Green jobs and high pay commission
Government should do more to create green jobs
PCS delegate Adam Khalif spoke to composite motion C7 – climate change - which called for more action from the government to promote low carbon energy. Adam highlighted the work PCS has been doing to combat climate change, particularly in support of the motion’s aim to create one million green jobs.
PCS are encouraging activism amongst our members around green issues
He said: “PCS are encouraging activism amongst our members around green issues encouraging our bargaining groups to appoint green lead reps in order to identify good and bad progress, monitor progress and develop a network of green reps.”
He went on to say that PCS has worked with other unions, a range of academics and NGO’s to expand the ‘One Million Climate Jobs’ pamphlet which is being launched next month. He said that it shows how creating a million climate jobs is both technically feasible and affordable and argues for public investment in renewable energy that exploits the natural wind and wave resources of the UK.
The motion was carried unanimously.
TUC should create shadow high pay commission
Motion 27 – high pay commission - called for congress to set up a shadow ‘High Pay Commission’ that would expand on the work being done by the coalition government’s commission that only looks at high pay in the public sector.
Speaking to the motion, PCS delegate Dee Luxford said that ideally the commission would look at the whole of the earnings distribution and not just the top and diagnose why the middle and the bottom fall so far behind. She stated that 63% of civil servants earn less than £25,000 per year.
Dee warned that the unions cannot just sit back and watch the high pay commission and that we must expand on its work. “If they are not prepared to look at the economy as a whole,” she said, “then we must do it for them.”
The motion was passed unanimously.
PCS tax justice argument persuasive according to Bank of England governor
Guest speaker Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England addressed congress and took questions from delegates. Janice Godrich, PCS president, posed a question about closing the loopholes that allow tax avoidance and whether we should increase rather than cut HMRC staff to tackle the tax gap.
Mervyn King responded by saying, “It would be wrong for him to comment on tax policy,” but adding, “I hear your points and they sound persuasive.”
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