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PCS National Pay Campaign

Myths and Reality

Government myth: Higher pay increases for public servants will cause inflation.

Reality: ‘An undergraduate who wrote in an essay that inflation was caused by public-sector pay rises would receive a fail’ – Andrew Oswald, Professor of Economics, Warwick University

Public sector pay rises ‘have nothing to do with inflation’ – Professor Stephen Nickell, Oxford University

Government myth: A 2 per cent rise is fair.

Reality: Basic living costs are rising fast. In the past year average food prices have risen by 12 per cent and mortgage costs by 11 per cent. Without a pay increase that reflects the real cost of living many public servants will see a fall in their living standards and struggle to pay their bills.

In 2004, the government announced 100,000 job cuts across the Civil Service as part of its ‘efficiency programme’. In response PCS launched a major campaign; our national demands are:

This page provides an overview of the campaing: please click on one of the links to find out more.

On this page:

> National Day of Action called for 10th November
> National Ballot - Members vote YES for ACTION on Pay
> National Ballot - 24 September to 17 October
> Ballot on Job Agreement Protocol
> March 2008 Update
> February 2008 Update
> 2007 Updates
> Background to the Campaign

National Day of Action called for 10th November

CLICK HERE TO SEE OUR FULL BRIEFING ON THE IMPORTANCE OF SUPPORTING THE STRIKE.

The national executive committee has agreed the first stages of a programme of national industrial action across civil and public services over the government's public sector pay cap. The union urged the government to come to the negotiating table to avoid damaging industrial action and review its public sector pay cap of 2%, which is resulting in pay cuts and pay freezes for some of the lowest paid in the public sector.

If there is no movement from the government then industrial action will begin with a one day UK civil service and public sector strike on 10th November 2008. The one day strike, which will be followed by an overtime ban throughout the civil service, comes as civil and public servants across the UK face mounting pressure on their finances as a result of the government’s public sector pay cap.

With one in five in the civil service earning less than £15,000 and thousands earning just above the minimum wage, the government’s policy of capping public sector pay has hit some of the lowest paid in the public sector the hardest.

The NEC also agreed outline plans for sustained and targeted industrial action that would stretch into next year in the different sectors of the civil service. The NEC will meet after the one day strike on 10 November to discuss dates for the sectoral action should there be no breakthrough with the government. All members of PCS are asked to support the ballot result and take action on November 10th to show your continued support for the aims of the campaign and to achieve fair pay for Civil Servants.

"There is a three week opportunity to avoid damaging industrial action, where the government can pay heed to the Bank of England’s warning on the economic consequences that the squeeze on wages is having." Mark Serwotka, PCS General Secretary.

National Ballot - Members vote YES for ACTION on Pay

17th Oct 2008 by Mark Serwotka and Janice Godrich

A majority of members voting in the national ballot have voted in favour of a programme of industrial action:

Question 1: strike action

Question 2: action short of a strike:

The turnout was 35%.

We have had a democratic ballot. All relevant members had the opportunity to vote. A clear majority of members who cast their vote, voted in favour of the action. The ballot result sends a clear message to the employer that members support their union’s policy and that we want:

With the ballot result, we will continue to press the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury to come to an agreement over our demands. As ever, PCS will do all it can to proceed by discussion and negotiation.

Next steps

The national executive committee will meet next week on 23 October to receive reports on responses from government to our demands and, in the continuing absence of a positive response, to decide on the timing of national strike action and to endorse plans for targeted sectoral action and national action short of a strike.

On behalf of the NEC we wish to thanks all reps for their hard work in achieving this ballot result. We must now go forward united and determined to secure a fair settlement for members.

National Ballot 24 September to 17 October

17th Sept 2008

The national executive committee has agreed that a national membership ballot in the civil service and related public sector areas on industrial action over pay will be held between 24 September and 17 October. This ballot will be for discontinuous strike action, and discontinuous action short of a strike.

See our full briefing on the pay campaign and the need for a strong YES vote.

Background

Since 2006, public servants have been facing a 2% limit on pay increases. This cuts members living standards. The retail price index hit 5% in July, and is predicted to go higher. Many members are already struggling to cope with low pay. More now face imposed three-year deals, which for those on the maximum for their grade mean no increase at all.

