Mark Serwotka to retire as PCS General Secretary

Mark has been the general secretary of PCS since 2000, and was re-elected in 2005, 2009, 2014 and 2019. He has been a member of the TUC General Council since 2002 and its Executive Committee since 2003. He was President of the TUC in 2019.

Mark Serwotka said: “It’s been an honour and a privilege to serve as PCS general secretary for 23 years. I have endeavoured to represent PCS members to the best of my ability and to fight for their interests. We have led the way within the trade union movement on challenging the political consensus that working people must accept cuts in their jobs, pay and public services.

“Today PCS is in the best place it has been for many years. We have withstood attacks on our union from Conservative governments and we are now growing. We are winning historically high votes in industrial action ballots which beat the Tory ballot threshold and we have developed an effective industrial action strategy for the future. We have young members coming forward to become a new layer of activists. Our financial position is the best it has been in years.

“People will be aware that I have had serious health issues resulting in a heart transplant in 2016. Such issues need to be considered in making decisions about the future. Taking into account what is right for myself, my family and the union, I have decided that now is the time to announce my retirement.”

A timetable for the election of a new General Secretary will follow in due course.