PCS has been consulted on the survey. Although PCS has not agreed the wording of the questions, PCS believes members will want to respond to the survey to give management their views on the current state of pay in DWP. As many of the questions are unhelpfully worded with closed answers, members are particularly encouraged to use the final part of the questionnaire to express their opinions on DWP pay.
Reject 1% Limits on pay rises
The survey assumes that DWP will only have 1% available for a pay rise in the future and asks staff how a 1% increase should be distributed. PCS believes this is the wrong question. It is not possible for pay to be distributed fairly in DWP while the overall increase is limited to 1%. PCS encourages members to use the final box on the survey to tell management that they reject their pay being limited to 1%.
Pay in DWP has been subject to eight years of pay restraint. This has involved different measures in different years including:
- Freezing the pay scale max (2008-09)
- No pay increase at all to staff earning
- over £21,000 (2010-11)
- No pay progression (2010-14)
- 1% cap on overall pay increases (2012-14)
All of these measures have led to our members facing a very real cost of living crisis. The real value of our wages has been eroded year after year and many members struggle to make ends meet. The solution is an end to 1% cap and the reintroduction of guaranteed pay progression and inflation-beating increases to the Min and Max.
At the same time we have seen the increases in pensions contributions that mean most members have seen no real increase in their pay for years. At the same time management continually demand more from their staff by increasing benchmarks and targets, clamping down on sickness and placing evermore restrictions on the numbers allowed access to leave at the same time.
Members should be wary of attempts to divide those below the Max from those on the Max. The interests of all members are the same. We need a combination of proper pay progression from Min to Max, guaranteed in at least 5 years, along with annual increases to the Max that ensure the rate for the job keeps pace with inflation and makes up for lost ground.
No to performance pay
One of the options on the survey proposes using the discredited People Performance system to determine increases to pay. We know what this would most likely mean. It would mean no increase to box 3s. Lower increases, or even no increase, to the majority in the middle box while the few in the top box take the lion’s share. PCS is firmly opposed to the use of performance in determining pay. We strongly believe that pay awards are for all staff and should not be limited to just some of the staff simply because of the subjective opinion of a line manager.
PCS’ Pay Demands
The real problem with DWP pay is the ongoing 1% cap on pay increases. Only when this cap is lifted will our members see the pay increases they deserve. That is why PCS’ demands on pay are:
- An end to the government imposed pay freeze/cap
- A Minimum 5% or £1,200 pay increase
- Living Wage to underpin all pay policies and contracts
- Pay progression (where spot rates do not exist) as a right for all staff.
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