Do the Maths George

X factor that really matters

Just days before the World Cup, Fabio Capello has decided to change his entire squad and bring in a host of new, untried players in. He has been quoted as saying it doesn't really matter which English players he picks and that he believes it is a good time for a change.

Obviously that isn't true. It would be madness for anyone to do something so foolish before the biggest challenge of all. But PCS members in DWP could be in danger of doing something similar.

For members in DWP, the re-run GEC election is possibly the most important election we will be involved in this year. In the General Election, many of us lived in constituencies where it hardly mattered if we decided to vote. But in this election every single vote will matter.

Over the last six years this GEC, led by Jane Aitchison, has done everything possible to protect the jobs, rights and pensions of every member of staff in the Department. But now we all face our biggest challenge. We face a government committed to making savage cuts to the public sector because of ideological reasons, not economic necessity. 

If we vote in a weak, untried, divisive GEC then we are voting for redundancies. It is that simple. But failure to vote at all could allow that to happen. Don't waste your vote and vote for those listed below:

RE RUN PCS DWP GROUP EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ELECTIONS 2010
PRESIDENT Jane Aitchison
GROUP EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Dave Alston, Alison Carass, Jason Ferraby, Helen Flanagan, Jimmy Gill, Janice Godrich, Sharon Green, Gavin Hartley, Martin Jones, Adam Khalif, Marie McDonough, Dave Owens, Ian Pope, Carol Revell, Sarah Robinson, Sian Ruddock, Lesley Salt, Jagdeep Sandhu, Nigel Sheahan, Derek Thomson, Steve West

New Government, New Danger?

After five days of negotiations we now have a Conservative-Lib Dem coalition. Despite all the rhetoric about change, it is already clear that the Thatcherite strategy of destroying the public sector and the Welfare State is one that the Conservative PM plans to pursue.

Although PCS won a fantastic victory in the courts earlier in the week, don't think that the war is won. The new government is will appeal against the decision and if it we win the appeal, it will only mean that anyone made redundant will get the redundancy pay they have accrued during their service. It does not mean that the planned redundancies will not happen.

Don't believe me? Well the new Chancellor, George Osborne, has promised to deliver an emergency budget within fifty days which will cut the defecit by six billion pounds. That money will be found by cutting back on public services.

You may think that the government have no other option. But just think for a minute. This year the banks which the tax payer bailed out, have paid nearly the same amount of money in BONUSES. So despite the fact that the bankers reckless pusuit for super profits failed, they have still received billions of pounds in rewards! Surely it makes more sense for this money to go towards repaying the banks bail out, rather than make public sector workers redundant?

We are still awaiting full details of the cabinet, but the decision to make Iain Duncan Smith the new DWP Minister sends a clear message. Since 2005 IDS has been Chairman for the right wing think tank, The Centre for Social Justice. This group has continuously argued that the voluntary sector delivers better than the public sector and advocates that voluntary organisations should replace work currently carried out by civil servants. The Conservative Manifesto explicited stated that "The Work Programme will be delivered by private and voluntary providers, who will only be paid when someone gets and keeps a job." In other words, the new minister is on a mission to dismantle his own department.

What happens in DWP will be replicated across other departments. The website http://www.theyworkforyou.com/ gives an excellent breakdown on the voting record and opinions of all MPs, so when your new minister is announced, you can get get a decent idea of what their plans will be.

PCS will face it's biggest test during the life of this parliament. The reason for the cuts is ideological, not economic. The recession is just being used as an excuse, because boom or bust, they planned the cuts. We need to make the argument that it is the interest of the country, not just our members, that these savage cuts do not take place.

Right now is were the fight for our jobs begins.

Major Victory for PCS in High Court

PCS has won a major legal victory in the battle to save the Civil Service Compensation Scheme. Get full details by clicking on the link below

http://www.pcs.org.uk/en/news_and_events/news_centre/index.cfm/id/B487C672-FD54-4A34-87B4A0D65749229E

Love Music Hate Racism

Make Your Vote Count - Members Question Time

The PCS branches have got together and invited the candidates standing in Northampton North and Northampton South (with the exception of the BNP) and invited them to a Members Question Time to be held week commencing 26th April 2010.We are still awaiting a few replies, but so far all those who have responded are happy to be involved.

This is your opportunity to ask the candidates face to face about the issues which concern you. Your vote matters. make it count.