Workers who walked out from their desks at the government’s Disclosure and Barring Service in Liverpool city centre have secured a pay rise of more than 10%.
After threatening indefinite industrial action in a long-running pay dispute, Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) members working at Hinduja Global Solutions have announced they have brought strikes to an end after a deal was reached. The 82 staff, employed by HGS to run the contact centre and back-office functions of the government’s Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), took six weeks of action outside their offices on Tithebarn Street.
Workers walked out over pay, including a commitment to paying at least the Living Wage Foundation of £10.90 per hour, pay when sick, an annual leave entitlement of 27 days, paid breaks and job security. An extended period of action looked on the horizon when talks broke down with conciliation service ACAS.
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Now they have voted to accept a two-year pay offer that will provide staff an award more in line with inflation. Workers were said to be “frustrated and angry” during the summer as negotiations went on between the two parties in a bid to reach a deal.
Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary, said: “I’m immensely proud of our members at HGS for their fight and resilience during this long-running dispute. To secure this pay rise when the initial offer amounted to just 3.5% is a great victory and sends out a positive message to our 100,000 members taking strike action next week.
“When our members stand up for themselves and stick together it shows they can win the pay rise they deserve.” During the strike action, HGS said demands made by the union had been “unreasonable” and despite the walk outs, it had continued to operate its DBS campaign and met its obligations.
HGS is a standalone publicly traded business on the Indian Stock Market. HGS UK Limited, that operates the DBS contract is a subsidiary of HGS. The Hinduja family are shareholders alongside many other institutional investors.
The striking workers also won the support of Liverpool Riverside MP Kim Johnson who publicly backed the staff during their walkouts in the summer.
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