The Friday joke: civil servants win legal battle against boss Eric Pickles

I was tickled to see this week that the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Eric Pickles was taken to the High Court by his own departmental staff over attacks on their union PCS. And that he lost.

I have a friend or two in the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and I know they have had a very hard time recently trying to represent the interests of their members at the same as they are no longer given time off work to do union duties, and the union has been banned even from meeting on the premises.

In the same way that Pickles offered his own departmental spending as a sacrificial lamb in the Spending Review, promising savage cuts to local government spending, for example, for which we are all paying now in reduced and privatised services, he has also dumped on his very own departmental staff.

The main dispute that the union went to the High Court over is the plan to stop "check-off" whereby union dues are collected at source from wages. 

Pickles prides himself on representing the interests of local taxpayers. In Barnet he has had, albeit obliquely, to apologise for the sneering attitude towards democracy of the local Tories. I give credit where it's due, and I acknowledge Pickles' solicitude for the rights of the little man and woman against Town Hall bureaucrats, where the Town Hall does act like bureaucrats.

Pickles, apparently, was a socialist in his youth but he abandoned socialism when the Russian tanks went into Czechoslovakia in 1968 to crush the Prague Spring democratisation movement. When we organised our Barnet Spring march in the snow earlier this year, that was one of the echoes that gave our protest more poignancy.

However, just like many a leftist who ended up backing and apologising for vicious dictatorships just because they weren't Western imperialists, the politics of the Cold War seem to have disorientated Pickles and he went over to the right and joined the forces of Conservatism.

I would argue that it is a mistake to conclude that your enemy's enemy is your friend but, as far as I can see, that is what Pickles has done. From siding with the working class, he went over to the enemy, and has been batting for the rich ever since.

Now Pickles needs to remember that the people working in his own department are little men and women as well, who deserve to be supported against their own species of bureaucrat - their bosses. Trade unions serve such a purpose and always have - and always will. You can't kill the spirit.

Arguably, the key force that began the process that led to the collapse of the Soviet empire was the inspiring Polish Solidarnosc (Solidarity) trade union.

Alas, there is every likelihood that Pickles will appeal against this week's court ruling.

I would urge everyone who has drawn some comfort from Pickles' well-aimed jibes against Barnet's Tory Council to help him see sense over this issue. Send a message to Pickles via Twitter - @EricPickles - and watch for developments on the PCS website. Tell Pickles - hands off PCS!

Barnet for Fair Pensions for All

We had a productive joint meeting of Barnet TUC and the anti-cuts group, the Barnet Alliance, this evening to coordinate our activities on Wednesday 30 November. I hope by now readers know that many unions representing public sector workers will take part in a national 24-hour strike on that day, to defend their pensions.

Below is the contribution to this evening's meeting by a member of the civil service union PCS, Ian Albert, of their national executive committee. I'll post some information in the coming days about what we are doing in Barnet to mark this day of industrial action, probably the biggest since the 1926 General Strike! But first Ian Albert:

I used to live in Edgware; I worked in the Department of Health and Social Security at Raydean House. I’m also a long-suffering Barnet FC season ticket holder. Barnet council treats Barnet FC very badly. Unions and community should forge links with the club.

PCS, NUT, UCU and ATL colleagues took strike action over pensions on 30 June. We are all public service workers performing a valuable service for the community; we organise people in a huge range of services. PCS even includes coastguards – a service currently under attack - and Beefeaters at the Tower of London!

Our struggle with the government is not just about pensions, but also about pay cuts and job losses. PCS has been putting forward an alternative to the cuts. Many of you marched for the alternative on the TUC demonstration on 26 March.

There are things that this government should be doing instead: tackling youth unemployment, for example, saving a million people whose lives will be destroyed for years to come. We saw such things under Thatcher; I hoped we would not see them again.

We see workers in Greece, Italy, suffering similarly. We need an alliance across Europe for the alternative

On pensions, the unions are uniting and coordinating to win. We must never let this government drive a wedge between those who work in the public sector and the private sector. Cameron says we have gold-plated pensions in the public sector (not true). But we have been doing better recently in the public than the private sector because we have stronger unions in the public sector. Many private companies have destroyed their pension schemes; private companies have been getting tax relief – making a profit - on pensions.

This is what explains the divide between public and private: a drive to the bottom. We are taking action on 30 November to stop this drive to the bottom.

Our members, who have been privatised, at Fujitsu, Capita, etc, are facing attacks on their pension schemes.

I would urge you to visit our website for the PCS briefing on “Fair Pensions for All” (download the pdf here). The UK is at the bottom of the table as regards pensioner poverty. Our campaign sets out the case for decent occupational pensions in the private and public sector, but also for decent state pensions. The rising age for eligibility for state pensions should be challenged.

I’m looking forward to hearing the contributions this evening about how we go forward from here. We can win if we stay united, if we are not bought off or distracted by statements such as the absurd remarks about union members avoiding loss of pay by taking 15 minutes’ strike action by Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude recently.

My union, PCS, represents grades up to middle managers; for the first time in years we will be going out on strike with senior managers. To see unions such as NAHT, FDA, even non-TUC affiliates, all expressing support for the campaign is encouraging and something we must build on.

Unions in every town and borough should work together in the coming days, just as PCS nationally has forged good relationships with unions including Unite and NUT over the past few months.

It is disappointing that the Labour Party so far have not been more vocal in their support; I hope we can still persuade Ed Miliband to give support for our democratic ballots of three million workers.