Mark Serwotka

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

Early life

Born into a Catholic orphanage in Cardiff, Wales, he was adopted by a Polish British father and a Welsh mother.

Career

Aged sixteen, he joined the Civil Service, and started work as a benefits clerk, joining the union on the first day.

Election as General Secretary

Serwotka became a union representative in 1980, and became a personal case officer in 1995.^[1]

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.^[2] 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.^[3] 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.^[4] The dispute was taken to the High Court where Serwotka won and subsequently assumed office.^[5] In December 2009, Serwotka was re-elected for a five-year term, gaining 37,866 votes against Rob Bryson's 21,883.^[6]

In 2010 he received £88,675 in salary as well as £26,159 in pensions contributions and a £474 additional housing cost allowance.^[7] In 2011, pay for Serwotka and other senior PCS officials was frozen.

Political views

Serwotka was a member of Socialist Organiser in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He was later a supporter of the Socialist Alliance and then Respect.^[8]

Personal life

Married, Serwotka is an avid Cardiff City fan and lives in Chipstead, Surrey. ^[9]

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.^[10]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Mark Serwotka". Debretts. http://www.debretts.com/people/biographies/browse/s/22492/Mark%20Henryk+SERWOTKA.aspx. Retrieved 2011-03-31. 
2. ^ http://www.labournet.net/ukunion/0207/pcs6.html
3. ^ Foot, Paul (29 May 2002). "Hard to say goodbye". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2002/may/29/politicalcolumnists.comment. 
4. ^ Maguire, Kevin (24 May 2002). "Union leader refuses to quit". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2002/may/24/politics.tradeunions. 
5. ^ "Left-winger wins union court battle". BBC News. 31 July 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2164504.stm. 
6. ^ "Mark Serwotka re-elected". PCS News centre. 17 December 2009. http://www.pcs.org.uk/en/news_and_events/news_centre/index.cfm/id/B3BEC3CB-AEBB-4FA3-90C68F8D5DC28DC8. Retrieved 2011-03-31. 
7. ^ http://www.certoffice.org/CertificationOfficer/media/DocumentLibrary/PDFs/753T_2010.pdf
8. ^ "Key players in the union movement". BBC News. 5 September 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4197262.stm. 
9. ^ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2008198/26-159-paid-strike-leaders-pension-pot-year--22-850-average-pay-members.html
10. ^ 'The church that Pope Benedict will find in Britain', Stephen Bates, The Guardian, Tuesday 14 September 2010 http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2010/sep/14/religion-catholicism

External links

Organized labour portal

• PCS Press release on the court case
• Godrich and Serwotka versus Public and Commercial Services Union and Reamsbottom
• Labournet on the dispute
• Article from the New Statesman
• Mark Serwotka on HARDtalk (Video) - Part 1 18.08.2008
• Mark Serwotka on HARDtalk (Video) - Part 2 18.08.2008
• BBC Radio 4: Profile: Mark Serwotka (podcast mp3 file)

Political offices
Preceded by Barry Reamsbottom	General Secretary of the PCS 2002 - present	Succeeded by incumbent

Persondata
Name	Serwotka, Mark
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	26 April 1963
Place of birth	Cardiff, Wales
Date of death
Place of death