05.06.2002

Mark Serwotka spoke to Mark Fischer about the coup

The high court decision on Friday was a double-edged sword - yes, you are still in place as the general secretary elect, but doesn't the delay until July 15 pose a danger? After all, there are plenty of examples from recent history in the workers' movement where legally enforced delays were used to defuse rank and file initiative and activity. That will be a real worry if we don't step up the momentum of the campaign. I am quite confident that we can win legally, but you obviously can never be sure. It is with great reluctance I have had to go down that road, but obviously my effective sacking and the usurping of the democratic rights of the members left me with little choice. But I am quite clear that the legal challenge is only one aspect of the fight. There are another two elements to the struggle. First, the people who actually work for the union. They overwhelmingly back me and will have a crucial role to play in the interim period. Second, the key component is the members in the branches. In the last week we have seen a groundswell of support. We now have to build on that. We have to take the arguments into every workplace, we have to leaflet the offices of every NEC member who backed this outrageous decision. We have to use the six weeks until July 15 to actually build the campaign rather than take our foot off the gas. Couldn't this attack actually act to galvanise the rank and file, to actually get them actively engaged to reclaim their union? That is undoubtedly the case. Since the PCS was formed in the era of delegated pay bargaining, there haven't been that many national campaigns that can unite all the members. My election platform called for a national union dealing with issues on a national basis. This is not quite the issue I was looking for, of course! But it has united the union in a way we haven't seen since 1998. I am clear that our task is not just to defeat this coup, but it is to take it beyond that. It's not just about reinstating me: it's about what type of union we actually want. At the same time as people campaign to get me reinstated, they need to campaign for a fighting union, a union that campaigns on national pay, that defends public services and the interests of its members. So while this is not the issue I would have chosen, it is an opportunity to galvanise the rank and file to build a fighting union. The news that there has perhaps been collusion at a government level is no surprise, of course. How do you view the broader political context of Reamsbottom's actions? The Sun has clearly indicated that Blair was delighted with Barry Reamsbottom's actions. I was pleased that Paul Foot challenged Blair in a Guardian article last week to say where he actually stood on it. Although in some ways these actions are down to the type of person Reamsbottom is and the fact that he is much more rightwing that even your average union rightist, I am clear that the outcome of this fight is being watched intently by senior management and senior politicians. Again, that is an opportunity. If we can defeat it, then - like my election in the first place - it sends a very clear signal out. To have a mass membership campaign to both reinstate me and build a fighting union, that underlines the message. I think the question is not who is glad I'm gone, but who is going to be worried when the members reinstate me. * Reclaim the PCSU * On Wednesday June 5 - what would have been his first official working day as union general secretary - Mark Serwotka addressed a lobby of the PCSU HQ. This is an extract