https://www.theguardian.com/profile/markserwotka Latest news and features from theguardian.com, the world's leading liberal voice en-gb Guardian News &amp; Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2026 Wed, 10 Jun 2026 23:18:19 GMT 2026-06-10T23:18:19Z en-gb Guardian News &amp; Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2026 https://assets.guim.co.uk/images/guardian-logo-rss.c45beb1bafa34b347ac333af2e6fe23f.png https://www.theguardian.com https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/sep/16/threat-lay-off-king-charles-staff-nation-mourns-despicable <p>My union has demanded the notification be immediately withdrawn and the workers given the respect they deserve<br></p><ul><li>Mark Serwotka is general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union</li></ul><p>Among the many people across Britain mourning the death of Queen Elizabeth II are those who work at Clarence House, the former official residence of the new King. Some of those staff have served for decades. So it’s incredibly cruel that for about 100 of these mourning workers, their service and commitment have been rewarded with potential<strong> </strong>redundancy.</p><p>It’s a staggering misjudgment: staff are in profound shock. It’s simply unacceptable that they should be treated this way. To make matters worse, the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/sep/13/king-charles-staff-given-redundancy-notice-during-church-service-for-queen">notification was sent out</a> during a thanksgiving service for the Queen in Edinburgh.</p><p>Mark Serwotka is general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union</p><p><em><strong>Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 300 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at <a href="mailto:guardian.letters@theguardian.com">guardian.letters@theguardian.com</a></strong></em></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/sep/16/threat-lay-off-king-charles-staff-nation-mourns-despicable">Continue reading...</a> King Charles III Trade unions Monarchy UK news Fri, 16 Sep 2022 12:35:15 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/sep/16/threat-lay-off-king-charles-staff-nation-mourns-despicable Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA Mark Serwotka 2022-09-16T12:35:15Z https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/may/05/boris-johnson-rwanda-plan-legal-court-refugees <p>Refugees – and civil servants who’ll have to effect this cruel policy – will both suffer. That’s why proper scrutiny is essential</p><ul><li>Mark Serwotka is general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union</li></ul><p>This government’s despicable assault on <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/may/03/legal-cases-may-explain-why-rwanda-plan-is-not-working-suggests-no-10">asylum seekers and refugees</a> – and the distress caused for our union’s members in the Home Office – is seemingly endless. From pushbacks in the Channel to shipping people off to Rwanda, the cruelty is unimaginable, but as so often is the case with this Tory government and those that came before it, the cruelty is the point. In the face of this inhumanity, I am incredibly proud that my union, PCS, and others are taking a stand.</p><p>Clearly this is an annoyance to a cynically vote-seeking prime minister and his allies, as is evident from the front page of today’s Daily Mail, which warns of the plan <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10782261/Boris-Johnson-blasts-legal-eagles-liberal-lawyers-trying-block-120m-Rwanda-migrant-plan.html">being threatened</a> by “liberal lawyers”. But the plan is dreadful, and there are reasons aplenty to fight it.</p><p>Mark Serwotka is general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/may/05/boris-johnson-rwanda-plan-legal-court-refugees">Continue reading...</a> Refugees Civil service Home Office Priti Patel Politics UK news Immigration and asylum Thu, 05 May 2022 17:01:28 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/may/05/boris-johnson-rwanda-plan-legal-court-refugees Photograph: Henry Nicholls/Reuters Photograph: Henry Nicholls/Reuters Photograph: Henry Nicholls/Reuters Mark Serwotka 2022-05-05T17:01:28Z https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/sep/10/civil-servants-pay-stagnated-decade-real-rise <p>After years of cuts and pay freezes, public sector staff need an above-inflation pay rise</p><p>Even at the best of times, it is not easy to be a public sector worker. Today, it has never been harder.</p><p>Far from some of the stereotypes bandied around the right-wing press about gold-plated pensions and inflated wages compared with the private sector, the pay situation for membersof our PCS union who work for the UK government is dire.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/sep/10/civil-servants-pay-stagnated-decade-real-rise">Continue reading...