Pay Update

Pay in Home Department – Next Steps

Following national consultative ballot, breakdown of results show Home Office breached 50% turnout., with 98% supporting the PCS pay claim and 85% voting to take industrial action if necessary. Next steps in our pay campaign.

The recent consultative ballot about our pay and the cost-of-living crisis delivered a 97% vote in favour of our pay claim with 80% of members willing to take action in support of this. This ballot was across all our civil and public service membership. Importantly in the context of the anti-trade union laws which impose turnout thresholds we achieved a national turnout of 45.2%.

Of course, this was only a consultative ballot and if we were to take industrial action a ballot, which the law demands are undertaken by post, we would have to reach 50%.

Because the ballot was held on a consultative basis, we can analyse the results by department. Here in the Home Office, 98% of members backed our claim with 85% willing to take action all on a turnout of 51%.

This means that our turnout breached the threshold and demonstrates the strength of feeling within our department. Hardly surprising after years of below inflation rises and a pay freeze last year.

Treasury Remit Guidance

Since the ballot result the government have published the Treasury Remit Guidance. This indicates that departments are limited to 2% increases, with an additional flexible 1% if a business case can be justified. Even with this additional money the 3% would go nowhere near the 10% we have claimed or indeed inflation which is currently running over 9% and is forecast to hit 10.25% by the end of the year.

Members are all too aware of the cost-of-living crisis. We are experiencing it daily. When we go to the shops, when we fill up our car, when we get on a bus or train, when we receive our fuel bills, everything has gone up, not just a little but massively. On top of these mortgages and rents are

going up with the Bank of England increasing interest rates to a 13 year high. People are really struggling and worrying how they are going to get by and pay the bills.

The government seems to have no idea or will to control these price increases, which are impacting on low to medium income households most. They have done little to nothing to alleviate the cost-of-living crisis we are experiencing.

A 10% pay increase now would barely cover the increases our members face but the government have limited civil servants pay increases to between 2-3%. This is not acceptable, and we need to challenge this in the strongest way possible. Our 10% claim is not just a demand now it is an absolute necessity.

Home Office Negotiations

It’s within this framework that we are awaiting the initial proposals from the department. Our annual settlement date is 1 July, and we expect initial discussions to begin in early June.

We enter discussions this year with the strongest mandate from members that we have ever had. 98% of members in the Home Office support our claim this year. Our claim is justified given the current cost of living crisis leading to price rises and utility bill increases. But in addition to that, the department is struggling to recruit and retain staff – the case for significant rises in the Home Office is clear.

Next Steps

PCS are holding our national conference next week, and this will in part determine our next steps. Members are encouraged to attend branch mandating meetings where motions to our conference will be discussed. The reality of the situation is that even after our overwhelming vote in favour of our claim the government have reacted by setting parameters that would provide only a paltry increase, effectively a pay cut in real terms.

PCS will be supporting the big TUC demonstration in London on 18 June, and we will be putting on coaches from regions for members and their families to attend. Please contact your respective regional or national office for details of transport available for PCS members to attend

Now is also a great time to update your personal details held by PCS. Providing your mobile and personal email address allow us to keep in communication and you should check that your home/ballot address is up to date. All this can be done through PCS Digital which you can register for here

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