Forestry Commission Trade Unions - www.fctu.org.uk
National Pay Campaign 2008 - Agreement Reached
We have reached agreement with the government on our national pay campaign.
Briefing by Mark Serwotka and Janice Godrich
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> Message to Members
> Briefing for PCS Reps
> Q&A for PCS Reps
Message to members
Agreement reached on pay
We have reached a national agreement with the government over pay. More money will be released for pay bargaining in individual departments and related public bodies. The government has also said that there is no 2% pay cap on staff pay increases.
There will not now be national industrial action organised under the authority of the ballot held in September. But the agreement needs to be tested and monitored. Our national campaign will not end until we are sure that members’ pay has been improved. If necessary, we will step up the campaign again next year.
Campaigning gets results
We have been campaigning against the unfair pay limit on public sector pay increases and we have demanded fair pay for PCS members. Many members have been in dispute with their management over the 2008 pay round.
In September, members voted in a national ballot for a programme of industrial action. Strike action was planned for 10 November. We were then told by Sir Gus O’Donnell, Head of the Civil Service, that talks could take place that would address our concerns in the national pay dispute.
Those talks have taken place and an agreement reached. A letter sent by Sir Gus O’Donnell to our general secretary which sets out the terms of the agreement is available here and from your local PCS rep.
More money to be made available for pay
The letter says that 'efficiency savings' can be put to good use in improving pay. This policy change, involving cutting the use of consultants for example, should release many millions of pounds. Management have not been able to use this money for pay previously.
The letter also says that there is no 2% pay cap on staff pay increases. This means, for example, that there is now no necessity for management to refuse a pay increase to people on the maximum of their pay scale.
Campaign continues
Members standing together, being prepared to take action, have opened the door to more money. But the agreement must be tested. It is now necessary for departmental PCS pay bargainers to go to management and talk to them about using this money for staff pay. Where there have been disputes, management must come back to the negotiating table.
The agreement does not mean the end of our campaign for fair pay. Our other demands - on pay progression, regional pay, cutting the number of bargaining units, performance pay and equal pay - will be taken up in a process of further talks in the coming months.
Joint action with other unions
We have been working with other public sector unions to campaign against the pay cap. We have said that joint action is the best way to oppose an unfair government policy. But, in the absence of that joint action, and at a time of economic recession, the agreement we have reached is an important one. This is the first time in many years that we have achieved a national agreement on pay issues in the civil service and related areas.
Breakthrough
Since 2004 we have protected pensions, won agreements on avoiding compulsory redundancies and on privatisation, and stopped attacks on sick pay. Members should feel proud that we have now made this breakthrough on pay.
Briefing for PCS Reps
The national executive committee met on 1 December and approved a national agreement with the government over pay: Read the letter from Sir Gus O’Donnell, head of the civil service, containing the terms of the agreement.
Extra money for pay
The agreement means that when efficiency savings have been identified, they can be released for pay bargaining in individual departments and related public bodies. The government has also said that there is no 2% pay cap on staff pay increases.
The letter is worded in a specific way and was not as clear as we would have liked. That reflects the limits on what the employers could say during the negotiations. Nevertheless, it is clear that the agreement represents a change in policy.
In the past the Treasury would not allow departments or NDPBs to use that money. This gives us a fresh opportunity to make progress on members pay. There will not now be national industrial action organised under the authority of the ballot held in September.
Testing the agreement
The agreement does not mark the end of our campaign for fair pay. It marks the beginning of a process of testing the agreement out in bargaining areas, and monitoring that at the centre with a preparedness to consider action if necessary.
This will begin with discussions on the pay remit for 2009-10. Together with the other civil service unions, we aim to complete these by 19 December.
We must also test out Gus O’Donnell’s statement that every opportunity will be taken to resolve existing pay disputes. That means getting managements back to the negotiating table, in departments and non-departmental public bodies alike, to examine how using efficiency savings can put more money into our members’ pockets. We will be taking a number of key steps to discuss with reps how the campaign can now be taken forward. A members briefing has been mailed directly to ballot addresses.
Additionally, there will be a special national pay forum for pay negotiators, including those areas currently in dispute.
In January, there will be a series of regional forums to enable branch representatives to find out first hand how we intend to go forward from this agreement. Also, there will be a meeting of the national campaign liaison group, comprising group presidents, national branch chairs, group secretaries and their equivalents.
Also regular contact will be maintained, both directly and through the TUC, with other unions to discuss joint activity to finally bury the government’s public sector pay limits.
