MICHAEL DEMPSEY - Cranfield University

CPSA, a relatively modern, and under-occupied, office building
immediately next to Clapham Junction station. The IRSF building was
retained as a Learning Resource Centre but the ex-NUCPS buildings
are being or have been sold.
6.4. Whilst the research was being conducted, there was a high level of
tension around the relationship between the Joint General Secretaries,
John Sheldon, and Barry Reamsbottom. It had been anticipated that
the latter would become General Secretary on the former’s retirement
but rules were changed and an election was ordered. Barry
Reamsbottom (who was not prepared to be interviewed) took early
retirement but subsequently challenged this by legal action. He lost
this. Mark Serwotka became General Secretary in 2002, but it was not
logistically possible to interview him.
6.5. PCS has declared membership of 281,923 in the current year of which
just under 60% are female. It has seven Regions in which paid staff are
situated, but the regional structure (except in Scotland and to some
extent in Wales) does not function as a component of the union’s
democratic structure. Some of the offices (for example Leeds) exist
because there are major employers, in the form of Government
Agencies, in that location with which the union negotiates.
6.6. The civil service unions have agreements that, in general, they will not
compete with each other for each other’s members. So there remains
within this area a form of stratification in membership. Growth,
therefore, must lie either in attracting more members within the public
services where members continue to be employed or else within the
private companies, such as EDS, which have taken over substantial
areas of the public service and where substantial concentrations of
former civil servants continue to be employed, many of whom have
continued their union membership; or else by merger. The major areas
of non-membership in the civil service are in ex-CPSA grades and in
certain departments such as the Ministry of Defence.
6.7. Interviewees:
Access was agreed very early but there were many hiatuses which
meant that it was impossible to follow it up in practice. Eventually,
access to some internal meetings was achieved and a list of possible
interviewees was formulated including as many as possible of the very
senior managers and what was, in effect, a random selection of Senior
National Officers and regional staff; save that I tried to ensure that
there were managers from each of the partner unions and as many
women as seemed possible.
Interviewees were:-
Veronica Bayne, Senior National Officer (ex CPSA)
Pat Campbell, Equalities Officer (ex PTC)
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