Make us an offer we can accept, PCS tells government

PCS General Secretary Fran Heathcote has given the Cabinet Office a 5 March deadline to give guarantees on our national campaign demands or we enter into a trade dispute.

In a letter sent to Alex Chisholm, UK Civil Service CEO, on Monday (19), Fran warned that PCS will not hesitate to take action should he fail to agree our demands on pay, pensions and job security.

Fran said: “Strike action last year resulted in significant pay rises for our members. We told ministers we would ballot our members again if a decent rise wasn’t forthcoming this year.

“The government must decide whether it wants to risk more national strikes or whether to make us an offer we can accept.

“Our members continue to work very hard for the good of the country, but continue to face declining living standards as a result of pay restraint. PCS has commissioned academic research which concludes that UK civil service wages have dramatically eroded in real terms due to persistent below-inflation pay rises.”

PCS has given the Cabinet Office permanent secretary until 5pm on 5 March to reply to our demands, which include:

  1. a cost-of-living rise, plus pay restoration for previous years
  2. pay equality across departments on the best possible terms,
  3. a living wage of £15 a hour,
  4. London weighting provision of a minimum £5,000 a year,
  5. 35 days annual leave minimum,
  6. a significant shortening of the working week with no loss of pay.

Fran has also written to various heads of government departments, agencies and non-departmental public bodies setting out these trade dispute terms.

Complete the national campaign survey

Look out for an email from PCS asking for your views on taking forward the national campaign which we sent on Tuesday (20).

The PCS national executive committee (NEC) met last week to discuss the details of our pay claim for 2024/2025 and how we will ensure that our demands are met.

Please ensure you complete the survey so that we can gauge support for the campaign from members. The consultation runs from 20 February to 5 March.

The NEC will look at the survey results and make any necessary decisions at its meeting in March. It is likely that strike action will be part of our campaign and it is essential that you ensure your details (particularly ballot address, email and workplace) are up to date on PCS Digital