As a PCS Union member, we are reaching out to ask for your support and my Union as my fellow members take strike action across Whitehall. This is combined with the appalling service from the Government Property Agency (GPA), which is implicated in these strikes going ahead.

Outsourcing in government has created a two-tier workforce in the Civil Service. Essential workers in cleaning and security roles are trapped in low-paid, precarious jobs with no sick pay, bare-minimum maternity leave, and no path to improvement.

Our Union has drafted a deal, but Cabinet Office and the Government Property Agency are dragging their heels on agreeing it. Why? Claims that the government is not the employer are clearly disingenuous when labour costs are borne by the government and governed by them. The government seems content to keep their workers on low pay with, in many cases, no sick pay, maternity pay or paid holidays above the absolute legal minimum. Why? How do the government’s actions not undermine the supposed commitment to Make Work Pay and the Secretary of State for Business’ Employment Rights Bill?  

We are striking not just for ourselves, but for the future of public service. The Labour Party has pledged to end the era of outsourcing. Now is the time to make that promise real — starting with our fight.

Labour's manifesto said the government would implement ‘Labour’s Plan to Make Work Pay’ in full. It committed in that plan to “learn the lessons from the collapse of Carillion and bring about the biggest wave of insourcing of public services in a generation”. I believe now is the time to turn that commitment into a reality and take this small step towards reversing the scourge of outsourcing. 

But we can’t do it alone. That’s why we’re asking you to contribute to the PCS Union strike fund. Every pound helps our members stand strong and send a clear message: public service workers deserve fair pay, respect, and proper conditions.

It’s time to end the false economies of outsourcing. It’s time to dismantle broken systems like the GPA, which waste time and obstruct solutions. And it’s time for all workers in government — whether civil servants or contracted staff — to be treated fairly.

Please donate to the PCS strike fund today. Stand with us as we stand up for justice