Members of one of Scotland’s biggest unions have voted against taking sides in the Scottish independence referendum.
There had been speculation that members of the Public and Commercial Services union would back the Yes campaign vote in September’s vote. But instead they voted overwhelmingly in favour of the advice from their leadership to take a neutral stance.
The union represents about 30,000 civil servants in Scotland.
Delegates from the PCS debated and voted on the issue at its conference in Glasgow following a consultation process in which branches from workplaces around Scotland were asked for their views on independence. They voted on three propositions linked to the result of September’s referendum backing a Yes vote, supporting a “No” vote or taking a neutral position.
The neutral option was backed by 18,025 votes, with 5,775 votes in favour of supporting independence. No votes were cast in favour of backing a No vote in the referendum, which will be held on 18 September.
The union’s Scottish secretary Lynn Henderson had spoken in favour of taking a neutral position.
She said she was “proud that we have an outcome reached by widespread democratic consultation with our members”.
She added: “The referendum debate is frequently polarised in the media, and often sheds more heat than light. In reality ordinary working people want answers to their key concerns in this referendum.”
Janice Godrich, PCS national president, said: “Today we’ve seen PCS members present thoughtful, balanced arguments weighing up the pros and cons of the way forward for the union and its members. Today does not mean sitting on the fence. It means taking our arguments for an alternative to austerity, for properly resourced public services, for jobs, for fairness to all sides of the constitutional debate in the run up to the referendum and beyond.”
Members of the union’s East Kilbride Revenue and Customs branch had previously voted in favour of backing a Yes vote, as had the Glasgow Department for Work and Pensions branch.
Some other unions are backing the No campaign.
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