19.02.2004

Where next for PCSU dispute?

CPGB member Lee Rock is the Public and Commercial Services Union London regional organiser for department of work and pension (DWP) staff. Peter Manson asked him about the February 16-17 strike

What is your estimation of the success of the walkout?

I was on the picket line for both days and I would say it’s gone very well. According to headquarters, in terms of our membership in the department of work and pensions we’ve had somewhere between 85% and 90% out. Membership itself has increased from 85,000 to 90,000 in the run-up to the strike.

Management are saying that 25% of all staff turned up for work, so, since we have only 70% union membership, and taking into account annual leave, sick leave, etc, there must be close to 100,000 on strike.

How effective has the action been?

Well, I was outside one job centre, which I think is typical. Out of 150 staff, 120 hadn’t turned up for work. Five of the 30 working were managers, another five casual staff and just 20 out of about 140 lower grade staff crossed the picket line.

There were six security guards on the door alongside management. The office was open, but there was no signing on, no new claims, no appointments. Ninety percent of claimants were being turned away. It was possible to do a job search with the help of one of the scabs, who might be able to submit applications.

The Socialist Party-dominated leadership has claimed that its decision to call off the previous DWP strike, due for January 29-30, demonstrated that the union was bending over backwards to be reasonable and has bolstered support for this week’s action. Do you think they are right?

No, it hasn’t built up extra support. In fact a small number of people who were angry or frustrated at the calling off didn’t back the strike this time. In a few cases we found it harder to persuade people whose attitude had hardened against the union leadership. But that is marginal.

This week is half-term in many parts of the country and many of our members take leave to coincide with their children being off school (remember, 70% of our members are female and primary carers). So the numbers not at work are probably greater than they would have been at the end of January.

I’ve spoken to loads of reps, but have not come across anyone who’s reported increased support for the strike compared to last time. But there are reports of very small numbers who were ready to strike then but are now saying the union isn’t serious. So, although the postponement had little impact on the numbers, it has put the question in the minds of some members about how serious the executive are.

Do you think the leadership stood firm during the negotiations?

The problem with the negotiations was that management’s revised offer only concerned the proposed appraisal scheme and they refused to discuss our pay claim - a position they maintained when the union side met with them, which caused negotiations to break down straightaway. So why call off the action on that basis?

Was there solid support for this week’s action in the driving standards agency?

DSA clerical staff were on strike on February 16 and driving instructors joined them the following day. Support was not quite as strong, but still pretty impressive. But the numbers involved are tiny compared to those in the DWP.

What happens next?

Our overtime ban and work-to-rule was due to start on February 18. The first is relatively easy to operate, but it’s more difficult to make a work-to-rule effective. For example, it is not always clear what work is strictly applicable to a particular grade, so it’s important to issue clear guidelines. Then you have to decide what is a ‘reasonable instruction’ from management. We have to find imaginative ways of ensuring the action bites.

Isn’t there is a danger of demoralisation when members are asked to work in a particular way as individuals, in isolation from what everybody else is doing?

In our job it’s hard, because you’re on the front line, dealing with the public. An effective work-to-rule has to be disruptive, but, when queues build up, so does the pressure on members. If they feel threatened, they can legitimately withdraw under health and safety rules, but that’s only if people have the collective confidence to do that. The normal reaction of people when they have a lengthening queue of claimants is to cut corners in order to get the queue down - you can see them right in front of you.

Are you aiming to win support from the claimants themselves?

Unfortunately there are very few well organised claimant groups at the moment. Back in the 90s there was a whole network around the job seekers’ allowance campaign the union organised, but today there are very few claimants groups around.

Although claimants are generally supportive, it’s difficult to get them as unorganised individuals to behave in a way which is aimed at complementing our action. Of course claimants who come into the job centre once a fortnight can see the pressure our members are under, but our movement has just not organised them. And of course we don’t want to get ourselves into a position where anger is being directed at our members, but it’s very difficult to make a work-to-rule effective without the danger of that happening.

Taking into account these kind of difficulties, where is the dispute going?

On Saturday March 6, there is a delegate meeting in Leeds to discuss the campaign. The problem is that the executive are not taking motions, so this will be more like a forum. We will be able to express our views on the way forward and any disagreements we have with the conduct of the dispute, but there will be no votes. There are two difficulties about that. Firstly, it doesn’t involve the membership properly, because there’s no need to call branch meetings to pass motions. Secondly, the views of delegates can be ignored or misinterpreted. A proper conference would carry a lot more weight.

Another problem is that there is uncertainty over whether we need to reballot before we can call further strike action. That became clear when a question on the matter was put to our national president at the London rally on February 16. That would explain why in the latest circular building the action there was no mention of further strike days - only the overtime ban and work-to-rule.

Unfortunately the PCSU rallies, which were called in every major city, were poorly attended. Only 150 came to the London event out of about 9,000 members on strike. In Sheffield there were 45 and in south Wales a rally addressed by Mark Serwotka, the general secretary, also pulled in less than 50. This is worrying, because our activist base is larger than those figures would imply.

Another worry, surely, is that people go back to work after two days and start to question whether it was worth it when management don’t immediately cave in.

Alliance for Workers’ Liberty comrades are talking about moving from two days to a three-day strike, while others are advocating a rolling regional action. That could be spread over a two-week period, so that the gap between actions would be less. The downside is that it might be viewed as a de-escalation, from national to regional.

The problem with having a gap between strikes is that we are almost into the 2004 pay round with no resolution to the 2003 claim in sight. In March it will be 12 months since the claim was lodged. Also does the excellent support for this week’s strike mean that members are really up for a fight or are they just having a kick at management over pay, appraisal and other issues?

Don’t forget, most of our members are low-paid with no savings to fall back on. They already have overdrafts and credit card limits, so it is a genuine sacrifice to take two days’ industrial action.

How does this week’s strike tie in with action across other departments?

The department of constitutional affairs executive recommended by a narrow majority acceptance of the latest (highly unsatisfactory) offer. The home office, prison service and treasury solicitors disputes also look like settling, but the office for national statistics has just voted massively to reject their pay offer and will be balloting shortly for industrial action.