right can prevail!
Want help? Go to http://www.4themembers.org.uk
or write to us at:
info@4themembers.com
Shalom,
Howard Fuller
Branch Secretary
PCS South West Thames
Wandsworth
Arndale House
Arndale walk
SW18 4BX
0208 877 6091
