PCS conference

In one of the first union conferences to be held since the general election, Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the PCS civil service union, last month called for unions to unite to head off Tory attacks.

He also called on the unions to learn lessons from the past when co-ordinated action between public sector unions over the pensions dispute “crumbled”. He said: “It will be tough but by working together, building alliances with other unions and social movements, we can do it.”

Serwotka also called for the campaign for proportional representation to be stepped up. He added: “The current system is grossly unfair in allocating seats from votes but, more importantly, PR is the key to giving a political voice to the millions of people who reject austerity.”

www.pcs.org.uk/en/news_and_events/news_centre/news_centre.cfm/pcs-conference-unions-must-give-hope-and-show-people-we-can-win-2