</a> Society Public sector pay Public services policy Politics TUC UK news Trade unions Civil service Mon, 10 Sep 2018 11:49:44 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/sep/10/civil-servants-pay-stagnated-decade-real-rise Photograph: Amer Ghazzal/REX/Shutterstock Photograph: Amer Ghazzal/REX/Shutterstock Photograph: Amer Ghazzal/REX/Shutterstock Mark Serwotka 2018-09-10T11:49:44Z https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/apr/24/ministers-home-office-staff-windrush-scandal-mark-serwotka It’s shameless of Theresa May and Amber Rudd to try to shift the blame on to people who have a difficult enough job as it is<br /><p>The escalating <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/apr/23/windrush-generation-will-get-uk-citizenship-says-amber-rudd" title="">Windrush scandal</a> has rightly caused national outrage. Reports of deportations, grandmothers holed up in detention centres and people losing the right to housing, healthcare and a decent living, mark a shameful chapter in this country’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/apr/15/why-the-children-of-windrush-demand-an-immigration-amnesty" title="">treatment of people who were invited here to live and work</a>.</p><p>From the inhumane attitude of the government towards Commonwealth citizens, to the revelation yesterday that <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/home-office-agencies-windrush-scandal-discrimination-harassment-employees-a8314976.html" title="">Home Office staff themselves are subject to racism</a> in their workplace, it is clear there needs to be a massive shift in how the government approaches the issue.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/apr/24/ministers-home-office-staff-windrush-scandal-mark-serwotka">Continue reading...</a> Commonwealth immigration Civil service Immigration and asylum Trade unions Politics World news UK news Commonwealth of Nations Conservatives Caribbean Theresa May Amber Rudd Windrush scandal Home Office Tue, 24 Apr 2018 09:27:19 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/apr/24/ministers-home-office-staff-windrush-scandal-mark-serwotka Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images Mark Serwotka 2018-04-24T09:27:19Z https://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2016/may/20/tories-shackle-trade-unions-public-sector-payroll <p>Government attempts to stop public sector staff paying union subs through payroll check-off were political and wrong, according to the high court </p><p>A high court judgment last week against the largest civil service employer, the Department for Work and Pensions, has exposed just how political and short-sighted the government’s increasingly vicious and vindictive approach to trade unions has become.</p><p><a href="http://www.pcs.org.uk/en/news_and_events/pcs_comment/pcs_comment.cfm/major-win-as-vindictive-check-off-ban-ruled-unlawful">The case</a> concerns the previously unremarkable and little noticed issue of how union members send their monthly subscriptions to unions like ours, the 200,000 member Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union. For decades, like many other public and private sector workers, civil servants had been able to pay their subs to PCS through their salaries, in the same way they can give to charity or pay for sports and social club membership.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2016/may/20/tories-shackle-trade-unions-public-sector-payroll">Continue reading...</a> Public Leaders Network Policy Trade unions Public sector pay Public services policy Society Politics UK news Eric Pickles Fri, 20 May 2016 06:15:33 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2016/may/20/tories-shackle-trade-unions-public-sector-payroll Photograph: Dimitris Legakis/D Legakis Photography/Athena Photograph: Dimitris Legakis/D Legakis Photography/Athena Photograph: Dimitris Legakis/D Legakis Photography/Athena Mark Serwotka 2016-05-20T06:15:33Z https://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2015/apr/22/public-servants-pay-rise-nick-clegg-liberal-democrats <p>A last minute Liberal Democrat pledge to end pay cuts for public sector workers? It’s as transparent as it is pathetic</p><p>Do public servants need a pay rise? Yes. Do they trust Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats to deliver it? Absolutely not. Instead of pledging to increase public sector pay in the next parliament, Clegg might as well have offered us the moon on a stick.</p><p>The Lib Dem leader, facing electoral humiliation for his party and possibly even the loss of his own seat, is indulging in wild-eyed fantasies, laying into the “ideological” Tories whom he has spent the last five years propping up. It is as transparent as it is pathetic.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2015/apr/22/public-servants-pay-rise-nick-clegg-liberal-democrats">Continue reading...