The PCS Union representing well-pensioned civil servants yesterday voted for yet another round of strike action. They’re planning to walk out on April 28th. PCS General Secretary, Mark Serwotka, said the union wouldn’t back down without money on the table, whilst a government spokesperson previously said:
“the PCS Union’s demands would cost an unaffordable £2.4 billion at a time when our focus must be on bringing down inflation to ease the pressure on households across the country”
In the last week of published office occupancy stats, just 52% of desks were occupied – in DEFRA this went as low as 29%. When coupled with their picket turnout last time round, it once again raises the obvious question. If civil servants stay home, who will notice?
Multiple Labour fringe events are to be addressed by the union boss who suggested the Labour anti-Semitism row was ‘created’ by Israel.
“Now I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but I’ll tell you what – one of the best forms of trying to hide from the atrocities that you are committing is to go on the offensive and to actually create a story that does not exist for people on this platform, the trade union movement or, I have to say, for the leader of the Labour Party.”
Mark Serwotka, General Secretary of the PCS Union, who publicly insinuated anti-semitism is “a story that does not exist” in the Labour Party, will be speaking at:
- Labour and Palestine’s ‘Speaking Up for Palestine’ alongside Len McCluskey and Richard Burgon.
- CLASS’s ‘Review Of The Year’ alongside Owen Jones and Clive Lewis.
- Public and Commercial Services Union’s ‘Social Security Under a Labour Government – What Would Need To Change’, alongside John McDonnell.
Labour are normalising people who deny that their anti-semitism problem exists. This shouldn’t be considered normal…
As if to prove a point, Francis Maude has managed to turn the announcement that he’s standing down from Parliament into a row with the unions. Following on from the PCS quote that Guido pointed out earlier, Maude has written to union fat cat Mark Sewotka:
“I have seen the comment put out by PCS following my announcement that I am not seeking re-election to the House of Commons. I was particularly struck by the assertion, in relation to our Government efficiency and reform savings that last year saved £14.3 billion, that “scandalously, ministers are being all too willingly assisted by senior civil servants in some departments.”
There is a clear constitutional duty in our democracy for all civil servants to implement ministerial decisions. In the light of the shocking allegation that it is only in some departments that senior civil servants are assisting ministers, I ask that you furnish me and the Civil Service Commission with details of the departments where you believe this is not happening.”
Awkward…
