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!
ROUND AND ABOUT
by Judas Iscariot - October 2001
Now is the winter of our discontent but you wouldn't believe it given the almost total lack of national publicity for the three major disputes now going on. The Pathfinder strikes have caused barely a ripple outside BA and ES. Hardly anyone even in the union knows about the DEFRA action - a one-day strike on 20th August followed by a work-to-rule and further strikes in the pipeline. And the Revenue's grief has been reduced to farce by the ludicrous high-caste proposals for protests which do not go beyond letter-writing campaigns, wearing black and shaking hands with all your "colleagues" when you knock off.
This news black-out isn't due to Bin Laden - the London Evening Standard devoted a whole page to slag off the Tube unions for threatening to strike over pay while the nation stands on the brink of the biggest crisis since the Great Flood etc, etc - but more to the in-fighting in Falconcrest's corridors of power. And it revolves around the Pathfinder struggle.
Though both right-wing blocs instinctively are averse to any form of industrial action their response to this one has left them once again at loggerheads. The Moderati rely almost exclusively on the votes of the low-caste former CPSA membership. They know that they have to show willing. RAMSBLADDER, ABRAMS and Blobby CURRIE have shown their face on the picket lines to prove it. But ME FIRST is in difficulties. Most of the high-castes outside the relevant areas are either indifferent to the question of screens or actually support the Government's proposals. At the last NEC the UNDYMEN kept quiet leaving all the running to the MODS and LUNITY.
There are a lot of UNDERLINGS in PCS HQ including a bevy of "secret" Unity stooges who follow the Me Fist line. This may account for the apparent incompetence at Falconcrest in dealing with Pathfinder strike pay: nearly 200 (very angry - ask the poor bloody Strike Centre volunteers who dealt with the flood of callers) strikers didn't get their pay on time because the schedules had been filed away before they were input on the finance computer. A striker had to hold a cash float of over £2000 over the weekend to make emergency payments. Falconcrest has now instituted a 10% test check - nothing like shutting the stable door.....
SERWOTKA, who used to work in BA, must have more than a sneaking suspicion that the high-castes would love to see him discredited amongst his own core-constituency through failure. MAREK, of course, has been doing his bit, backing the strikers to the hilt. But LUNITY is in danger of falling into a right-wing trap.
ME FIRST and the Moderati are united in their support for the Blair government. Most of them are Blairites and believe TONY'S twaddle as Gospel. Some of them hope that continuous crawling will lead to more promotions and gongs. After all it works for all the other snouts in the trough. They also don't like the expenditure on strike pay - which as far as they're concerned is always better spent on their modest salaries and expenses. They'll jump at the slightest shift from Management, claim it's a major concession and try to sell it to the membership. Or maybe not…
BARRY is going round talking about balloting for a national stoppage. Not cos he wants one but because the Moderati calculate that the vote will be lost. Unfortunately LUNITY is also clamouring for mass action - as they would - regardless of the fact that it is totally unrealistic at this time. Either way the result could be the same…
In the seedy bars and cafes around Clapham Junction the power brokers have been slinking off to concentrate on more important matters of state. A phantom power-struggle is starting in Me First following the news that NOSFERUNDY is moving to the greener grass of the Strategic Rail Authority. He's gonna have to spend some time acquainting himself with his new job which means he'll have little time to plot and scheme. This will give PRIESTLEY and BOWMAN a free hand providing there's no real trouble in Revenue. And where is the delightful Sarah Jones?
STUART CURRIE is trying to change his profile from FAT to HIGH now that he's the leader of the National Moderate Group, though all this has consisted of has been to puff himself up on the boring Moderati website he runs.
In the LUNITY camp everything starts and ends with a list and here's what the Caucus is thinking for your interest and entertainment: This years nominations are:
LUNITY National Committee
Chair: Rod Bacon
Vice-chair: Val Pearman
Sec: Charlie McDonald
Ass Sec: John Moloney
Org: Lorraine Harding
Editor: Martin John
NEC Admin
VP: Rod Bacon
NEC
Rod Bacon
Keith Crane
Emmet Girvan O'Brien
Neil Harrison
Jackie Lederer
John Moloney
Val Pearman
Paula Walsh
NEC Exec
Sue Bond
Chris Ford
Chris Hickey
Martin John
Charlie McDonald
Paul Williams
Revenue NEC
Anna Owens
Support Grades NEC
Sevi Yesildalli
Youth TUC
Richard Ginn
I told you it was funny!