THE POPULAR FRONT FOR THE LIBERATION OF CPSA
FIGHTING ON IN OUR 45th YEAR BUT A BIT RETIRED NOW
FREEDOM! UNITY! SOCIALISM!
ONE CIVIL SERVICE UNION,
ONE GLORIOUS DESTINY!
REVOLUTION UNTIL VICTORY!
REAMSBOTTOM STARTS HIS APPEAL
Members should be aware of the latest developments in the continuing saga of the General Secretary position in PCS. We have previously reported that at the High Court on 31 July 2002, the Vice Chancellor gave the following judgement:
a) Mr Reamsbottom ceased to be the General Secretary of PCS on 31st May 2002;
b) Mr Serwotka was validly elected to the post of General Secretary of PCS with effect from 1st June 2002 ;
c) The purported meeting of the NEC of PCS held on 23rd May 2002 had not been validly convened and the business purportedly conducted thereat was of not effect;
d) The Compromise Agreement is and always has been valid and binding on the parties.
Barry Reamsbottom, ex PCS General Secretary, has now applied to the Court of Appeal, for permission to appeal on one of these judgements viz that Mark Serwotka was not lawfully or validly elected to the post of General Secretary of PCS.
Mr Reamsbottom is not appealing against the other aspects of the High Court Judgement including that he ceased to be General Secretary of PCS on 31 May 2002. Mr Reamsbottom left PCS employment on the 31 May 2002.
A hearing on Mr Reamsbottom’s application for leave to appeal took place at the Court of Appeal on the 10 October. The hearing was to determine whether Mr Reamsbottom has the right to appeal against the High Court Judgement of 31 July that found against him and upheld that the current General Secretary, Mr Serwotka had been rightfully elected.
Mr Reamsbottom is now only seeking to appeal Mark Serwotka’s election in December 2000 should never have taken place, even although it was requested by the membership through the Union’s Delegate Conference in May 2000, supported and endorsed in a subsequent membership ballot with 98.6% of those members voting, agreeing to hold an election and that election was authorised and conducted by the Union’s National Executive Committee.
The hearing was adjourned after the Judges ruled that several points needed attention before a decision on the application could be made.
Counsel for Mr Reamsbottom attempted at the eleventh hour to add or substitute what they called a further individual to the application to the Appeal. In Court, Counsel for Mr Reamsbottom advised that Mr John McGowan, one of the Unions Vice Presidents (from the Unions Executive & Allied Grades constituency), was prepared to appeal against the election either in place of Mr Reamsbottom or with him.
The Judges ruled that Mr McGowan would need to make an application and that this needed to be investigated and considered. They further ruled that PCS should be served with the application(s) and be invited to respond.
Counsel for Mr Reamsbottom also announced that they would also be applying to the Court of Appeal for PCS to pay their legal costs.
PCS’s lawyers have been asked for advice as to how the PCS should respond in order to protect the interests of PCS, its members, our union democracy and our processes.
The National Executive Committee was due to meet on 15-17 October. Further information will be issued from HQ as it becomes available. The President and General Secretary have stated they will ensure that this latest turn of events will not divert PCS from pursuing the members agenda and the policies determined by Delegate Conference 2002.