Time for a decent pay award

A PCS member working in Edinburgh got in touch with us after completing our online pension calculator (https://www.pcs.org.uk/our-pensions-calculator), and finding out how much he is overpaying.

He told us: “I have experienced pay caps and freezes for 11 years now. Over the last few years I have either received 1% or only a small increase as my salary is below £23,000.

“I’ve also used the pension calculator to work out that with my salary of £21127 I’m making an annual overpayment to my pension of £422.54, that’s £35.21 a month.

“With all the increases to the cost of living – increased fuel costs, increased NI contributions, council tax and the like, it is really time for us to be considered for a decent pay award. No one could have foreseen the pandemic which has had a major impact on our economy, however the private sector is still seeing healthy pay increases and I don’t see why the government think it’s ok to treat loyal staff in this way.

“From April 2022, the National Living Wage for those aged 23 and above will be £9.50 per hour.  I’ve worked out that, despite working for 40 years as a civil servant, my salary is only 17p above the national minimum wage.”

What you can do

Use our PCS pensions loss calculator (https://www.pcs.org.uk/node/7650). Simply enter your gross annual salary and the calculator will show you how much you have overpaid.

Input your loss into our editable graphic (https://pcsunion.force.com/pcsdigital/s/sharepoint-share-link?id=3225), and share it on social media, or with us by emailing editor@pcs.org.uk (mailto:editor@pcs.org.uk).

Use our simple e-action (https://bit.ly/3n0Xefu) to share what you have lost with your MP.

Please also share your stories with us at editor@pcs.org.uk (mailto:editor@pcs.org.uk)