</a> Public Leaders Network Public service reform Local government Public sector cuts Public sector pay Public finance Public services policy Politics Society Society Professionals Liberal Democrats Nick Clegg Wed, 22 Apr 2015 14:47:46 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2015/apr/22/public-servants-pay-rise-nick-clegg-liberal-democrats Photograph: Nils Jorgensen/REX Shutterstock Photograph: Nils Jorgensen/REX Shutterstock Photograph: Nils Jorgensen/REX Shutterstock Mark Serwotka 2015-04-22T14:47:46Z https://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2014/jul/01/civil-servants-strike-10-july-pay-rise-pcs-union Our pay freeze is actually a 20% pay cut against inflation. That's why the PCS union will join the mass strike on 10 July<p>Is it any wonder public sector workers are angry? They have seen executive pay in the private sector increase by 145% during the recession, while their wages have been frozen and capped.</p><p>At the same time, the cost of living continues to soar – with food, transport and fuel bills all far outstripping salary increases – while government ministers laud an "economic recovery". Low-paid civil servants struggling to make ends meet are rightly asking, whose recovery is it?</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2014/jul/01/civil-servants-strike-10-july-pay-rise-pcs-union">Continue reading...</a> Public Leaders Network Policy Pensions Finance Mark Serwotka Society Public sector cuts Public sector pay Public sector pensions Tue, 01 Jul 2014 15:14:51 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2014/jul/01/civil-servants-strike-10-july-pay-rise-pcs-union Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images More than two million public sector workers marched in London in November 2011 over cuts to pensions. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images More than two million public sector workers marched in London in November 2011 over cuts to pensions. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images More than two million public sector workers marched in London in November 2011 over cuts to pensions. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Mark Serwotka, PCS 2014-07-01T15:14:51Z https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/22/serco-britain-public-services-g4s Let's see Britain taking public services back from Serco and G4S – so they can be run properly<p>Serco is a company in trouble. Under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office over the electronic tagging scandal, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/oct/25/serco-chief-quits-government-contracts-chris-hyman" title="">its chief executive jumped ship last month</a>, and last night it <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/nov/21/jeremy-stafford-quits-serco" title="">jettisoned its UK boss</a>. Today, it was ditched as a contender to run <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25052373" title="">three prisons in Yorkshire</a>.</p><p>As far as I am concerned these corporate headaches could not have happened to a more deserving case.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/22/serco-britain-public-services-g4s">Continue reading...</a> Public services policy Society Privatisation Politics Serco G4S Capita Business Fri, 22 Nov 2013 16:41:16 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/22/serco-britain-public-services-g4s Photograph: Ian Nicholson/PA The public services provider Serco is in trouble after losing its two top staff in two months then being ruled out of a contract to run three prisons. Photograph: Ian Nicholson/PA Photograph: Ian Nicholson/PA The public services provider Serco is in trouble after losing its two top staff in two months then being ruled out of a contract to run three prisons. Photograph: Ian Nicholson/PA Photograph: Ian Nicholson/PA The public services provider Serco is in trouble after losing its two top staff in two months then being ruled out of a contract to run three prisons. Photograph: Ian Nicholson/PA Mark Serwotka 2013-11-22T16:41:16Z https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/apr/22/tory-equality-policy-sick-tribute-stephen-lawrence Twenty years on from Lawrence's murder, government plans to remove a key equality law would roll back years of progress<p>Our Tory-led government will today mark the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/apr/21/twenty-years-stephen-lawrence-murder-whats-changed" title="">20th anniversary</a> of the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence by trying to remove a key piece of equality legislation that flowed from the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/feb/24/lawrence.ukcrime12" title="">Macpherson report</a>.</p><p>As a currency, the phrase "If you thought the Tories couldn't stoop any lower…" would now be so devalued we would be lugging it round in wheelbarrows. <a href="http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2012-13/enterpriseandregulatoryreform.html" title="">This vote</a> on whether to repeal a section of the Equality Act 2006 is, of course, simply unfortunate timing. But it doesn't sit alone; it fits neatly into a political project to roll back years of progress.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/apr/22/tory-equality-policy-sick-tribute-stephen-lawrence">Continue reading...