MyCSP's plans 'poll'-axed

MyCSP’s plan must have seemed so easy when they first dreamed-it up:

‘Let’s organise a ‘poll’ asking the staff whether or not they want their union to be recognised; and organise it using work contact addresses; making sure the union can’t talk directly to voters about the benefits of recognition; and that striking workers won’t be directly involved in the vote. That way, we’ll be guaranteed a majority voting against union recognition and we can say to PCS ‘you should abide by the popular will of the masses.’

Oh dear. To virtually no fanfare whatsoever, MyCSP have now announced that 41.9% are in favour of having the union recognised, with only 28.6% voting against recognition. 29.5% of staff didn’t express a view one way or another.

You would think that MyCSP would look at that 28.6% figure, throw their hands up and say ‘It’s a fair cop guv – hardly anyone doesn’t want a union’ and start talking to PCS about immediate involvement in the TUPE talks.

Alas not. In their publication of the result to staff, they’re more or less saying ‘if you add-up the number of staff opposed to recognition, and the number of staff who didn’t vote at all, you get a majority against recognition’.

Incredible. You could of course, just as easily say ‘if you add-up the number of staff in favour of recognition, and the number of staff who didn’t vote at all, you get a thumping majority of just shy of 3:1 in favour’  but we guess that doesn’t fit with management’s long-standing narrative, that hardly anyone working for MyCSP wants a union.

So months into the industrial action, and against a backdrop of excuse after excuse regarding why MyCSP won’t recognise PCS; with a clear majority of opinion being expressed in favour of recognition, and following a ‘poll’ that management – not PCS – organised, the only commitment the Chief Executive will give is ‘This will now strongly inform how we proceed with further union engagement from here and form part of my discussions with the MyCSP Board’.

And all the time, the clock is ticking; with TUPE talks carrying-on with no independent trade union involvement, and the contract ending in just over two months from now.

Given the vote in their own plebiscite, we genuinely hope that MyCSP will now bring their long-running drama to a close. Back in July we sent a simplified 2-page agreement that would cover the union’s involvement in the TUPE talks and recognition to the end of the contract. Two signatures on that agreement – one from them and one from us – and the dispute is effectively over.

The ball is where it always has been, in their court.