Public and Commercial Services Union

As PCS members in HMRC and the VOA are aware, national industrial action due to take place from Monday 10 November was suspended following an offer of further talks with the employer.

National Talks

Discussions with Ministers and officials are ongoing. PCS is not yet in a position to report back on those talks but will do so as soon as possible. There is a meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) planned for 27 November to review the situation and take decisions.

The programme of industrial action voted for by members in the national ballot has not been cancelled – rather the union agreed to suspend the action to allow talks to attempt to find a resolution of the dispute. A formal, legal extension of the ballot mandate period has been agreed so that we can return to the action if necessary.

Every effort is being made to progress the talks to a successful conclusion. But we do not yet know whether an agreement will be reached. Members must therefore stand ready to take industrial action should this prove to be necessary. We will also continue to make our case for fair pay to employers, politicians and the public.

Pay in HMRC and the VOA

Members in all parts of HMRC and the VOA have been angered by the recent departmental pay offers, which for the majority of staff provide increases of 2% this year and just 1% for the subsequent two years for those long standing members at the maximum of their respective pay scales.

The offer should be set in the context of the latest inflation figures which indicate that the government’s preferred measure of inflation, CPI, is now running at 4.5%, and RPI at 4.2%.

PCS members recognise that the most realistic means of seeking to improve the pay offers in HMRC and the VOA is by acting in concert with our PCS colleagues in all departments in order to persuade the government to rethink their general policy on civil service pay. Our view is that if the government can step in to guarantee the security of banks and their investors, that same government should now extend similar safeguards to protect the pay of its own employees.

The HMRC pay offer includes additional bonuses to ‘Top’ performers. Following the imposition of the pay offer to Grades 6&7, the Department has now confirmed its intention to implement a ‘Top’ bonus award of 2.4% for these grades in November salaries.

In addition to our opposition to performance-related pay, we have expressed concern that this may pre-empt ongoing national pay talks. HMRC acknowledges this concern, but states that action to implement the bonus was taken before the offer of national talks and that it would be impractical to reverse this. Further information is available from your branch secretary.

Conclusion

Further information will be issued to members as soon as possible. In the meantime members are asked to:

• support any further call for action on pay should this become necessary
• please make every effort to read union briefings and attend union meetings organised in areas where you work
• please get involved in union activity where you work
• Email your MP and sign the online petition via the PCS website

Thank you for your ongoing support.