</a> Stephen Lawrence Inequality Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) Law Human rights UK news Race World news Police Society UK civil liberties Trade unions Civil service Mon, 22 Apr 2013 10:27:40 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/apr/22/tory-equality-policy-sick-tribute-stephen-lawrence Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images Doreen Lawrence has spoken out against the government's attempt to repeal section 3 of the Equality Act 2006. Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images Doreen Lawrence has spoken out against the government's attempt to repeal section 3 of the Equality Act 2006. Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images Doreen Lawrence has spoken out against the government's attempt to repeal section 3 of the Equality Act 2006. Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images Mark Serwotka 2013-04-22T10:27:40Z https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jan/24/forget-europe-markets-power-finance-democracy An unholy matrimony between finance and politics has undermined democracy: it's time it was reinforced<p>Listening to economics being discussed in the media is like being read a fairy story. In any fairy story you need a monster, and in this case it's "the markets": unseen, but seemingly all-powerful. Job losses, public service cuts, wage freezes, privatisation, even cuts to benefits for disabled people can be justified by saying "the markets" demand it.</p><p>But what are the markets? Who comprises them and why are they so powerful? I didn't vote for them and I doubt you did either – yet they apparently have the power to dictate policies to elected governments and, in the case of Italy, to even select the government.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jan/24/forget-europe-markets-power-finance-democracy">Continue reading...</a> Financial sector Stock markets Business Europe European Union Economic policy Politics Economic growth (GDP) Economics Financial crisis World news UK news Thu, 24 Jan 2013 19:30:01 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jan/24/forget-europe-markets-power-finance-democracy Photograph: Tristram Kenton 'We still have the tin-hatted Conservatives with no heart, their Lib Dem counterparts without the brains to realise they’re sealing their own fate, and a Labour party still lacking the courage to put up a real fight' … The Wizard of Oz at West Yorkshire Playhouse. Photograph: Tristram Kenton Photograph: Tristram Kenton 'We still have the tin-hatted Conservatives with no heart, their Lib Dem counterparts without the brains to realise they’re sealing their own fate, and a Labour party still lacking the courage to put up a real fight' … The Wizard of Oz at West Yorkshire Playhouse. Photograph: Tristram Kenton Photograph: Tristram Kenton 'We still have the tin-hatted Conservatives with no heart, their Lib Dem counterparts without the brains to realise they’re sealing their own fate, and a Labour party still lacking the courage to put up a real fight' … The Wizard of Oz at West Yorkshire Playhouse. Photograph: Tristram Kenton Mark Serwotka 2013-01-24T19:30:01Z https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/dec/05/autumn-statement-2012-expert-verdict Our experts give their reaction to George Osborne's autumn statement on the economy<p><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/dec/05/autumn-statement-osborne-slashes-welfare-bill">George Osborne has spoken</a>. But what he said on tax will disappoint most people who listened.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/dec/05/autumn-statement-2012-expert-verdict">Continue reading...</a> Autumn statement 2012 Economic policy Economics Business Politics UK news George Osborne Wed, 05 Dec 2012 14:51:00 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/dec/05/autumn-statement-2012-expert-verdict Photograph: Andrew Winning/AFP/Getty Images George Osborne has delivered his statement in the House of Commons. Photograph: Andrew Winning/AFP/Getty Images Photograph: Andrew Winning/AFP/Getty Images George Osborne has delivered his statement in the House of Commons. Photograph: Andrew Winning/AFP/Getty Images Photograph: Andrew Winning/AFP/Getty Images George Osborne has delivered his statement in the House of Commons. Photograph: Andrew Winning/AFP/Getty Images Richard Murphy, Dominic Raab, Ann Pettifor, Gavin Kelly, Prateek Buch and Mark Serwotka 2012-12-05T14:51:00Z https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/oct/12/public-services-cuts-david-cameron-aspiration-nation The Tories' ideological cuts will hit us all, not just public servants' jobs. Join the new coalition of the dispossessed to protest<p>Earlier this week civil servants learned – through a combination of newspaper leaks and ministerial bravado from the cosseted confines of their conference – that their working conditions were under threat.</p><p>Their hours, leave entitlement, childcare facilities, chances of promotion or filling vacancies, attendance management system, flexitime arrangements, and even their opportunities for volunteering (RIP the "big society") are all to be reviewed. This is not being done in an open way in consultation with staff and their unions but as an opportunity to tackle their terms and conditions.