Pay Remit 2020

Treasury thanks civil servants with real-terms pay cut

Treasury disrespect members by ignoring PCS representations and announcing below-inflation pay remit.

You will hopefully have seen by now the announcement from the Treasury and the Cabinet Office that despite the tremendous work done by PCS members to support the country through the COVID-19 crisis, our reward is to be punished with yet another below-inflation pay rise. In effect, this means another real-terms pay cut for workers who have been praised in Parliament for being the linchpin holding the country’s economy together.

Further, because the government’s pay remit is published late once again, for the umpteenth year the Home Office have already indicated any pay increases will be delayed again beyond the 1 July settlement date.

In our national pay claim for 2020 we called on the government to address years of pay restraint by allowing for an immediate 10% across-the-board increase. Given that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to delays in national pay discussions, we made a number of interim demands; which included a call for a suspension of the delegated pay process and an immediate above inflation pay increase for all staff, implemented across the civil service from the centre.

Many PCS members have been classified as key workers and have gone above and beyond call of duty. Despite this, ministers have decided to cap any pay rise between 1.5 and 2.5% – still less than the real inflation figure (RPI) which is currently running at 2.6%.

Our General Secretary, Mark Serwotka, has described the fact that the reward for civil servants helping to keep the country running during the crisis, is to be another pay cut, as “an outrageous swindle”; adding “It shows the hypocrisy of ministers who on the one hand, applaud and praise public sector workers but do not think they are worthy of a genuine pay rise.”

The union’s National Executive Committee (NEC) is meeting later this week to agree the next steps in the PCS national campaign for fair pay and pensions across the civil service.

United approach

PCS is committed to campaigning for national pay bargaining, with one set of pay and conditions negotiations covering the whole civil service. The fact that during the COVID19 crisis, the government has orchestrated the work done by the various departments and Home Office staff have been called upon to support the DWP, shows that in reality the civil service has just one employer. Despite that, the Cabinet Office remains committed to countless separate sets of pay talks, leading to huge disparities between the various departments and agencies; and the obvious strategy of ‘divide and conquer’.

Our position on pay remains unchanged. As well as a single set of national talks, we believe that after over a decade of freezes and sub-inflation rises, which in real terms have meant a pay cut of around 20%, PCS members should not be asked to pay for their own pay rise, by selling-off working conditions, that the remit alludes to for greater increases.

PCS will keep all members regularly informed of any developments on the union’s campaign for fair pay; including reporting back, following the NEC meeting taking place later this week.

In the meantime the best way that any member of staff in the Home Office or NDPB’s can help PCS to achieve a decent pay rise, is to make sure you are a member of your union and to get involved. If you are not already a member then you should join us today; if you are already a member, then please ensure that your contact details are up to date so that you continue to receive regular updates and information on the campaign.

Share this briefing widely amongst your colleagues.

Click on the link to join on-line today.

James Cox (Group President), Pete Wright (Group Vice President), Mike Jones (Group Secretary)