You are key to the mission for a modern state – General Secretary tells Public Service Conference

General Secretary Mike Clancy gave the keynote address at Prospect’s Public Services Sector Conference, the first to take place in person since 2019.

Mike Clancy addresses Prospect Public Services Conference

Highlighting the work that public service members do he said: “You are the regulators, the evidence gatherers” as well as the crucial staff delivering the digital transformation of public services.

Mike told delegates: “You are key to the mission for a modern state.”

He emphasised it would be crucial for the union to get this message over in the run up to the next general election, ‘evangelising’ for members’ work.

Regarding the ongoing industrial action in the Civil Service, he said: “how you are being treated is the worst in the public service”, telling members “what you are doing is having an effect” and that it was important to keep pressing the government through the action.

Reflecting on the state of the union, Mike told delegates that Prospect had built a growing and financially stable union which gave branches a strong platform to take on employers when needed.

Discussing the changes in representing members since the pandemic, with the union using digital technology where appropriate, Mike reminded delegates that this has technology had limits and not to forget that sometimes “we need to get in front of employers and look them in the eye.”

Talking about the wider political situation, the General Secretary highlighted the problems that are still being caused by the UK’s exit from the European Union. On the Retained EU Law Bill Mike said that “political dogma had crashed into reality” with the government having been forced to water down some aspects of the legislation.

Second class citizens on pay

Earlier in the day, Deputy General Secretary with responsibility for the public service sector Garry Graham praised the efforts of the sector to build for the ongoing industrial action that began in March. He said:

“We worked together, we recruited over 5,000 new members… in the statutory ballot we delivered remarkable results, 72% turnout, 80% voting for strike action and 92% voting for action short of a strike.”

He argued that the action was already having an impact on government policy towards the Civil Service. Garry told delegates: “We have been successful in blunting the attacks on head count reduction.

“Without taking the action we have taken, we would have been facing a tsunami of job cuts.

On the issue of pay he made clear that Prospect will not stand for civil servants being treated as second class citizens compared to the rest of the public sector.