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/oct/12/public-services-cuts-david-cameron-aspiration-nation">Continue reading...</a> Public sector cuts Public sector pay Trade unions Civil service David Cameron Society Politics UK news Conservatives Public sector pensions Fri, 12 Oct 2012 10:09:53 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/oct/12/public-services-cuts-david-cameron-aspiration-nation Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images David Cameron offering himself as the leader of an 'aspiration nation' at the Conservative conference this week. Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images David Cameron offering himself as the leader of an 'aspiration nation' at the Conservative conference this week. Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images David Cameron offering himself as the leader of an 'aspiration nation' at the Conservative conference this week. Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images Mark Serwotka 2012-10-12T10:09:53Z https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/jan/02/public-sector-pensions-fight We must continue to reject the principle that those least culpable should pay the highest price to sustain a broken financial system<p>With the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/dec/20/public-sector-pensions-editorial" title="Guardian: Public sector pensions: beyond dispute">public sector pensions dispute</a> at a pivotal point, the first few weeks of 2012 will be critical in framing the future of widespread opposition to this government's cruel and unnecessary programme of austerity.</p><p>We have an opportunity to firmly reject the premise that public servants should pay more, work longer and get less, to pay for a recession caused by failing banks.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/jan/02/public-sector-pensions-fight">Continue reading...</a> Public sector pensions Pensions Public sector cuts Public services policy Public finance Trade unions Danny Alexander Money Society Politics Public sector careers Mon, 02 Jan 2012 14:00:01 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/jan/02/public-sector-pensions-fight Photograph: Peter Muhly/AFP/Getty Images A girl holds a protest placard during a public sector strike over pensions last year. Photograph: Peter Muhly/AFP/Getty Images Photograph: Peter Muhly/AFP/Getty Images A girl holds a protest placard during a public sector strike over pensions last year. Photograph: Peter Muhly/AFP/Getty Images Photograph: Peter Muhly/AFP/Getty Images A girl holds a protest placard during a public sector strike over pensions last year. Photograph: Peter Muhly/AFP/Getty Images Mark Serwotka 2012-01-02T14:00:01Z https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/jun/29/public-sector-strike-taxpayers-pensions The real danger to 'hardworking taxpayers' is not our strike, but the attack on pensions<p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2011/jun/29/one-in-five-civil-servants-will-strike" title="">Tomorrow's strike</a> by three-quarters of a million public sector workers has opened up a national debate on pensions – and it is one we welcome. <a href="http://www.comres.co.uk/page1902564630.aspx" title="">Polls show that public support for our campaign has grown</a>, perhaps because the media has for once examined the issues in depth. Meanwhile, the spluttering performance of ministers has shown that they are all rhetoric and no evidence.</p><p>The prime minister alleges that public sector pensions are unaffordable and unsustainable; yet reports by the <a href="http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/1011/public_service_pensions.aspx" title="">National Audit Office</a> and <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/public-accounts-committee/news/pensions-report/" title="">public accounts committee</a> suggest otherwise. Even the <a href="http://www.teachers.org.uk/node/12695" title="">Hutton report shows public sector pension costs are falling</a>, but the government refuses to negotiate on pension age, contributions or value.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/jun/29/public-sector-strike-taxpayers-pensions">Continue reading...</a> Trade unions Politics Liberal-Conservative coalition David Cameron Public sector cuts Public services policy Public finance Society Public sector pensions Public sector careers Wed, 29 Jun 2011 20:15:00 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/jun/29/public-sector-strike-taxpayers-pensions Photograph: Susan Gotensparre/Guardian Hundreds of thousands of public sector workers are striking over pension provisions. Photograph: Susan Gotensparre for the Guardian Photograph: Susan Gotensparre/Guardian Hundreds of thousands of public sector workers are striking over pension provisions. Photograph: Susan Gotensparre for the Guardian Photograph: Susan Gotensparre/Guardian Hundreds of thousands of public sector workers are striking over pension provisions. Photograph: Susan Gotensparre for the Guardian Mark Serwotka 2011-06-29T20:15:00Z https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/jun/17/public-sector-pensions This is a redistribution from poor to rich, dressed up as a battle between public and private. Our members will not let it stand<p>When we in the PCS union <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2011/jun/15/civil-servants-vote-strike-action-pension-reforms" title="Guardian: Civil servants vote for strike action">announced the result of our strike vote</a> on Wednesday, Francis Maude declared, "there is no justification for any civil servant going on strike while discussions are continuing".