Public and Commercial Services Union

PCS ballot for industrial action is set for 23 June to 10 July.

PCS negotiators, Chas Rodgers, Tony Page and Mike Hodgson with PCS full time officer, Catherine Craig, and their counterparts in Prospect union met with the management side Friday morning on the 19 June.

Notice had already been served on the employer on Tuesday 16 June that the union is in dispute with English Heritage (EH) over the 2008 to 2011 pay offer and is mandated to ballot its members for industrial action in the form of strike action and industrial action short of strike action.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, EH was represented by the head of remuneration, reward and retention whose fixed term contract ends next Friday, the consultant brought in at the end of last year to project manage the implementation of the pay restructure and the HR communications guru, who has no negotiating remit.

Why wasn’t there someone from the decision makers present? Why, at this important juncture, did the unions have to continue to deal with powerless intermediaries?

PCS and Prospect negotiators were read a statement putting the official position, which confirmed that EH are immovable on the pay offer.

You may well have already realised this from MB 588. Therefore rather surprisingly those representing EH said that it was prepared to take the next step, which is to move to collective conciliation through Acas. PCS would have no problem taking this step but we were somewhat perplexed:

• EH invoked an agreement made with the two unions some years ago, the determination agreement, appendix 14, which was breached in 2005 by EH’s refusal to involve Acas after the pay offer was rejected, resulting in both PCS and Prospect taking industrial action at the time;
• EH has totally ignored the other part of the agreement, in the same appendix, that stipulates a single, common pay settlement by proposing a complicated system that treats categories of staff so differently and which it would be impossible to find consensus amongst the unions on;
• How can there be conciliatory talks when one side has stated categorically to its staff and the unions that there is no flexibility to change anything in the proposals for the new pay system?

We have responded that whilst not averse to finding a resolution there is no point to agreeing to talks if there is nothing to talk about.

We require assurances, and we can identify the areas we require movement, that EH will commit to meaningful discussion.

When you receive your ballot paper next week – to put it baldly – give your PCS negotiators some muscle, by supporting action on both counts and with a good return.

Vote immediately and post your ballot paper in the stamped addressed envelope to the independent scrutineers!