A strike by 100,000 civil servants is to go ahead next month after talks with the Government aimed at resolving a bitter dispute over pay, jobs and conditions were dubbed a “total farce”. Cabinet Office Minister Jeremy Quin met with union leaders to discuss growing industrial unrest after weeks of stoppages across the country, including by Border Force staff over Christmas.
Unions had made it clear more money would have to be offered to head off an escalation of stoppages. Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS), said: “This meeting was a total farce. Despite being well-trailed by the Government as a chance to resolve the crisis, it was nothing of the sort because the minister had nothing to offer.
“He didn’t deny our members were being offered less than anyone else, he didn’t deny tens of thousands of our members only get a pay rise because of the rise in the national minimum wage but he refused to give us a pay rise now. Despite all we told him, despite knowing the alternative would be sustained industrial action, he still refused to budge, saying he could only talk about 2023-24.
“We will not stand by and watch our members be condemned to low pay. We’ve tried talking but it appears the only option open to us is to force them to change their mind, and the only way we can do that is to escalate our strike action.
“Because of the minister’s refusal to help us now, the one-day strike we announced yesterday will go ahead as promised on February 1, and we shall look to escalate our action further, calling more members out on more strikes until the Government listens to us.”
Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA union – which represents senior civil servants, said the talks had been “cordial” but “lacked anything concrete” from the Government. He said “we could not have been clearer” that if the Government “want to resolve disputes, which they say they do, then it requires something tangible to be put on the table, not simply more ‘listening mode’ meetings”.
A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: “The Minister for the Cabinet Office, Jeremy Quin, met with representatives from civil service trade unions today to listen to and understand their concerns. This forms part of the Government’s commitment to engaging with unions across the board.
"The meeting included discussions to help ensure fair and affordable public sector pay settlements. We regret the PCS decision to call further strike action, but discussions will continue and we have comprehensive plans in place to keep essential services running and to minimise disruption.”
Mike Clancy, general secretary of Prospect, said: “I asked the minister if the Government planned to continue with real-terms pay cuts for civil servants as it has done for the last decade or more. In his answers the minister refused to offer any more money for 2022/23 and gave no grounds for optimism that the position would be any different in the coming pay year.
“It is clear that civil servants remain at the back of the queue for public sector pay. We see no alternative at this point than to continue to pursue our formal ballot for industrial action. As a union our door is always open to meaningful talks but that means there has to be more money on the table. I and my colleagues have offered to clear our diaries next week for negotiations with the minister if the Government is prepared to change its position.”
