Members win praise for tax campaign

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PCS Comment

21 May 2012

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka has commended members in Revenue and Customs for their outstanding work over the years in raising the debate on tax evasion by high income earners.

Speaking at the Revenue and Customs group conference, Mark said the high profile campaigns to get people like Philip Green to pay tax could not have happened without their early work.

Talking about the £120 billion of tax that is dodged he pointed out how some elements of the media have twisted priorities. They focus on the £1 billion lost in benefit fraud and do not report the tens of billions lost in tax fraud.

“If the government was serious about tax avoidance they would not be cutting jobs in HMRC. This is why the group ballot is so important,” he said.

Congratulating everyone on the recent successful strike on 10 May, Mark said: “Following 30 November was never going to be easy. So many members from across the trade union movement had been involved and had showed what we were capable of as a unified voice. The 10 May strike demonstrated we were right to form an alliance with six other unions as the way forward for our members.”

This is why the forthcoming vote on Wednesday to continue to campaign jointly with as many unions as possible is hugely important.

Mark reaffirmed the importance of political campaigning, saying that members will soon be balloted on whether to support election candidates who back anti-austerity measures. He added that we need to continue the fight against austerity and for the alternative of investment and growth.

Mark also took the opportunity to pay tribute to former group president for Revenue and Customs, Dave Bean who is retiring this year. He described Dave as a “dedicated activist who was devoted to obtaining improvements for members.”

Read more about our work in Revenue and Customs

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