The ballot has started. Vote yes, yes.

This is the first time PCS has balloted electronically for industrial action and over 90% of members will get a voting link sent to their personal email address. So make sure you let your members know in advance, as they may not recognise the email. Tell them it comes from the independent scrutineer, Civica, and the subject line is “Important: PCS – industrial action ballot voting instructions.” Tell people to check their junk folder if they do not see the email by 21 October.

A message from the President. Vote Yes and Yes. pcspresidentbevlaidlaw.subst…

The urgent fight to defend trans and non-binary workers: pcsindependentleft.com/2026/…

Over 50% turnout in every vote: how we win this ballot: pcsindependentleft.com/2026/…

Your phone is your ballot box For the first time, PCS is balloting its members electronically. For most of us, that changes everything. The voting email should arrive on 20 October. Open it on your phone or another vote and vote in minutes: on the bus, on your lunch break, on the sofa. No envelope, no post box, no stamp. And you can vote any time until the ballot closes at noon on 1 December. Vote YES, YES

We need to come together in the UK civil service ballot to fight for our headline demand of a 10% pay remit, fully funded by Treasury. Also for a route to restore the pay of members which has been lost since 2010. Since that year real pay has been eroded through pay freezes, 1% pay rises and other below-inflation pay rises. So we want pay restoration in other words. The first step towards that is to vote YES, YES in the ballot.

Regarding democracy, a national fight is precisely what Annual Delegate Conference 2026 ordered – to commence before the end of September. Has everything gone as the NEC would wish, in the period from May 2026 until now? Absolutely not. Nevertheless, the winter is bringing a further escalation of the cost-of-living crisis – this week’s pain is diesel fuel above £2 per litre; other cost rises that impact our members and which outstrip the headline rate of inflation can easily be cited. We must act to defend members. Vote YES, YES in the ballot.

Whilst the Labour government is not the same as previous Tory ones (they are not launching attack after attack on us for a start), they are not sufficiently different that they are willing to negotiate over national pay rates, employment guarantees, among other demands. Only membership action will win the day.  So support the national campaign, support the fight for better pay, job security, sustainable workloads and improved terms and conditions!

IL are clear that the whole of PCS in the UK civil service needs to work together on this campaign, otherwise we cannot win. We cannot accept the breaking up of our collective power by excluding large groups for parochial reasons when there is a collective fight to be had. Without pressure from industrial action and action short of strike action then it is not possible just to negotiate ourselves to a good agreement with our employers.

On jobs, the union is demanding in the national UK civil service ballot, a job security agreement guaranteeing no compulsory redundancies, protection of home and hybrid working, an end to office closure programmes without union agreement, adequate staffing levels, investment in workplaces, and a collective agreement governing the introduction of AI to protect jobs and ensure staff share in productivity gains. Vote YES, YES in the ballot.

Today. At 19.00 Open Meeting: PCS Coalition for Change – Building to win a ballot for the national campaign on pay, jobs and terms & conditions: us02web.zoom.us/j/8355177917…

On pensions, PCS is calling for implementation of the recommendations of the Civil Service Pension Scheme Advisory Board, reversal of key pension changes introduced between 2010 and 2015, particularly increases in retirement age, and improvements to pension arrangements to address equality concerns and deliver better outcomes for all members. The union argues that pension provision should once again form part of a fair and sustainable employment package for civil servants. Vote YES, YES

Yes there is a pay element to the national ballot for the UK civil service but there is so much more. There are demands on terms and conditions and industrial relations. The Union is seeking a significant strengthening of workplace rights and collective bargaining. PCS is calling for an end to multi-tier workforces, a move to a four-day week with no loss of pay, increased annual leave, improved sick pay, a right to switch off, and national bargaining on key employment policies including hybrid working, flexible working and equality matters. Another reason to vote YES, YES in the upcoming ballot.

Open Meeting: PCS Coalition for Change – Building to win a ballot for the national campaign on pay, jobs and terms & conditions – 1/10/26 – 19:00:Joining link: us02web.zoom.us/j/8355177917…

It is important that the union moves away from reactive campaigns and starts to be proactive - one where you are not just fighting against attacks on pay erosion, job cuts or terms and conditions losses but are fighting for a solution the union wants to see that would be better for members. For example, collective agreements on job security and AI would be transformational so nobody suffers compulsory redundancy in the Civil Service, and AI is introduced in a way that universally enhances, rather than worsens, working conditions and job security.

Support the National Campaign on Pay, Jobs and Terms and Conditions: pcsindependentleft.com/2026/…

On pay, PCS is seeking a 10% pay remit funded outside departmental budgets, a minimum wage of £18 per hour, improved pay progression, a higher London weighting, restoration of pay lost against inflation since 2010, and a pay system that protects workers from future real-terms pay cuts. On jobs, the union is demanding a job security agreement guaranteeing no compulsory redundancies, protection of home and hybrid working, an end to office closure programmes without union agreement, adequate staffing levels, investment in workplaces, and a collective agreement governing the introduction of AI to protect jobs and ensure staff share in productivity gains. Both on their own, rate a vote of YES, YES in the upcoming ballot!

Vote Yes, Yes PCS will begin a ballot of virtually every member of the UK civil service on the 20th of October. Members will be asked two questions, one relating to strike action and the other action short of strike action. We are clear members should vote Yes to both questions. Over the week, we will set out the reasons for such votes. For now though, the key thing in your branch is to discuss preparing for the ballot, to tell members that for most of them they will be getting an electronic vote and to make the argument why we should vote YES, YES.

The government control pay in the UK civil service but refuse to talk to the union about pay levels across the civil service. They only allow pay talks for each sub part of the civil service. IL has argued for many years that the union must vigorously campaign for national pay bargaining. This type of bargaining, called sectoral bargaining is increasing being demanded by the TUC for all areas of the economy.