PCS: Crisis and censorship

The announcement that yet another group of members are set to break away from the main civil service union, PCS has certainly caused a reaction at the leadership level. When the SOCA members broke last year there was a total news blackout on PCS controlled media. Attempts to debate or discuss the situation have been firmly sat on.

On Sunday I published an article below which was then posted to the (closed) PCS members only Face Book page. I had prefaced it with the comment that this was a legitimate news story that members should be aware of. It lasted just four hours before a message was sent to me by admin saying that they "would not allow the promotion of scab unions".

How a union that is simply just being in the process of being formed can be a "scab union" is beyond me. There had been the beginnings of a debate by some of the comrades (obviously hostile) but even this was too much for the jilted PCS leadership.

In response I sent the article out on my e-mail list complaining about the censorship. Guess what. Yes, someone complained and I had a "desist" letter from DWP Group because some Trot didn't like their members hearing the news.

Tough!

One member of the National Executive Committee has informed me that "robust action" will be taken against this "silly" new union. Given what happened last year to members in SOCA we're talking suspensions and Rule 10 complaints ,which can lead to people being barred from holding union office for up to three years, effectively removing individuals permanently from PCS activity.

Given the idea of the RCTU is to form a new union anyway, such action by the NEC will probably have the opposite effect to that intended.

No mention of trying to sit down and talk by any of the comrades which a normal organisation might try and take to maintain unity. No for the comrades of the PCS leadership it's "win and take all".

No compromise.

The attitude that's led to this "split" in the first place!

There is also nowhere for reps and members to discuss the crisis. I'm told it is "inappropriate" to use the unions Face Book page and they say I've been warned about "provocative posts" before and I could be banned, Not that they want to of course.......

Of course not.

For the record any comment or post that doesn't fit in the comrades agenda is considered "trolling" or "provocative", so one thing the unions FB page isn't any good for is err..discussion.

Several of my posts have been banned. One which referred to the "superstitious nonsense of Islam" (in an atheist context) got me removed as I obviously had a "problem with Muslims".

No comrades. Religion itself is the thing I have a problem with along with the censorious Trotskyist types that run the union, the ones who demanded that a post supporting action to save the Christians and Kurds from ISIS was also taken down after some lefty harridan accused me of being a "warmonger" and "near fascist".

Charming.

The only people being kept in the dark are the members of the union who are presented only "sanitised" versions of events (if at all) from the far-left PCS leadership. I have only a limited ability to counter this on-line and by e-mail but I will not be silenced.

PCS contains members with views from across the political spectrum.

The left does not believe in free speech and open debate. If you put forward different views you get shouted down, banned and possibly disciplined. I've been here before.

I will continue to stand up for what I believe in and report and inform members of what is really going on in PCS. The far-left and their allies have wrecked PCS, it's no longer taken seriously by management, sections of the TUC or large numbers of members who have disengaged with the union.

Another pointless strike coming up will only alienate members who don't see the point of yet another protest strike when they are struggling to make end s meet.

Demonstrate yes, strike again, no.

That's why people are leaving. Even in the lefts stronghold, the DWP I have never seen such a high level of dissatisfaction with the union.

PCS is failing.

There are alternatives, some existing and some that need to be built. The time is coming when many of us will have to make a choice.

That choice might not be PCS.

And the left will be to blame for the decline of the main civil service union.

Left Unity, the Tories best friends.