Civil servants elect socialist union leader

Vote shows wide mood of anger

"IT HAS had an electrifying effect on my workplace. Mark Serwotka's victory has given people a real boost." So said a west London civil servant on the news that a socialist had won the general secretary election for the 260,000-strong civil servants' PCS union. Serwotka's election, beating Blairite candidate Hugh Lanning, has sent shockwaves through the trade union movement.

Chancellor Gordon Brown is reportedly "very concerned" that a socialist has been elected to the top position of a trade union representing workers whose job is to carry out government policy.

Mark Serwotka talked to Socialist Worker about his victory, his policies, and the battle he now faces in getting his election platform implemented:

"MY ELECTION is significant. We ran a campaign that tapped into the anger that exists over low pay, privatisation and attacks on sickness absence. People voted for the union to be outgoing and campaigning over issues that affect them. My campaign clearly struck a chord.

We are not just talking about people voting on internal issues in the civil service, but also about PCS campaigning wherever working class people are under attack.

We want to stop the attacks on asylum seekers, the attacks on workers through the anti trade union laws, and support all those in struggle. I think civil servants realise that they have a great deal of industrial muscle, but the right in the union have held things back. My election tells us that PCS members oppose privatisation, whether that be in the NHS or air traffic control.

Civil servants are against the use of the private sector to deliver benefits or as a job broker. People want the union to stand up to New Labour's attacks on the working class. I have been overwhelmed by messages of support and e-mails congratulating me. The response has been truly astonishing. People are excited that at last PCS is going to make its voice heard on the political stage.

We worked in the election on the basis that we wanted to go far wider than the traditional constituency of the left in the union. We delivered tens of thousands of leaflets and kept in contact with all the branches that nominated me. I'm hoping that we can translate the mood into a reinvigorated left and campaigning union branches.

At the moment the right wing factions who still control the union are stunned. But no doubt they will be laying plans to thwart what the members voted for. The union's national executive committee still has 41 right wingers out of 46. The union bureaucracy is stacked to the rafters with people opposed to my policies.

There is no point me looking to the bureaucracy to deliver my manifesto. If I did that it would never see the light of day. But 40,000 members voted for me. I will look to the branches and the activists to mobilise against the right wing.

I accept that it's not going to be easy. But it's not the battles in the boardroom that count-it's the battles out there on the ground. I've been clear that Benefits Agency workers in west London who are balloting for strike action have my support.

Poplar and City DSS members in east London battling against mobile phone masts on the offices have put in a submission for action. It's been bogged down by legal advice. But I support the members.

When it comes to the privatisation of National Air Traffic Service the political campaign hasn't stopped the government. That means we have to look at industrial action. I want to do a tour of the country addressing meetings of civil servants during and after work. Part of my platform was a return to national pay bargaining and an end to low pay.

There are 150 delegated pay areas where everyone negotiates separately. I'm in favour of a special conference early in the new year to coordinate all those pay campaigns. I don't intend to confine my comments just to the civil service. There are wider political issues.

I intend to issue a message of support for the Dudley hospitals strikers. They have been carrying out an inspirational campaign against privatisation. I believe that the anti-capitalist mood is present in the trade unions. I think people are encouraged to see those fighting back against the WTO and World Bank. I'm sure part of that anti-capitalist mood is reflected in my election vote. It's all part of a wider feeling throughout society that people have had enough.

We have a general election coming up. I'm not pre-pared as a leader of a trade union to say to people to vote Labour when it's attacking working people. As a member of the Socialist Alliance I want to ensure that candidates to the left of Labour get the maximum support."

Next step in PCS

MARK Serwotka has put out an appeal for all those who voted for him to join the existing broad left organisation in PCS, Left Unity, and rebuild it as a fighting force on the ground. Left Unity needs a shake-up. Its leadership failed to put forward a candidate in the election, with sections arguing that "economic and political factors do not favour victory for a socialist candidate".

This position forced Mark Serwotka to stand as an independent. Left Unity leaders then sheepishly backed him but mostly failed to campaign. As Mark Serwotka argues in his appeal, "By making itself more open and accessible to a new generation of activists, Left Unity can become an organising centre to ensure that the policies I fought for in this election can be delivered."

• To get copies of the unity appeal phone Socialist Worker's industrial office on 020 7987 1919.

• To join Left Unity write to Alan Runswick, 9 Wakefield Drive, Leasowe, Wirral CH6 3RN, or log onto the website: www.pcsleftunity.uk7.net

Build base to stop pressure from right

MARK SERWOTKA'S election success has given confidence to activists in the civil service. But that mood has to be built on quickly. PCS activists are aware that the right wing in the union will try and frustrate any attempts by Serwotka to take on the New Labour government.

Right winger Barry Reamsbottom is still officially PCS general secretary. Although he is scheduled to hand over his responsibilities, he may now cling on for as long as possible.

There is a history of the right wing blocking the left inside the civil service unions. In the early 1980s Militant supporter Kevin Roddy was CPSA deputy general secretary but failed to lead a fight against the Tory government. In 1986 Militant supporter John Macreadie won the general secretary election for the CPSA. The right wing immediately moved to legally challenge Macreadie. He failed to mobilise people on the ground and, outmanoeuvred by the right, lost his post.

There is also a history of left wingers in the trade unions capturing the mood on the ground, being catapulted into leadership positions and then coming under pressure to move to the right.

Mick Rix was the "surprise" winner of the 1998 vote for general secretary of the train drivers' ASLEF union. Rix, then a member of the Socialist Labour Party, beat Lew Adams by 1,200 votes. But Rix has since failed to lead any significant action against attacks by the employers or New Labour.

He has failed to mobilise and lead the mood over the disaster of rail privatisation. All these dangers face Mark Serwotka. If he is allowed to be isolated by the right then he will become their prisoner. That is why it is the responsibility of the left inside the PCS to urgently rebuild its influence and organisation.

As a Sheffield civil servant argues, "We need to make sure that Mark has the backing of workers on the ground so that he can fulfil his mandate."