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UK hydrographic office formal pay offer 2010/11

6 May 2010

Ballot papers have now been issued; below is an analysis of the offer but members will not be at all surprised at our recommendation to reject this years pay offer.

Our union is sorely disappointed with the below inflation award, and alarmed at the proposal to extend performance pay processes across to all grades. All members are urged to read fully the briefing that accompanies your ballot paper and use your vote to reject the offer below.


Scope and duration of the offer

This members briefing concerns the UKHO pay offer, covering bands A2 – C1 from 1 August 2010 until the 31 July 2011. A full copy of the offer is below.

The PCS - UKHO national pay claim

Our claim this year, reflecting the PCS national pay bargaining agenda, fully recognises the difficulties and challenges posed in the recent economic climate, but also points to the fact that you, our members, are victims of the recession too.

For our members, the recession is compounded by low public sector salaries, now inherent across civil service departments and agencies, and which arguably, is reflected in the fact that even UKHO have trouble recruiting within the current pay restraints.

Even before the current financial crisis, our members, like other public sector workers, have been feeling the pinch by having had to contend with suppressed, below inflation pay increases for a number of years.

However, unlike the rest of the public sector, your progression is also financed from the same shallow pot as your cost of living increase. This means less financial reward as you strive each year toward the rate for the job and less in real terms, towards a cost of living increase than enjoyed by other public sector employees.

PCS believes our members should have parity with the rest of the public sector and that your progression should be funded separately. We also believe your pay should at least keep up with the cost of living. To ask for anything less would be asking for our members to take a cut in pay.

To reflect this, our claim in 2010 modestly sought a consolidated pay award of 3% or an increase that at least matched the retail price index (RPI), if that were greater. As such, we are only asking for our members to receive a fair wage.

We also asked for:

  • A minimum underpin increase of £1,200 and a nationwide minimum hourly rate of £8.25 to help address low pay.
  • Progression ranges of 5 years to the max for the B2’s and grades above, a 2 year progression range for B3’s and the extension of spot rate for A1’s.
  • Priority for consolidated basic pay over non consolidated pay and bonuses
  • Annual equal pay audits and progress on pay equality

UKHO were made aware of the key elements of our pay claim at our first formal pay meeting, which took place last month, and in subsequent e-mails since then. Our claim was formally submitted to UKHO before managements offer, attached, was issued.

Our view of the offer

This has been an extremely disappointing pay round at UKHO and there is little to commend in the attached offer.

With RPI currently at 4.4% (up from 3.7% last month), this offer clearly fails to meet the expectations of our pay claim and instead, effectively means a pay cut for members, with the lowest paid staff on the A2 spot rate receiving just 0.5%. Those of you in grades A1 and B3 will see only a 0.38% increase at the max and B2’s will receive 0.75%. Only those in the C grades will achieve a full 1% increase. All increases are applied at the max.

Changes to performance management processes

PCS believes the extension across UKHO of the management processes piloted in C grades in 2008/9, is unfair and inappropriate. We raised our concerns and objections to it then and those concerns have not been assuaged.

To begin with, we refute the assumption that performance pay is effective in motivating and properly rewarding all staff fairly. Evidence says the opposite.

The proposed system, to which PCS has raised objection to during negotiations, will incorporate a bonus distribution system that, by definition, will only reward a small set percentage of staff, regardless of the true number of good to high performers.

Moreover, UKHO will also seek to brand 15% of staff as “below standard”, no matter how hard working or efficient you are, in order to meet their new performance pay framework. See page 3 of the offer. How can this be fair?

We appreciate that, as a trading fund, UKHO is able to offer a corporate bonus scheme and we welcome the fact that members hard work in reaching key targets is recognised. We believe it is right you should share in some of the profits, afforded by the trading fund status. However, where public sector monies are concerned, and where funds can be used as consolidated payments, we are clear that all staff should benefit through consolidated pensionable pay arrangements that are fair and transparent.

Conclusion

PCS recommends members reject this pay offer. It falls considerably below a cost of living pay increase and furthermore, includes the introduction of unfair performance processes which could penalise up to a third of hard working members who fail to make it into the top 15% or else are branded below standard in order to fulfil the 15% target at the lower end of performance.

PCS members should not be penalised through low pay and arbitrary performance targets. Please use your vote to reject this offer.


  UK hydrographic office: Formal pay offer 2010/11 to PCS and Prospect

 

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