PCS National conference - Day 2
| The second day of the ADC started with motions on Equality on what looked to be a quieter day in prospect for the delegation after yesterday's flurry of activity, how wrong we were! A46, A47, A48 and A49 on equality proofing of pay, equality impact assessments, LGBT issues and judicial reviews in equality impact assessment cases were all passed before the Union's financial report was presented by Chris Baugh, Assistant General Secretary. Some debate did ensue about the Union's owning of shares in firms questioned by a delegate as being unethical. However Chris, asking if any aspect of Capitalism was ethical, was able to assuage the concerns of the conference by confirming the Union's commitment to ethical investments and confirmed all investments were continually re-assessed. In the financial section the first motion A54 on increasing the union overnight allowances for hotel costs stirred a great debate. Delegates from all sides of the Union opposed the motion as, in light of the MPs expenses debacle, they did not wish to be tarred with the same brush as the MPs themselves. One delegate related how his room had been obtained for £19 a night before the motion was remitted (referred to the NEC for those useful parts of the motion to be taken forward, in this case a review of allowances), though general opinion was he must be sleeping under the pier! John McDonnell MP, the chair of the PCS Parliamentary group was due to address the conference after this but was delayed and so we had to wait until the afternoon to hear him and his condemnation of some of his colleagues, more of this later. Instead the Union General Secretary Mark Serwotka presented the Unions Communication awards. Which led to the section on Pensions, where Martin Jones was due to move the Branch's motion, A63. Unfortunately, of the three motions debated in this section, our motion was the only one lost which was a shame as it called for a return to retirement at aged 60. Before the lunch break affiliations were discussed and it was agreed to affiliate the union to the Anti-Academies allowance and UCAPV (a campaign set up following the death of Ian Tomlinson at the G20 demonstrations. Lunch was followed by the presentation of the National Organising strategy for 2009 and then the Campaigns and Organisation section. The Unions work (past, present and future) campaigning against far right parties and there members was debated and passed in motions A71 and A72 with some horrific stories relating to bigotry, abuse and victimisation coming out in the debate. A72 was also the start to consultation with members on the question of supporting trade union candidates in elections as a challenge to all the parties who oppose public services and servants. A15 was debated but defeated as it proposed transferring some members to other relevant unions if that union was felt to cover their work, cleaners, messengers and other areas. The message came back though that these members wished to stay with the PCS. John McDonnell arrived just before the debate on rule changes was to start and he took his place as delegates took a short break to prepare for what can be a dry section but generated the first card vote of the ADC...on one of our motions! Motion A79 was debated relating to Death benefits, Motion A80 on the seconding of motions and A81 and A82 together dealing with transfer of motions between group and national conferences were also debated in this section either being lost or remitted. Our Motion on how branches can spend rebates and the role of the NEC and finance committee on deciding what is or isn't permissible was moved by Chris Wade and opposed by the NEC. The motion required a two thirds majority to change the rule and when the hands went up it appeared clear to the delegation that that had not been achieved, it seemed more 50/50. Bizarrely the President called for a card vote which when completed and counted showed 86,833 in favour and 139, 657 against and 10,878 abstentions. Clearly lost but an exciting interlude in what our guest speaker described as a "fascinating debate" and one which he contrasted with the House of Commons which he reported had voted not to vote on a debate... The speech from John Mc Donnell was as usual a fascinating insight into the actions of MPs with the expenses scandal providing some juicy content as he rounded on those of his colleagues who had abused the public purse Conference then moved onto the final section of the day, Services and Structures, where support for our Commercial Services colleagues was passed in motion A87 and A94. Motion A92 which called for increased access to counselling services (those provided by the Union) for members and representatives was remitted to enable the NEC to take forward those parts that could be. Conference closed for the day and delegates were free to relax after another busy day of debate and decision making. Now then who's for a stroll on the pier and a stick of Brighton Rock? Chris Wade |
