Win for check-off

The PCS civil service union has won its legal challenge against the DCLG Department for Communities and Local Government’s scrapping of the check-off system of collecting union subs.

In July, communities secretary Eric Pickles said he would end the system agreed with unions for collecting union dues from members’ wage packets, which, says the PCS, costs just £300 a year to administer.

But the High Court ruled that Pickles’ move was a breach of contract and must be reversed. The judge said that the check-off arrangement was part of DCLG staff members’ contracts and could not be withdrawn without consent.

However, Pickles has vowed to pursue ending the practice, telling the Daily Mirror that it “epitomises a cosy and unhealthy relationship between the unions and the state”.

http://strongerunions.org/2013/09/04/we-stopped-pickles-attacking-pcs