Mark Serwotka

Serwotka in 2008

Mark Serwotka (/ˈsɛərvoʊtkə/; born 26 April 1963)[1] is General Secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), the largest trade union representing British civil servants.

Early life

Serwotka was adopted from a Catholic orphanage in Cardiff, Wales by a Polish-born British father and a Welsh mother.[2]

Career

In 1979, aged sixteen, he joined the Civil Service, and started work as a benefits clerk, joining the union on the first day at work.[3]

Election as general secretary

Serwotka became a union representative in 1980 and a personal case officer in 1995.[4]

In the 2000 election that saw Serwotka elected General Secretary, he initially faced two rival candidates: Hugh Lanning of the Membership First faction and the incumbent Barry Reamsbottom of the National Moderate Group.[5] However, Reamsbottom did not secure the fifty branch nominations needed to appear on the ballot paper. Serwotka then beat Lanning with 41,000 to 33,000 votes.[6]

Following Serwotka's election, Reamsbottom refused to step down when his term of office expired, citing what he claimed were legal irregularities in the election process.[7] The dispute was taken to the High Court where Serwotka won and subsequently assumed office.[8][9]

In 2005, Serwotka was elected unopposed for another term as General Secretary; no other candidates were allowed to stand as he was the only candidate with the required 25 branch nominations. In 2009, Serwotka was re-elected for a five-year term, gaining 37,866 votes against Rob Bryson's 21,883.[10] In 2014, he was elected unopposed for a fourth five-year term.[11]

In the 2000 General Secretary election, Serwotka pledged that if elected he would only accept the equivalent of an average civil servant's wage. Serwotka returns around £8,000 of his annual salary to the union.[2] In 2011, his total package was worth £126,258 including pension contributions of £27,860.[12]

Political views

Serwotka was a member of Socialist Organiser in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He caused controversy during a speech at the 1985 Annual Conference of the Civil and Public Services Association when he described part-time workers, many of whom were trade union members, as "Scab Labour". He was later a supporter of the Socialist Alliance and then Respect.[13]

In February 2013, Serwotka was among those who gave their support to the People's Assembly in a letter published by The Guardian newspaper.[14] Serwotka attempted to vote in the 2015 Labour Leadership Election, but was among those who had their vote rejected by the party.[15]

In March 2016, Serwotka rejoined the Labour Party after being expelled from it over 25 years earlier.[16] He wrote in The Huffington Post: "Jeremy [Corbyn] is the first Labour leader in a generation who unequivocally supports the unions and his opposition to the trade union bill has been crucial." He added "I have joined to support Jeremy in transforming the party. And I want as many people as possible to join Labour, and to get involved in the fight against cuts where they live. This is our chance to build a social movement and form a government that can offer hope to the millions of people that deserve so much better than these contemptible Tories."[17]

Personal life

Married, Serwotka is an avid Cardiff City fan and lives in Chipstead, Surrey.[18]

Ahead of a visit by Pope Benedict XVI in September 2010, Serwotka was named as one of the hundred most influential Catholics in Britain by The Tablet.[19]

In 2013 he was fitted with a battery-powered ventricular assist device after picking up a viral infection from the family dog.[20] He was readmitted to hospital on 30 August 2016, when the ventricular assist device developed a clot and his doctors then placed him on the urgent transplant list. In December 2016 he had a heart transplant at Papworth Hospital.[21]

References

  1. ↑ "Birthday's today". London: The Telegraph. 26 April 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2014. Mr Mark.H.Serwotka, General Secretary, Public and Commercial Services Union, 49
  2. 1 2 "Union boss Mark Serwotka hits out at 'fat cat' claims over £86,000 salary". Wales Online. 24 July 2011.
  3. ↑ Andy Bloxham (28 Jan 2011). "Union talks: the key players". The Telegraph. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  4. ↑ "Mark Serwotka". Debretts. Archived from the original on 30 August 2012. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
  5. ↑ Osler, David (18 July 2002). "PCS Conspiracy Flashback: TUCETU, IRIS, and TRUEMID".
  6. ↑ Foot, Paul (29 May 2002). "Hard to say goodbye". The Guardian. London, UK.
  7. ↑ Maguire, Kevin (24 May 2002). "Union leader refuses to quit". The Guardian. London, UK.
  8. ↑ "Left-winger wins union court battle". BBC News. 31 July 2002.
  9. ↑ "Case No: HC 02CO1433 Neutral Citation Number: [2002] EWHC 1642 Ch In the High Court of Justice Chancery Division". 31 July 2002. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  10. ↑ "Mark Serwotka re-elected". PCS News centre. 17 December 2009. Archived from the original on 14 January 2010. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
  11. ↑ "Mark Serwotka re-elected unopposed". PCS News centre. 23 October 2014. Archived from the original on 25 November 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  12. ↑ "Annual Return for a Trade Union" (PDF). Certification Officer. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 October 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
  13. ↑ "Key players in the union movement". BBC News. 5 September 2007.
  14. ↑ People's Assembly opening letter https://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/feb/05/people-assembly-against-austerity 5 February 2013, The Guardian Newspaper.
  15. ↑ "Labour leadership: Mark Serwotka of PCS union has vote rejected". BBC News. 26 August 2015.
  16. ↑ Waugh, Paul (2 March 2016). "Jeremy Corbyn Allies Mark Serwotka And Matt Wrack Have Been Readmitted To The Labour Party, HuffPostUK Reveals". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  17. ↑ Serwotka, Mark (2 March 2016). "I Have Rejoined Labour to Support Jeremy Corbyn". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  18. ↑ Owen, Glen (26 June 2011). "Strike leader has £26,159 paid into his pension pot every year (the average salary of his members is £22,850)". Daily Mail. London, UK.
  19. ↑ Bates, Stephen (14 September 2010). "The church that Pope Benedict will find in Britain". The Guardian. London.
  20. ↑ Maguire, Kevin (4 April 2016). "Union leader who's kept alive by BATTERIES backs campaign for opt-out organ donor register". Daily Mirror.
  21. ↑ "Mark Serwotka has successful heart transplant". PCS Public and Commercial Services Union. Archived from the original on 11 December 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
Trade union offices
Preceded by
Barry Reamsbottom		 General Secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union
2002 – present		 Succeeded by
incumbent
Preceded by
Sally Hunt		 President of the Trades Union Congress
2018–2019		 Succeeded by
Incumbent

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