</p><p>Today, Danny Alexander, the chief secretary to the Treasury, has proved our union and our members right, and we welcome the decision of the <a href="http://www.naht.org.uk/welcome/comment/key-topics/pensions/naht-moves-a-step-closer-to-industrial-action/" title="NAHT: NAHT moves a step closer to industrial action over pension cuts">headteachers' union to ballot for action in the autumn</a>. Alexander <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2011/jun/17/public-sector-pensions-danny-alexander" title="Guardian: Public sector pensions: Work longer and pay more, says Danny Alexander">has now publicly said</a> what ministers have been saying in private for weeks, in effect: "We're happy to talk, but we will raise the pension age, increase contributions, lower accrual rates and we've already imposed reduced indexation through CPI". What's left to negotiate?</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/jun/17/public-sector-pensions">Continue reading...</a> Mark Serwotka Society Trade unions Politics Public sector pensions Public services policy UK news Public sector careers Fri, 17 Jun 2011 16:10:01 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/jun/17/public-sector-pensions Photograph: Martin Argles/Guardian Danny Alexander has told public sector workers they must accept they will have to work longer and pay more into their pension pots. Photograph: Martin Argles for the Guardian Photograph: Martin Argles/Guardian Danny Alexander has told public sector workers they must accept they will have to work longer and pay more into their pension pots. Photograph: Martin Argles for the Guardian Photograph: Martin Argles/Guardian Danny Alexander has told public sector workers they must accept they will have to work longer and pay more into their pension pots. Photograph: Martin Argles for the Guardian Mark Serwotka 2011-06-17T16:10:01Z https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/mar/10/lord-hutton-public-sector-pensions-report Hutton knows pensions are being cut not because they are unaffordable but because banks caused a public finance crisis<p>Lord Hutton, a former Labour minister, has been touring the TV studios <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2011/mar/10/pension-reforms-public-sector-hutton" title="Guardian: Pension reforms: Public sector workers to pay more and retire later">brandishing his newly published public sector pensions report</a> as "fair" and "independent". It is neither.</p><p>Governments usually only commission an independent review if they know the outcome. While Hutton might produce his party card as credentials, he was always regarded as on the right wing of Labour and has been <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/2010/jun/21/john-hutton-labour-traitor" title="Guardian: John Hutton: Labour traitor or public-spirited masochist?">denounced as a "collaborator" by his former ministerial colleagues</a>.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/mar/10/lord-hutton-public-sector-pensions-report">Continue reading...</a> Public sector pensions John Hutton Mark Serwotka Politics Public finance Society Pensions Trade unions Labour Public sector careers Public sector cuts Public sector pay UK news Public services policy Thu, 10 Mar 2011 14:23:40 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/mar/10/lord-hutton-public-sector-pensions-report Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA Former Labour minister Lord Hutton, who was commissioned by the coalition government to carry out a review of public sector pensions. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA Former Labour minister Lord Hutton, who was commissioned by the coalition government to carry out a review of public sector pensions. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA Former Labour minister Lord Hutton, who was commissioned by the coalition government to carry out a review of public sector pensions. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA Mark Serwotka 2011-03-10T14:23:40Z https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/dec/30/unions-cuts-protest We cannot have a pick 'n' mix approach to opposition to the cuts – our future is at stake<p>The second half of 2010 has been marked by a fierce assault on public services from a government of millionaires. In response, a promising anti-cuts movement is emerging. But many people on the recent demonstrations are asking: where are the unions? I want 2011 to be the year where this question is answered definitively, with unions placing themselves firmly on the side of active and innovative campaigning.