This briefing gives details of the 2017 pay claim submitted by the Group Executive Committee (GEC) to the DWP.

The pay claim submitted by the GEC is based on the national PCS pay claim but takes account of the Employee Deal.

The claim demands –

a)    An end to government imposed pay restraint
b)    A significant pay increase, above the rate of inflation, to compensate members for the cut in their living standards, of 5% or £1200, whichever is the greater.
c)    A Living Wage of at least £10 per hour on all pay policies and contracts
d)    National bargaining at Cabinet Office level on pay for all staff in the Civil Service and its related bodies in order to:
1.    Establish a common pay and grading structure across the service
2.    Establish equal pay for work of equal value across the service
3.    Eradicate the inequities caused by the delegated bargaining system

The evidence in the claim points out that civil service pay has fallen behind average earnings and public sector earnings. It also points out that inflation and average earnings are projected to rise more quickly than civil service pay, which will mean that the value of civil service pay will continue to fall for the rest of this parliament if the government pay cap continues.

The pay claim and the Employee Deal

The situation in DWP is different to the rest of the union because of the Employee Deal multi-year pay agreement. All members in grades AA to HEO who opted into the Employee Deal will receive annual pay increases up to 2019 that are greater than the 1% pay cap that has been imposed on the rest of the civil service. The government imposed 1% cap therefore does not apply to these members. Our members that opted in are the only members in PCS that know in advance that they will break the Tories pay cap every year of the Employee Deal.

However there are some staff in DWP who are not covered by the Employee Deal pay rises and who will not receive awards of more than 1%. These include members who opted out and some of the members who are not on DWP terms and conditions. There are also the members in grades SEO to Grade 6 whose pay remains capped at 1%.

Annual review of Employee Deal

During negotiations over the Employee Deal, PCS made clear that we did not agree that 0.25% was an acceptable pay increase for those members who chose to opt out and told the DWP that we reserved the right to revisit this during each year’s pay negotiations, and argue for this to be increased.
We also agreed that each year, as part of annual pay negotiations, we will review the consolidated increases set out as part of the four year pay offer, taking into account:
1.    Statutory requirements, which will include reviewing current and forecast statutory National Living Wage rates.
2.    Other external and economic factors.
The current rate of inflation is 2.3%. Many members will get an increase of more than 2.3% because of the Employee deal, but many members, especially those on or near the max will get an increase over the government 1% pay cap but less than 2.3%. The GEC is using this review clause in the Employee Deal to argue in the claim that members’ pay should be increased to at least take into account inflation, whether or not they are covered by the Employee Deal.

This is in line with the national PCS pay claim which makes the point that the recent increases in the rate of inflation should be reflected in 2017 pay awards across the civil service.
The non-consolidated pay offer and allowances also continue to be negotiated on an annual basis.
The GEC will ensure that all of these issues are raised with DWP in the 2017 pay negotiations and the 2017 review of the Employee Deal. We will argue that all staff in DWP should receive a pay award of either £1,200 or 5%, whichever is the greater, in line with the demands of the national PCS pay claim.