10.07.2002

PCS democrats fight back

Around 40 people attended a meeting at the St Mary's Centre in Middlesbrough in support of Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services union, victim of an attempted coup by Barry Reamsbottom, the rightwing incumbent who has refused to accept comrade Serwotka's election. On the platform were Kevin Kelly, PCSU NEC member, and Jeff Fowler, an executive member of the lecturers union, Natfhe, and recently SA candidate for the Middlesbrough mayoralty election. The meeting was called as part of the campaign to end Reamsbottom's shenanigans and his pretence of being the one true general secretary, despite not even securing sufficient nominations to stand in last year's election and despite the democratic mandate secured by comrade Serwotka. Unfortunately Mark was unable to attend due to ill health and it was left to the other two comrades to chew through the various issues. Following an informative introduction from the chair, Jeff thanked the meeting for his invite and stressed that this was not solely an issue for PCSU - democracy and accountability were fundamental questions for every trade union member. Although the Natfhe leadership had agreed to campaign for the recognition of Mark's election and for union democracy, he was in little doubt that it was up to himself and other left NEC members to make this a reality beyond the minutes book. Kevin Kelly followed and made a number of telling points about the lack of democracy, the role of the so-called moderates and the positive impact Mark and Janice Godrich, newly elected president, had had on the union - there had been an upturn in membership, both passive and active, turning the union outwards, not least in the campaigns against privatisation and on pay. Mark's well documented commitment to return £1,000 per month back to the union - his pledge to live on a workers' wage - has also played a part in this. Kevin, is a supporter of the Left Unity group, which now has increased representation on the PCSU NEC. Left Unity is making valiant attempts to turn the PCSU into a fighting and democratic union, and deserves full support and solidarity from every trade unionist and socialist. However, this should not amount to constituting a Serwotka fan club, nor should we fail to criticise where we think the comrades are going astray. On reflection too much of Kevin's contribution was technical, concentrating on the minutiae of rule book procedure, legality and a sense of fair play. All of these are in my view essential as part of a fight back against the right wing. However, there is a danger that the essentially political nature of the debacle in the PCSU could be overlooked. Certainly there is nothing new in rightwing trade union bureaucrats ignoring membership rights and overriding democracy, but it would seem probable that Reamsbottom's move would not have gone ahead without a private nod of approval from Millbank. Rattled by a raft of victories for the left in the unions, the Blairites are clearly wanting to call a halt. The battle in PCSU was described not as a battle between right and left but, catchingly, between right and wrong. This may strike a chord with some PCSU members, but the very essence of the dispute is the fight between those committed to militant policies on the one hand and the leeches of the trade union bureaucracy on the other. Letters read out at the meeting from Conservative voters backing Serwotka, stories of activists cutting all links with Reamsbottom's cronies and comments from the audience pledging support for Mark despite the speaker's own aversion to Trotskyism do not mean we should go on the defensive politically. These individuals are being won to support for leftwing policies on the basis of struggle. The job of union militants is to continue the fight, highlighting why this is political. When the meeting was opened up for discussion, it was clear that many members could not understand how the current outrageous situation could have arisen. Encouragingly there was talk of using this as an opportunity to activate the general membership, rather than allowing seemingly irrelevant internal squabbles to be used as an excuse for some people to leave the union. Clearly the way forward for some good activists centres on the fight for a Left Unity majority on the NEC, rather than on rank and file control of the union. A local Socialist Party comrade and PCSU rep made probably the best intervention of the night, calling for socialist policies and a fight back against the employers. Disappointingly, however, he did not go much further than calling for people present in the room to join Left Unity. Such meetings have been attracting hundreds across the country and there is a real possibility of creating a new network of activists who can begin the process of reclaiming the union for the members. As more than one PCSU member put it on the night: it's our money and our union. Lawrie Coombs