</p><p>The union movement today is different to that of the early 1980s – the last time we faced such an attack on the public sector and the welfare state. Membership is barely over half what it was, and anti-union laws constrain us. This is a reality, but does not fatally undermine the potential for resistance.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/dec/30/unions-cuts-protest">Continue reading...</a> Mark Serwotka Trade unions Protest Tuition fees Education policy Public sector pay Public sector cuts Thu, 30 Dec 2010 20:00:01 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/dec/30/unions-cuts-protest Mark Serwotka 2010-12-30T20:00:01Z https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/oct/17/finances-cuts-public-services-welfare No public service cuts are needed. Our plan to deal with the deficit is all about jobs, revenue and growth<p>When <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/georgeosborne" title="George Osborne">George Osborne</a> sits down in the Commons on Wednesday after announcing the comprehensive spending review, he will have set out a package of cuts that will fundamentally undermine the welfare state. Yet there does not need to be a single penny cut from public services – or a single job lost.</p><p>These cuts are unavoidable, we are constantly told. Our economy is in a mess. Public spending has been running out of control. The country has "record debts". In what amounts to the political equivalent of shock and awe, the government has drilled this narrative into us so we simply accept our fate. But none of this is true. Our situation has nothing to do with public spending. The collapse in the finance sector, due to greed, caused a sharp recession and higher unemployment, tax revenues shrank dramatically, and the welfare bill increased.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/oct/17/finances-cuts-public-services-welfare">Continue reading...</a> Spending review 2010 Tax and spending Conservatives Trade unions Politics Sun, 17 Oct 2010 20:59:00 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/oct/17/finances-cuts-public-services-welfare Mark Serwotka 2010-10-17T20:59:00Z https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/sep/13/alternative-public-spending-cuts The barrage of cuts propaganda has disabled any critical thought – but my union has shown there is another way<p>Since before the election, David Cameron has been telling us "we're all in this together", while George Osborne told us his emergency budget was "progressive". This rhetoric has now been exposed – the budget was regressive, it cut £11bn from welfare and gave £24bn in corporate tax breaks.</p><p>But the biggest lie has yet to be fully revealed: the belief that unprecedented cuts are necessary – a consensus that spread across the political parties before the last election and is echoed daily in the media. This barrage of cuts propaganda has disabled any critical thought. Cuts, large-scale public sector cuts, have become the accepted wisdom of our age. But this is not wisdom, it is dogma.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/sep/13/alternative-public-spending-cuts">Continue reading...</a> Trade unions Politics Public sector cuts Public services policy Public finance Society UK news Economic policy Mon, 13 Sep 2010 09:00:49 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/sep/13/alternative-public-spending-cuts Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/REUTERS George Osborne told us his emergency budget was "progressive". Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/REUTERS George Osborne told us his emergency budget was "progressive". Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/REUTERS George Osborne told us his emergency budget was "progressive". Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters Mark Serwotka 2010-09-13T09:00:49Z https://www.theguardian.com/society/2010/jul/20/public-sector-pay-cuts It is right for our union to try to protect working conditions in the civil service<p>Your leader lays the blame for the previous government's failed attempt to drastically cut civil service redundancy pay at my union's door (<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/jul/06/public-servants-pay-cuts-editorial" title="">The many, not the few</a>, 6 July).</p><p>You say we "ultimately scuppered" the previous deal "to trim the biggest redundancy payments" – which is true if you mean we proved in the high court that it was unlawful to cut tens of thousands of pounds from the terms for existing staff without their agreement.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2010/jul/20/public-sector-pay-cuts">Continue reading...</a> Public sector pay Public sector cuts Politics Society UK news Public finance Mon, 19 Jul 2010 23:05:00 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/society/2010/jul/20/public-sector-pay-cuts Mark Serwotka 2010-07-19T23:05:00Z