National campaign survey launches

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.

Our pay demands for 2024/25 to the UK government include:

• a cost-of-living rise, with an inflation-proofed increase plus pay restoration
• pay equality across departments,
• a living wage of £15 per hour,
• London weighting provision of a minimum £5,000 per year,
• 35 days annual leave minimum,
• a significant shortening of the working week with no loss of pay.

Pay restoration

Our members 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. Depending on the inflation indicator used, at best, real wages in 2023 were at where they were two decades ago; at worst, they were back to where they were four decades ago.  Since 2010, median annual pay has fallen between 15 and 38% in the civil service, depending on the grade and inflation indicator.

We are sending an email to all UK civil service members with a personalised survey link.

If you don’t have a registered personal email address you will receive an SMS message with a link to the survey. If you are not registered complete online registration for PCS Digital or we will send you an alternative communication through the post. Please check your spam/junk for an email from news@pcs.org.uk.

Prior to following the link

We advise that you log out of PCS Digital if you are already logged in and that you use a personal device to follow the link to prevent any firewall issues with employer equipment.

If you continue to have issues being sent to the verification screen please try opening the link in a Private or Incognito window (browser depending). If you are on a non-mobile device you can also try to hard refresh your browser by holding CTRL+F5.

Completing the survey

When following the link to the survey from the email or SMS you will need to enter your NI number to confirm your identity. If you do not know your NI number then you can select the “I do not know my NI number button”, this will then ask you for your Surname and date of birth. Once you have entered those details you will be directed to the survey to complete the questions.

Error message

If you have an error message "browser doesn't support features on this site" the you need to update your browser to the latest version, through either the Play Store (Android) or App Store (iOS).

Check your details

If you are registered, it is a good idea to log into PCS Digital and check the details we hold for you are up to date.

The email will ask members (except the Scottish sector) if you support the PCS pay demands for 2024/25, if you would you be prepared to take part in strike action in order to achieve them and if you would be prepared to contribute to a levy to fund paid, targeted strike action.

As members in the Scottish sector are currently in the second year of a two-year pay deal, the questions asked will be different. Those members will be asked if you support the PCS demands on pensions, if you would be prepared to take part in strike action in order to achieve them and if you would be prepared to contribute to a levy to fund paid, targeted strike action.

Please ensure you complete the survey so that we can gauge support for the campaign from members. The consultation will run 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.

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