Down in Brighton for the Public and Commercial Services Union annual conference today, a week early for the 20° C weather warrants board shorts and a beach towel.
Last year saw Mark Serwotka, the general secretary, called Gordon Brown a "miserable prime minister" and warn of a "summer of discontent" over low pay offers for civil servants. Inflation was soaring at the time, and pay deals of 2% or less looked tiny compared to inflation figures of 3-4%.
But oh, how the story has changed a mere 12 months on.
"Deflation" is the new buzzword, as is "pay freeze", and if I'd had a penny for every time I heard it at the conference ... well, I'd have a £1.
This year, the conference was dominated by the recession and MP's expenses.
Serwotka lashed out at MPs who had voted "with glee" to cut Civil Service jobs while also putting their "snouts in the public trough".
He called for MPs caught for fraudulent expenses to be frogmarched from Parliament and face prosecution by police.
He also slammed the slogan "British jobs for British workers", first uttered by Brown and now the motto for the British National Party, and called for all BNP members in the Civil Service to be fired "effective immediately".
The union announced it would cut half its senior management to make it less "top-heavy", following a similar move by union Unite to cut jobs and expenditure.
A leaner, meaner union may mean that there are less senior union officers and therefore less control of angry workers starting wildcat strikes like in Milford Haven or the Lindsey oil refinery.
But with more and more green shoots emerging every day, there is hope on both sides of the employer/union divide that further industrial action can be avoided.
This year, the conference was dominated by the recession and MP's expenses.
Serwotka lashed out at MPs who had voted "with glee" to cut Civil Service jobs while also putting their "snouts in the public trough".
He called for MPs caught for fraudulent expenses to be frogmarched from Parliament and face prosecution by police.
He also slammed the slogan "British jobs for British workers", first uttered by Brown and now the motto for the British National Party, and called for all BNP members in the Civil Service to be fired "effective immediately".
The union announced it would cut half its senior management to make it less "top-heavy", following a similar move by union Unite to cut jobs and expenditure.
A leaner, meaner union may mean that there are less senior union officers and therefore less control of angry workers starting wildcat strikes like in Milford Haven or the Lindsey oil refinery.
But with more and more green shoots emerging every day, there is hope on both sides of the employer/union divide that further industrial action can be avoided.
Comments (1)
It's always sunny in Brighton ;-)
Mark
Posted by Stress Mark | May 22, 2009 6:19 PM
Posted on May 22, 2009 18:19