PCS defends members in the water sector

If the government wants to create a water industry that delivers for working people it should work with PCS members in the sector. We are clear that the current regulation system needs significant reform but completely reject it's our members' fault

Hundreds of PCS members are affected by the Independent Water Commission's recommendations to:

  • create a new regulator for the water industry in England, by abolishing Ofwat and bringing its functions together with parts of DEFRA Group, Natural England and the Environment Agency
  • devolve Ofwat’s Welsh functions to Natural Resources Wales or a new Welsh regulator;
  • consider changes to the role and remit of the Consumer Council for Water.

The existing, privatised water industry was created by the Conservative government in 1991 and has been kept by every government since. The regulation system for it is one where our members in the regulators are given powers that are too few and too weak to really control the profit-hungry private water companies. PCS certainly agrees that it needs to change.

Delivering for working people

Our members do not want another regulator that is weak by design, and unable to control the over-mighty private companies that dominate the sector. They want to work in a water sector that can actually deliver for the working people.

We have already started to move on this issue. We have brought together a working group of elected PCS reps from the affected groups and branches to coordinate this activity, which is being supported by officials of the national union in both England and Wales. This group will now be engaging with UK and Welsh ministers to defend and improve members’ pay, terms and conditions and jobs, and the system they work in.

PCS General Secretary Fran Heathcote said: “If the government wants to create a water sector that actually delivers for working people, then we’ll work hand in hand with them. The first step in creating that is for UK and Welsh ministers to protect working people in the water sector: our members in Ofwat, DEFRA, Natural England, Natural Resources Wales and the other organisations. They’re the experts who can create the new system that our members do want, that the government should want, and that the working people of this country desperately need.”