PCS annual delegate conference in May, in carrying motion EM1, agreed that if we were not able to protect the real value of members pay through negotiation, we would hold a national ballot of members in the civil service and related areas and take industrial action if necessary. As previously reported (BB/72/08), we have put to chief secretary of the treasury, Yvette Cooper, the urgent need to remove the unjust barrier to settlements above 2% and to fund pay progression costs separately, as with the rest of the public sector, so that civil and public service employers are able to negotiate with a level playing field.

Our claim

Meeting of the national executive

Despite allowing plenty of time for the Treasury to make a considered response to our proposals, it was reported to the September meeting of the NEC that no formal response has been received.

The NEC has therefore decided that we will proceed to ballot on a programme of industrial action. The ballot will be of members in the majority of our public sector areas, not just the civil service. The ballot commences on 24 September and runs to 17 October.

Campaign strategy

If members vote in favour, we will organise action including a national one day strike and targeted sectoral action taken by groups of members working in related areas on a rolling basis. This will involve weeks of action including strike days and action short of a strike such as an overtime ban. These will have the intention of causing the maximum disruption to employers in the different sectors.

Altogether the union will organise several weeks of campaigning action from November into the new year including media and parliamentary work which will highlight the value of our work. In total, we anticipate that each member involved would be expected to take up to three days of strike action during this period.

Action co-ordinated with other unions

Whilst these preparations are not in any way dependent on industrial developments in other unions, we have put a great deal of effort into securing co-ordination through the TUC, and we are confident that this will strengthen the union position.

There is an unanswerable case for public sector unity and PCS has consistently been in the lead in making it.

The NUT are planning further action during November and we will want to co-ordinate the timing of action with them if possible. Industrial action during this period is also being considered by Unite, UCU, Unison, NAPO and others and discussions with them continue.

Preparing for action - Information for Reps

Branches are therefore requested to organise further members’ meetings, and other face-to-face contact with members, in the weeks running up to the start of the ballot, and to distribute to members the campaign materials. All groups have been asked to meet urgently to ensure that these preparations are in place and that branches are fully supported in making them. Please do all that you can to talk to every member prior to the ballot.

Leaflets and posters have already been circulated and are available on the to download.

A further mailing will distribute further copies of materials to branches. Speech notes and a special campaign DVD will also be distributed. Bulk copies of all materials will be available in regional and group offices. For speakers from your group, contact the group office, or for NEC speakers, please contact the national president’s office: angela@pcs.org.uk Senior full time officers are also available to speak at members’ meetings.

Conclusion

We must now take forward a national dispute on pay. We will continue to engage with the employer on a negotiated settlement but we must also proceed to prepare for industrial action.

It is vital that we are not complacent and we work hard at all levels of the union to achieve a good turnout and ‘yes’ vote in the ballot and then organise effective industrial action. If we do that and we maintain a disciplined, united stand we can be successful.

Ballot on Job Agreement Protocol

1st Aug 2008

In March this year PCS reached an important national agreement with the Cabinet Office which provides our members in the civil service and related Non-Departmental Public Bodies with improved protection from compulsory redundancy. That agreement was endorsed by our Annual Delegate Conference in May. Conference agreed that our members should have the final say on the agreement.

See our full briefing on the protocol and the need for a strong YES vote.

Campaign Update - March 2008

by Mark Serwotka and Janice Godrich

We have reached a national agreement with the Cabinet Office which provides members in the civil service and related bodies with improved protection from compulsory redundancy. This significant stage in our national campaign builds on the success we previously achieved in protecting our pensions.

This Campaign Update outlines the agreement and other developments in our national campaign. Meetings are being arranged to update your representatives on the content of the agreement in order to ensure you are given the best possible protection in your workplace.

We hope you will find this update reassuring. Whilst this is good news, the vital issue of civil service and public sector pay remains unsettled. We now need the same unity, commitment and determination in our campaign for fair and equal pay.

Campaigning works – action gets results

The achievement of a national agreement on protection from compulsory redundancy shows that campaigning, and a willingness to take action when necessary, gets results. The agreement will be put to our Annual Delegate Conference in May for endorsement. Members will vote in a ballot later in the year.

In 2004, the government announced massive job cuts as part of its ‘efficiency programme’. In response we launched a major campaign including a national strike in November that year. As a result, a National Protocol was established whereby the Cabinet Office would try to seek alternatives to redundancy. This was not a formal agreement with the union though. It became apparent that although hard negotiating and campaigning prevented many compulsory redundancies, the Protocol needed strengthening as a national agreement.

