Mick Hewer, Prospect Negotiations Officer is calling for increase to be made to the pay offers received in respect of Public Services Commission employees.
He said he expects members will reject the offer for which they are currently being balloted on.
The offer made to the Joint Unions who represent Public Services Commission employees comprises 3.25% effective 2024/2025, 2.5% effective 2025/2026 and *2% effective 2026/2027. The offer was received by letter dated 11th July 2024.
Mr Hewer, Prospect Negotiations Officer said: “I wish to reiterate that we have seen the UK Government accept the recommendations made by the Pay Review Bodies and those recommendations will see above inflation pay increases for the first time in decades being applied to Public Sector Workers across the UK.
“What we have been offered by comparison is cuts to our members pay once the effects of inflation has been considered. Additionally, recent pay awards have been eroded by increases in taxation.”
Rejection
Early indications are that the result of the ballot will see an overwhelming rejection of the offer put to members and that there has been a significant return rate from members.
Mr Hewer added: “Given the early indications that the offer is likely to be rejected, I would ask that the Public Services Commission reconsiders and prepares to come back to the negotiating table with an improved offer as soon as possible and no later than the second week of September.
“I have stated previously that as far as our members are concerned, they expect to see an increase in salaries that result in an easing of the financial pressures they face today, an inflation proof award, anything less effectively results in a pay cut on top of a further erosion of take-home pay because of the recently applied 2% increase in taxation.
“It looks like the ballot result will reaffirm my beliefs and previous statements, in effect we have been forced to waste another six weeks, unnecessarily, to reaffirm what we already suspected – rejection of the offer’.”
(*with the caveat that should March 2026 CPI be 1% higher or lower than 2%, the offer of 2% becomes void and we would re-open negotiations for that year).
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