Pay's the priority
30 May 2008
Improving pay is our number one priority. Unfair, divisive and often appallingly low, public sector pay systems are simply unacceptable.
A massive wave of discontent is spreading throughout the public sector, including teachers, lecturers, local government workers and civil servants, all of whom are committed to standing together for better recognition of our efforts and hard work.
PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka is keen to encourage members to get involved in the campaign: “Our breakthrough deal on job security in March improved our protection from compulsory redundancy and built on our previous success in protecting our pensions. It also demonstrated what could be achieved by us all standing together.
“We are now calling on the government to review their policy of capping pay, which is driving down the wages of some of the lowest paid public sector workers and reform pay systems to make them fairer.”
A new approach
- Pushing up pay will involve fundamentally changing the government’s approach to how it rewards staff. We believe this should include:
- Inflation proofed basic pay awards (as measured by the retail price index)
- An end to the unfair handling of civil servants’ pay compared to the rest of the public sector, including separate funding for pay progression to help achieve a level playing field
- Actively encouraging pay reform in the Treasury’s pay guidance, especially pay progression systems, and help with the implementation of common conditions of employment across the civil service and related areas
- A calculation of the ‘efficiency savings’ achieved through cutting jobs and returning some of it to hard working staff
- A reduction in the number of separate civil service bargaining units
- An end to the pressure on civil service organisations to adopt local or regional pay arrangements
- An end to the practice of linking pay to performance appraisal systems which we believe is unfair and divisive.
Taking it to the top
PCS has been in discussion with the Cabinet Office and Treasury about potential reform of our pay and conditions since November – the first serious talks about national civil service pay for fifteen years.
There are two separate sets of talks. The first concerns securing common annual leave, working hours, paid maternity, adoption and maternity support leave for all civil servants.
The second focuses on examining similar types of jobs (known as ‘job groups’) to see whether they can be used to set future pay rates and pay structures for administrative assistants and administrative and executive officers (or equivalent grades). We are also exploring ideas for allowing people to move more quickly up pay scales to their maximum pay (what we call ‘the rate for the job’).
We believe the talks should result in common pay rates and structures across the civil service and stop the situation whereby the wages of people doing similar jobs in different areas can vary widely by as much as 25%. Key employment conditions such as annual leave, working hours and family friendly policies would also be implemented in a uniform way.
While we have been involved in many meetings in recent months, the talks have not made as much progress as we would have hoped. However, as we went to press, we were expecting to agree an interim report about job groups and pay arrangements for administrative assistants and administrative and executive officers, with more progress on common conditions expected before the summer.
Deciding the way ahead
Our annual conference was due to debate the best way of taking forward our national pay campaign as we went to press. But one thing is for sure, whatever is decided, the support of all our members will be crucial to our success.
There are lots of ways you can support the campaign. These include:
- Writing letters to MPs
- Attending lobbies of parliament
- Voting ‘yes’ in any ballot for industrial action
- Staying in touch with your rep
- Regularly checking the PCS website www.pcs.org.uk and this magazine for updates.
Helen’s story
Before starting work as a coastguard watch assistant last summer, Helen Scott loved to make regular trips to the cinema to see the latest films – now it is a pleasure she can rarely afford.
With a salary of around £12,000 plus shift allowances, Helen is on the minimum wage. Every budgetary decision has to be carefully weighed up, every bill juggled. “It would be nice not to have to worry about money but it is always on my mind,” she admits. “I don’t really go out a lot.”
Even a well deserved holiday requires months of scrimping, saving and dilemmas about how far to eat into her small savings. It all adds up to a life ruled by monetary decisions. Although Helen enjoys her job, she is unsure how long she can afford to continue in it. “Luckily, I am living somewhere with a reduced rent but that may not always be possible. I’m 26 but I can’t afford a place of my own. It’s a really difficult state of affairs.”
Helen’s monthly budget
- Rent - £270
- Car - £85
- Council - tax £85
- Mobile phone - £15
- Home phone - £25
- Food - £80
- Credit card - £100
- Going out - £80
- Savings - £100
- Other (clothes, toiletries etc) - £160
- Total - £1000
- Take home pay - £1000
- Balance - £0
The rising cost of living
Prices are rising but our pay is stagnating. In the last 12 months the cost of everyday essentials – food, fuel and power, for example – has soared. And the situation is predicted to get even worse.
Among the worst affected items are:
- Petrol – 11%
- Butter – 36%
- Eggs – 31%
- Cereal – 15%
- Travel – 12%
- Housing – 11%
- Gas – 34%
- Electricity – 22%
Source: LRD fact service/Office for National Statistics
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