We engaged in talks with Ministers and Officials but towards the end of 2006 it became apparent that the employer was not engaging seriously in these talks. In order to put pressure on the employer, we held a national ballot on industrial action during January 2007. Members voted overwhelmingly in favour. Successful national stoppages on 31 January and 1 May were accompanied by overtime bans and political pressure through our Parliamentary groups and the Make Your Vote Count campaign.

At the same time we also conducted the biggest consultation the union had ever seen, with every member having an opportunity to attend a meeting with a national speaker. Another consultative ballot in October showed members’ continuing support for the dispute, but before further national industrial action was called PCS was offered, for the first time, national negotiations with the Cabinet Office on all the issues above.

What the agreement means for you

We now have a formal agreement with the Cabinet Office which sets out in detail the steps that departments will have to take when there is a risk of redundancy. Unions will have a clear right to be informed and consulted throughout the process. These steps should ensure that any member who is declared to be surplus but wishes to continue to work in the Civil Service or associated areas will be made an alternative job offer. Those under threat of losing their jobs in one department will take priority in applying for vacancies in other departments.

The agreement is not an absolute guarantee of job security. But it will provide strong protection from compulsory redundancy. PCS remains opposed to any compulsory redundancies and the national executive committee has restated its intention to reconvene and decide on further industrial action should any compulsory redundancy notices be issued.

Privatisation and outsourcing

PCS remains implacably opposed to privatisation and other forms of out-sourcing. We have made clear to the employer our principled opposition to privatisation, whether to the private or “third” sector, and that we will continue to campaign and lobby against it. In the recent past we have had successes in the NHS Pensions Agency and Forensic Science Service.

Now, for the first time, we have national guidance on good practice for dealing with staff where their functions are being outsourced or privatised. Departments will have to consult with unions over outsourcing. They will have to take steps to avoid transferring staff to companies or charities only for them to be made redundant and justify any decision not to consider in-house bids. It has been agreed that this process will be overseen by the union and the Cabinet Office.

Where next?

We will need to continue to campaign for the union’s outstanding demands, including being prepared to take industrial action if necessary. Members’ willingness to take action and the union’s campaigning work has delivered major national agreements at a time when we face an unprecedented cuts and privatisation programme from the Government. We will need to continue to campaign for the union’s outstanding demands, including being prepared to take industrial action if necessary.

Pay

Our national campaign has resulted in the first national negotiations on pay for fifteen years. These talks are making steady progress on new civil service-wide pay arrangements – common pay rates for the same jobs in different departments – and establishing national terms and conditions such as hours and holidays. If successful, this would be a significant step forward in our campaign for a fair national pay system that sees an end to the huge pay gaps that exist across the civil service. Further information will be issued as soon as possible.

But these negotiations will not solve the problems of low pay settlements. These are being caused by the government public sector pay policy of a below-inflation 2% cap on settlements, when inflation is running at more than 4%. This is causing disputes across the public sector. This must now become the major focus of our national campaign. We have submitted a national pay claim for 2008 which makes a series of crucial demands including a minimum rate of £8 per hour (£17,539 p.a.) and an across the board increase of at least 6% in addition to any progression or increments. This is modest – it would only match expected inflation in 2008 and make up some of the ground lost in 2007. But it is necessary to protect our members from cuts in real pay. If we are to win this, it will require further efforts. We have proved that we can win better protections for our members in the face of massive job cuts. We successfully defended public sector pensions by preparing united action with other public sector unions. Both the teachers’ and further education lecturers’ unions plan to strike on 24th April over pay. We believe that this offers a chance to demonstrate widespread opposition to the public sector pay limit.

The national executive committee is calling on all PCS groups who have already balloted to take action over pay to do so on 24 April. But even if you are not yet formally in dispute over pay, try to attend a rally or demonstration in your area. 

Civil Service Compensation Scheme

We remain concerned that “reforms” to the Civil Service Compensation Scheme, which provides money for redundancy and early retirement payments, could reduce the current entitlements of existing members. PCS is ready to respond quickly to any threatened detriment to members’ interests.

What’s the real rate of inflation?

Most people take the Retail Price Index as the measure of inflation. This shows an increase in prices of 4.1% in the year to February 2008.

The Government, however, insists on using something called the Consumer Price Index when talking of pay increases. The CPI leaves out key costs such as mortgages, rents and council tax. Not surprisingly, it is always much lower – 2.5% at present. But the government increases state pensions and benefits by the RPI – not the CPI. Student loan interest is linked to the RPI. So too are bonds issued by the government to investors. But even the RPI does not show the everyday cost increase we face. Because it includes things which are falling like electronic goods, air fares and mobile phone costs, it can mask increases in necessities. Retailer ASDA recently published research showing that household costs were up by 4.9%.