Standing together
Members standing together, being prepared to take action, have opened the door to more money. We are confident that strike action would have been well supported. That is testimony to the hard work and dedication of our reps. But the NEC decided that we must test out the agreement that was on offer. If we had taken strike action we would not have been able to do that.
It is also the case that there has not been the joint action with other unions that we had hoped and worked for. One reason is that many unions, and many reps in our own union, reported that although members would support action, it was a hard argument to win at a time of economic recession. We decided to press on with our call for action even in the changing economic climate and have been proved right to do so.
The agreement we have reached is a significant one. We have gained important concessions from the government and there is now great potential for improving members pay. We have given a lead on the fight against the government’s pay cap and should be proud of that.
Campaign continues
We still work within a delegated pay bargaining system. The agreement reflects that fact. We must continue to campaign for a return to national pay across the civil service and related areas. But this is the first time in many years that we have achieved a national agreement on pay issues. We must go forward with determination to ensure that is fulfilled.
Q and A for PCS Reps
Does the agreement mean more money for pay?
Yes. It means that when efficiency savings have been identified, they can now be used for improving pay. That’s a change in policy. In the past the Treasury would not allow departments and non-departmental public bodies to use that money. The government has not agreed to find additional money on top of existing budgets, but now there is access to new money from these savings, which could amount to many millions of pounds.
Will members in areas where pay offers have been imposed gain any benefit from this agreement?
Yes. In the talks, the employer’s side was not prepared to state formally that existing pay settlements should be re-opened. But they went on to make clear that money from efficiency savings should be used to improve pay in all areas, including where there have been pay disputes or agreed settlements.
The letter from Sir Gus O’Donnell is not as clear as we would have liked because of the limits on what the employers could say at the present time, but there is no doubt that discussions can now take place on improvements to members pay in areas where there have been imposed offers for 2008, including where multi-year offers were imposed.
Does the use of ‘efficiency savings’ mean accepting job cuts?
No. We will continue to oppose and campaign against job cuts, and cuts in public services. The biggest area of efficiency savings discussed in the talks was the use of contractors and consultants. We must now maximise the money available and make sure it comes from the sources we want it to come from.
What’s happened to the public sector pay cap?
The Treasury said in September that there is no “specific number that is the target for pay settlements”. But the Treasury’s pay remit guidance for 2008-9 stated that consolidated pay awards could be no more than 2%. Other public sector unions have had similar problems. The agreement we have now reached states clearly that there is no such pay cap and the new Pay Remit Guidance should reflect this.
Why couldn’t we negotiate a pay rise centrally?
We could not agree an across the board pay rise for all staff because we still operate within the delegated pay bargaining system. The extra money now available for pay will be negotiated in each pay bargaining unit. Our aim is to achieve a situation where central pay bargaining does take place.
We believe that would be in the interests of members and of the civil service as a whole. But even within the delegated bargaining system, we have achieved an agreement on pay issues for the first time in many years.
Are we now leaving each department/NDPB on their own?
No. Delegated pay bargaining will take place in each area but we will be monitoring progress and testing it against the agreement we have reached. Guidance will be given to all pay negotiators. We are clear that members everywhere should benefit from the changed situation.
Will some organisations find more efficiency savings than others?
Yes, some large departments will be able to find more efficiency savings than smaller organisations. But those smaller organisations have fewer staff and a smaller paybill. It is a matter of scale. Moreover, the previous refusal to allow savings to be used for pay acted to hold down pay generally. Now we can begin to change that.
Will the agreement affect members in the devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales?
Yes, we expect that the Scottish and Welsh devolved administrations will apply the agreement in all the organisations which they control.
What about our other demands on pay?
The agreement will mean that we now enter into discussions with the Cabinet Office and Treasury on our other demands - on pay progression, regional pay, cutting the number of bargaining units, performance pay and equal pay.
These will take place over the next few months. On funding for pay progression, where we have been calling for a level playing field with other parts of the public sector, there was a great deal of discussion during the negotiations.
The government did not agree to make new money available for this, but the employer side has indicated that they are prepared to consider change as the talks proceed. Money from efficiency savings can be used to fund scale shortening and progression.
Could we have achieved more if we had taken strike action?
We are confident that the strike on November 10 and the action short of a strike that had been planned as part of the campaign would have been well supported. But if we had taken that action we would not have been able to test out the agreement that was on offer. We believed that members would want us to accept that offer and see if we could achieve better pay before calling a strike.
Is the national pay campaign over?
No. The progress we have made on improving pay will be tested out in the delegated bargaining process. If necessary, our national executive will consider stepping up the campaign to ensure that members gain a real benefit from the agreement. If we are successful we will then be in a stronger position to move onto our other national pay objectives.