Received from: PCS
Congress notes the appointment of a new Labour prime minister, Andy Burnham. This change in leader means nothing unless there is a change in direction that meets the needs of workers and working-class communities, still caught in the cost-of-living crisis.
Congress calls on Burnham’s Labour government to launch sustained public investment, to jump-start economic growth. The UK is 80 per cent-plus a service sector economy, which relies to a large extent on consumer demand to deliver growth.
Congress endorses the research commissioned by the Public and Commercial Services Union which confirms that increasing public sector pay, especially for lower paid workers, acts as an engine of growth and more than pays for itself through:
i. higher income tax receipts and NI contributions
ii. increased consumption raising tax receipts
iii. spillover into the private sector, boosting sales and potentially wages
iv. reduced reliance on universal credit to subsidise poverty wages or help with housing costs.
Congress applauds the rejection by PCS, by NEU, and by local government unions, of the attempts to restrain public sector pay rises to around 3.5 per cent.
Congress calls on the new prime minister to reopen talks on public sector pay for 2026/27 to protect workers from the cost-of-living crisis.
Congress agrees to urgently call a national Saturday demonstration this autumn for investment in public services, against austerity and for pro-worker policies.
Congress urges all public sector unions to join a united campaign on pay, and, if needed, to plan for coordinated industrial action to secure real gains for workers.
Public and Commercial Services Union