Get involved in our campaign for fair pay increases!

PCS is campaigning for fair pay rises for all our members in the public sector. We are demanding basic increases of at least the rate of RPI inflation. We are coordinating action by our members and calling for joint campaigning by all unions in the public sector against the government’s pay policy. Write to or email your MP. Ask your local PCS rep how you can become more active in your branch.

Campaign Update - February 2008

by Mark Serwotka and Janice Godrich

Thanks to the hard campaigning and industrial action undertaken by PCS members during 2007, the Cabinet Office finally agreed to negotiate about our national campaign demands after many months of refusing to do so. Those talks began in November and have continued into January. The talks have been taking place in a number of distinct strands with a focus on the avoidance of compulsory redundancies, pay, ‘well-being at work’ and procedures to govern proposed privatisations.

On 18 December representatives of the civil service unions met with senior Cabinet Office officials to review progress across the strands and to identify areas and issues that require further work and discussion. Since then further meetings have taken place and are more are planned. The present position on the key issues is outlined below.

Avoiding redundancies: Talks on agreeing strengthened Protocols with the aim of avoiding compulsory redundancy for those who wish to continue their careers are taking place and are progressing well. The talks build on past Protocols which were largely successful in avoiding redundancies. We want any agreed new measures to apply to those already facing the threat of redundancy notices.

Pay and conditions: A Joint Task Team (JTT) involving representatives from PCS and the Cabinet Office has been established. The JTT will discuss issues related to achieving common pay rates and structures across the civil service and related bodies. We are also discussing the content and implementation of measures to standardise important aspects of employment conditions, such as annual and maternity leave.

National and Group Objectives: The key to the link between our national and group campaigning is this: the attacks on pay and other issues that our members face, while having a particular departmental character, all have a common source: the policy adopted by government ministers. If we are to equip our reps and negotiators to improve conditions in their departments and agencies, a framework of national agreements is needed. These will set a baseline below which no department or agency should fall. That is the key aim of our national campaign. Changing the government’s pay policy will require vigorous campaigning at a national level and joint action by as many public sector unions as possible. This is a strategy we are pressing for via the TUC and in our discussions with other unions.

Lobby of Parliament: As part of this national campaigning we will be organising a lobby of the Westminster parliament to take place on Tuesday 11 March. A pre-lobby meeting will take place in Committee Room 10 from 1:30 to 2:30. Speakers will include Mark Serwotka and John McDonnell MP, chair of our parliamentary group. We will be making arrangements to bring delegations of members from across the UK to the meeting and lobby. Further details will be available soon.

Well-being at work: This strand covers issues such as sickness absence, equality, working conditions and sustainability. A key issue for us is how sickness absence is being managed in many departments, and how this is impacting on the morale and well-being of staff. The talks will also consider civil service-wide issues such as the activities of racist organisations, equality monitoring and the impact of climate change and environmental sustainability on the organisation of work and service delivery.

Privatisation: As part of our national dispute we are demanding that all privatisation and outsourcing proposals should not proceed without full consultation with relevant unions and agreements to protect the workforce. Privatisation and outsourcing remain real threats. The government has made clear it sees a growing role for the private sector in the delivery of public services. For example, core frontline services in the DWP have recently been privatised and there are plans for yet more to be sold off to private corporations. Our current talks have continued already existing discussions between the Council of Civil Service Unions and the Cabinet Office. In a document submitted to the Cabinet Office last August we re-stated our concerns about the impact of privatisation and outsourcing on staff. In particular we made clear our opposition to situations where staff are TUPE transferred only then to be made redundant. We have made a number of positive suggestions about how our concerns could be tackled and are working to see if agreement with the Cabinet Office can be reached.

Further updates on the talks will be given when there are significant developments to report. In addition to further written reports, details will be posted on the PCS website and be available from your regional PCS office. The progress we have made is because of the hard work and support of our reps and members. Thank you.

Campaign Updates from 2007

Union votes for Action - but not yet  3rd Nov 2007

On Wednesday of this week the outcome of the consultative ballot was announced. Some 67.6% of the turnout voted in favour of the NEC proposals for further national strike action, combined with action at Group level where appropriate, if that becomes necessary to achieve a settlement in the national Civil Service/NDPB dispute.

