Austin Harney explains why he’s backing Fran Heathcote for PCS General Secretary and Paul O’Connor for PCS Assistant General Secretary

As a long-serving Labour Party activist in the Public and Commercial Services Union, I have represented members up to employment tribunals, within the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), the private sector and the whole Civil Service. I represent PCS on its National Executive Committee and the TUC Disabled Workers’ Committee. I’ve achieved a great deal under the leadership of the current General Secretary, Mark Serwotka, who will retire in early 2024. Mark has had the pivotal support of Fran Heathcote, the PCS National President, and Paul O’Connor, Senior PCS Full Time Officer. Both Fran and Paul demonstrated strategic leadership. I will campaign for Fran Heathcote to be the next General Secretary and Paul O’Connor to be the next Assistant General Secretary!

Since November 2022, we have organised targeted action and three days of national action supported by eight trade unions on 15th March. Our targeted action included the Border Force whose picket lines I visited in the rain, the Department for Transport, Highways England, which I picketed, the Rural Payments Agency, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Land Registry. In the Statutory Disaggregate Ballot, the average Yes vote of 88% was in the largest in our union’s history with a 52% overall turnout, securing the largest mandate for strike action. PCS in other employers such as Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs did not break the 50% threshold but, successfully, re – balloted, afterwards. Their strike action further impacted on the government that has treated its workers with contempt, especially during the pandemic. Through these tactics, Fran and Paul have shown imagination and strategy!

We have made historic achievements. Despite our demand for a 10% pay increase, we broke the ten year pay freeze from less than 2% to the minimum earnings of over 5%. At least one government department is being awarded with an increase of 9%. The Civil Service was the only area of the public sector to suffer such a pay freeze. Our redundancy rights are protected during this Parliament from the attempted government slicing of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme. The government has retreated from implementing 91,000 job cuts. Although we have paid 2% more into our pensions for later retirement, we have a strong legal appeal case to restore our original rights. Fran Heathcote is commended for these achievements with our current General Secretary, and Paul O’Connor for ensuring £1,500 compensation to last year’s cost of living crisis through tough negotiations with the Cabinet Office.

Also, both Fran Heathcote and Paul O’Connor supported my branch in delivering three days of national action and being the only part of the MoJ involved in targeted action. This branch is the MoJ Associated Offices that includes arm’s-length bodies. I worked till 12 midnight on at least three occasions, emailing members and encouraging them to vote in the ballot. We broke the 50% threshold in workplaces that went on strike for three days, which included the Parole Board, the Youth Justice Board, the Prison Probation Ombudsman, the Wales Office and the Northern Ireland Office. Unfortunately, the PCS members in the MoJ itself did not break the 50% threshold, and they could not have industrial action, nor be included in the re-ballot after six months.

But we can improve in this department with the leadership candidates that I recommend supporting. Paul O’Connor as Chair of the National Disputes Committee, succeeded, in including nine arm’s-length bodies in my branch in the re-ballot. As a result, we broke the 50% threshold in more employer groups that included the Office of the Public Guardian, Criminal Cases Review Commission and the Judicial Appointments Commission. As we have different strike laws on the other side of the Irish Sea, I flew to Belfast to organise picketing for three days of targeted action outside the Northern Ireland Office. It was the only part of the MoJ to have such action.

With the successful strikes in my branch through the support of Fran and Paul, pressure was exerted in the MoJ to improve our pay. Although, the £1,500 compensation payment is being resisted by some employer groups in the Civil Service, it is paid to the vast majority of MoJ employees. Strategic action accumulates results!

Furthermore, Paul O’Connor led the legal battle against the Home Office in preventing the deportation of refugees to Rwanda. Both Fran and Paul won the public support of the top Labour Party Human Rights lawyer, Shami Chakrabarti, for this success.

The leadership of Fran and Paul will continue to make PCS a union of lay representatives striving for greater equality and fighting discrimination. I represent all disabled members, have promoted neurodiversity, campaigned with Disabled People Against the Cuts in opposing the Universal Credit and spoken on the rights of disabled people at the COP26 demonstration against Climate Change in Cambridge. I organised the first historic meeting between the Disabled Workers Committees of the TUC and Irish Congress of Trade Unions. On other equalities, I organised Islamophobia Awareness Month in my workplace as we have the largest Muslim membership in the MoJ. For all my achievements, I thank Paul and Fran in supporting me in these endeavours. Fran has also worked hard in fighting discrimination on behalf of women, LGBT including Transgender people, as demonstrated at the TUC Conference, and Black members.

Our opponents demand far more days of national action that could endanger the livelihood of many on low earnings, including 47,000 PCS members living on food banks and thousands more claiming Universal Credit. Yet, the current leadership, under Fran, Paul and the General Secretary, decided to pause this dispute in the same manner as one of the most powerful trade unions, the RMT. This pause in dispute has the support of over 90% of our PCS members in the recent Consultative Ballot. Yet, how could our opponents oppose this strategy endorsed by a democratic decision of the PCS members?

Finally, I have faced disability discrimination. This trade union supported my appeal against dismissal from the Civil Service many years ago. I have a learning disability as I was diagnosed with Autism at the age of 4. As a Socialist, I am proud to belong to PCS Left Unity of which Mark, Fran and Paul are members. All PCS Left Unity members have made me feel valued. It is another good reason why I will be campaigning for Fran and Paul!

I ask all PCS members to vote for Fran Heathcote for General Secretary and Paul O’Connor as Assistant General Secretary!

Austin Harney is a member of Hertsmere CLP and the MoJ Group Executive Committee and PCS National Executive Committee.

Image: Members of the Public and Commercial Services Union on strike. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PSC_members_on_strike.jpg,  licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.