Break-up of the Council of Civil Service Unions

The PCS has called for the winding up of the Council of Civil Service Unions (CCSU). The CCSU comprises the FDA, PCS, Prison Officers' Association and Prospect, and the Northern Ireland Public Services Alliance (NIPSA) representing members of the Northern Ireland Civil Service. For many years the CCSU has acted as the collective body of the civil service unions in negotiations at a national level. Similar structures exist in many departments.

The PCS first made this call to abolish the CCSU four weeks ago without notice to other unions. The current CCSU constitution requires that any decisions reached by the CCSU have to be by consensus, with all unions either agreeing or abstaining. PCS has made clear that it believes that, as the biggest union, it should, in effect, have the final say on any decisions. This was not acceptable to the FDA and we had argued for retention of decision-making by consensus. We have been working to build a new structure for CCSU with a view to resolving inter-union disputes while retaining our collective voice, but this has been rejected by the PCS.

The PCS had the option to simply withdraw from the CCSU, but it made clear that if the other unions would not agree to the breakup of CCSU it would stay and simply make the CCSU unworkable by blocking any decisions. The FDA has therefore reluctantly agreed to scrap the CCSU because we concluded that this was in the best interest of members in the circumstances we found ourselves in.

The PCS has explained that it will come forward with proposals for inter-union negotiations with employers in the future. Its position in recent years appears to be that, on the issues it cannot reach agreement with the Government, it will seek to prevent other independent unions from reaching agreement separately. This is obviously unacceptable to the FDA as the basis for moving forward.

There is no doubt that this regrettable decision will make negotiations in the coming period more difficult. At a time of enormous challenge for the civil service unions, this can only make the industrial relations landscape more complex. The FDA remains willing to work with the PCS, as we have always tried to do, but this cannot simply be on its terms and interfere with the right of the FDA, or any other union, to make decisions in the best interest of their members. The FDA is currently in discussions with other unions about establishing a coordinated approach to handling negotiations at a national level in future.

Whilst existing departmental trade union structures are not directly linked to CCSU they tend to mirror national arrangements, and relationships between the PCS and other unions vary from department to department. Where there are existing good relationships with local PCS representatives and it is in the best interest of our members, the FDA will be looking to continue joint activity. However, in some departments, relationships at an inter-union level have been strained and the FDA will be considering how best to proceed.

The biggest challenge facing us centrally is the inevitable negotiations that will follow the Hutton review of public sector pension arrangements. The PCS has not yet explained how it would envisage any negotiations taking place on this issue and it is all the more regrettable that it has chosen this path at this time. We will, of course, consider how these matters can be progressed in the best interest of members.

We will continue to keep members and branches informed of developments. The attitude of employers to this decision of the PCS is not yet clear.