Vote in the consultative ballot so we can continue our campaign

We’ve delivered historic national ballot results, forced the government to make an improved pay offer, and our membership is growing from strength to strength. 

We’re going to run an online consultative ballot on the next stage of our campaign over pay, pensions, redundancy terms and job security in the UK civil service and related areas. In this edition of PCS People you’ll find the detail on the concessions members have won, what’s wrong with those concessions, and what we are going to do about it.

First, a huge thank you goes to all our brave members who took industrial action during our national campaign. Whether you were part of our highly effective targeted action, our all-out national strike days, or both, it’s your sacrifice that left the government with no choice but to improve their pay offer and make commitments to our other demands. We’ve never seen the government take this decision before and it’s all down to you.

We have forced the UK Government to double its pay remit and to put a lump sum into members’ pockets now. We are now entering talks with your employer to see what consolidated pay rise you will get for 2023/24.

But we have clearly not yet won all of our demands, and there are serious issues with the concessions made by the government, including the unfair treatment of part-time workers on the £1,500 lump sum.

Now the government has conceded pay review body increases of between 5% and 7% for other public sector workers, including 5.5% for senior civil servants.

That’s why our campaign must continue, and why we are now balloting members on the next steps.

We need to go into talks with your employer on the 2023/24 pay round, and demand at least the same pay increases as other public sector workers.

It’s only when the talks are completed that the union will know what consolidated pay rises members will get for 2023/24.

We can then judge that against inflation and against the pay review announcements. So, we will pause strike action for now, and pause the membership levy which has funded the successful targeted action.

We will also continue to campaign for pensions justice and for equality in the payment of the £1,500 lump sum.

Then, if the government fails to deliver, PCS is stronger than ever with more members and activists; we’ll ballot and take action again if necessary.

It’s so important that we get this right because of how much is at stake. The catastrophic cost-of-living crisis is continuing to devastate millions of people across the country. The crisis is compounded by flagrant profiteering by companies that are using global factors as cover to push up their prices to line the pockets of their shareholders. Attempts to curb inflation by hiking up interest rates will only make matters worse, with mortgage payments and rents rising by eye-watering amounts.

PCS members know these problems all too well and that’s why this next phase of the national campaign is so important.

This article is taken from PCS People issue 1, 2023.