#PCS Protests at Home Office against Victimisation of Reps #supportJonBigger

English: The Home Office, Marsham Street, Westminster, London SW1 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

On Wednesday, April 10 PCS organised a demonstration outside Home Office headquarters building on Marsham Street to protest at the way PCS reps are being victimised. This was planned to coincide with the appeal hearing against a redundancy notice issued to Jon Bigger one of our local branch representatives and former branch secretary.

Just days previously management postponed the appeal hearing but the demonstration went ahead as planned. Jon’s appeal will now be heard on Tuesday, April 16 and we will forward details of our plans to mark this event in the near future.

The demonstration was well attended and the sun came out which was a great help. Branch chair and assistant group secretary Paul McGoay introduced a number of speakers at the event including Andy Jennings (group president), Joel Hirsch (former branch secretary), Bernard Regan (chair of the SERTUC International Committee), and Jon himself.  We were also visited by senior officials from the TUC in the south-east.

A victimised rep from London Metropolitan University, Max Watson, spoke passionately about his fight against the discrimination he faces along with his colleagues Steve Jefferys and Jawad Botmah. This along with the speech by group president Andy Jennings was a useful reminder that union busting is alive and well not just in Jon’s case but across the Home Office and beyond.

The Home Office will be surprised by the amount of people that attended from such a diverse range of areas.  He was especially pleased to see some members come out to join the protest. Jon has worked extensively in the trade union movement over the last few years and has held positions at the TUC where he’s done a great deal of work to combine local issues with those of an international nature. He is also on the PCS regional committee for London and there was a great presence from PCS HQ who provided the logistics for the event.

The campaign for Jon’s reinstatement will continue and the next stage will be Tuesday. The Home Office is now acutely aware of the damage their decisions have done. The handing of a redundancy notice to Jon is unjust at a time when they are hiring people at his grade. Support the campaign and help PCS end of the victimisation of its activists in the Department.