While the ballot was taking place, senior union officers have been involved in a series of discussions with ministers and senior government officials about beginning negotiations with the aim of bringing our national dispute to a fair resolution. The Cabinet Office has now stated it is willing to enter into meaningful talks with PCS with the aim of reaching an agreed settlement by the end of the year. This is a significant step forward in our national campaign. Now that the Cabinet Office has agreed to formal talks, the National Executive Committee has decided not to call further national industrial action so that every effort can be made to reach agreement.

Further Information: Full Ballot Result | Letter from Allan MacKenzie | Members' briefing

Vote YES and support the campaign  28th Sept 2007

Open letter from Allan: "In the next couple of weeks we shall all be receiving a ballot paper from PCS regarding the next stage of the national campaign in support of public services and I am urging everyone to vote YES and support the campaign.

The national campaign is about protecting jobs across the whole of the civil service as well as opposing the current government policy to restrict public sector pay rises to below the level of inflation. Why is this important to us in the FC? Since 2004 we have been receiving 3.5% as an overall pay award, and from this an average of about 2% has been used to pay the cost of progression within the pay scales.  This leaves about 1.5% to cover the cost of inflation. This year the rate of inflation is higher than it has been for several years and if we are again offered a similar 3.5% pay raise this will mean that we will have fallen behind inflation by over 8% in four years.

Earlier this year we had a very poor response to calls for action in support of the campaign. However the national campaign enshrines the demand of pay increases which at least keep pace with the cost of living. The GEC therefore believes that we must now give campaign our full support both to protect our pay and to help our fellow PCS members across the Civil Service." Read the full letter...

The ballot closes on the 31st October. If you've not received your ballot paper call 020 7801 2850 or email PCS balloting.

NEC calls consultative ballot on campaign  10th Sept 2007

From the NEC: This briefing informs Branches of the National Executive Committee’s unanimous decision to hold a consultative ballot on further national industrial action aimed at increasing the pressure on the employer to resolve the dispute in the civil service and related bodies. The ballot will start before the end of this month.

The ballot follows our largest membership consultation exercise the union has ever held. Tens of thousands of members attended over 1200 meetings organised across the country and have fed in their views on how we should progress our national campaigning agenda. Feedback from the consultation meetings was that members clearly accept the need for further national action to resolve the dispute, alongside other unions if possible.

The union has a legal mandate for industrial action following the national statutory ballot in January. In addition to the national consultation meetings, the NEC has decided that members should be consulted again through a national indicative ballot. Previous national strike action this year, on May 1 and January 31, together with action short of a strike, other campaigning activity including the Make Your Vote Count campaign, and the hard work put into discussions with the Government and officials has prevented many planned compulsory redundancies.

This builds on previous action which held back the government’s cuts programme, defended pension rights and preserved paid sick leave. Click here to read the full briefing.

Consultation on recent Industrial Action  7th Sept 2007

Earlier this year we mounted two days of industrial action in support of our ongoing campaign to 'Save Public Services' and resist attempts to cut jobs and impose below inflation pay rises. The union's National Executive Committee are currently organising a series of consultation meetings around the country to find out your views on the campaign so far and how it should be taken forward from here. All of our representatives in the FC have been asked to either make arrangements to hold a consultation meeting, or to publicise where meetings are being held in your area.

If you would like more information about the consultation then it is available from the unions' office in Silvan House or from your local rep. Taking part in the consultation is important because the issues involved directly affect all of us in the FC and will determine how we work to protect our jobs and salaries in the coming months.

Background to the campaign

In 2004, the government announced massive job cuts as part of its ‘efficiency programme’. In response we launched a major campaign including a national strike in November that year.

As a result, a National Protocol was established whereby the Cabinet Office would try to seek alternatives to redundancy. This was not a formal agreement with the union though. It became apparent that although hard negotiating and campaigning prevented many compulsory redundancies, the Protocol needed strengthening as a national agreement.

We engaged in talks with ministers and officials but towards the end of 2006 it became apparent that the employer was not engaging seriously in these talks.

In order to put pressure on the employer, we held a national ballot on industrial action during January 2007. Members voted overwhelmingly in favour.

Successful national stoppages on 31 January and 1 May were accompanied by overtime bans and political pressure through our Parliamentary groups and the Make Your Vote Count campaign.

Our national demands

Another consultative ballot in October showed members’ continuing support for the dispute, but before further national industrial action was called PCS was offered, for the first time, national negotiations with the Cabinet Office on all our demands.