"I understand the hon. Gentleman’s point, but may I make this point in return? If the February deal was unacceptable to one trade union in the negotiations, it strikes me as logical that that deal would have to be significantly improved in order to make it acceptable to the PCS. …..." Michael McCann - View Speech
"One of my final points is that the February deal should be put back on the table. That is the simple fact of the matter. That deal represents the best opportunity to reach an agreement, as the shadow Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Dulwich and West Norwood …..." Michael McCann - View Speech
"The hon. Lady should forgive my accent; she probably did not catch it, but I said 20 years’ service. That should clear it up. My example was a 42-year-old civil servant who had worked for 20 years. Is that okay?..." Michael McCann - View Speech
"The numbers are okay. Forgive me; I was not trying to suggest that we introduced new legislation in Scotland under which people started work earlier. My point is that the lowest-paid are still paying the biggest price. That is unfair, and I hope that Government Members will take that on …..." Michael McCann - View Speech
"The simple fact of the matter is that I can pluck any statistic out of the air that will disprove that. When I was a negotiator, I used the retail prices index, RPIX, the consumer prices index—whichever best backed up my claims on behalf of my members. That is the …..." Michael McCann - View Speech
"I shall defer to my hon. Friend’s greater knowledge of these matters and get back to the point that I was trying to make.
Public sector workers take poorer salaries in return for more reasonable terms and conditions. When things go pear-shaped, they expect reasonable protection. Things have gone pear-shaped …..." Michael McCann - View Speech
"I always tend to go with the majority; that is the democratic thing to do. When five out of six trade unions accept a deal, that tells us something. I would have taken the view that the majority position should have won through...." Michael McCann - View Speech
"My hon. Friend is correct that 70% of those covered by the negotiations were PCS members, but we should bear in mind that 150,000, or 50%, of them would have been protected by the Labour Government’s proposals. It is also dangerous to go down the line of citing figures from …..." Michael McCann - View Speech
"With the greatest respect, I do not think that people should worry about numbers—we need to go to the meat of the debate, which is about protecting low-paid civil servants who would be disproportionately affected by the proposals.
"I am delighted that you have called me to speak in this debate, Mr Deputy Speaker, given that I sent a copy of my contribution away to my local newspaper earlier today saying how magnificent it would be. I was getting a bit concerned that I was not going to …..." Michael McCann - View Speech