17 October 2018

The government acted illegally by withdrawing check-off for members of the PCS union, the High Court has ruled in a landmark victory for the labour movement.

In 2015, Francis Maude - who at the time was a Tory frontbencher - banned union members in the Department for Work and Pensions from having their union dues taken straight out of their pay packet, the preferred method of payment for decades and the source of 90% of the union’s income.

PCS took the case to the High Court, which yesterday (16 October 2018) ruled that the government acted illegally and ordered it to pay £3 million in compensation to the union as well as covering all of its legal costs.

General Secretary of PCS, Mark Serwotka, promised to take the fight to other government departments that have taken actions against the union.

”This goes to show that this union can win. We can win in the courts and we can win through campaigning,” he said.

Watch Mark Serwotka’s video message on the victory below: