PCS members working for civil service pensions administrator MyCSP are set to take six weeks’ strike action as they seek formal recognition for the union ahead of the transfer of staff to outsourcing giant Capita.
The union has announced strikes on the following dates: 7-11 July, 14-18 July, 21-25 July, 28 July-1 August, 4-8 August, 11-15 August. The strike will affect offices in Liverpool and Cheadle Hulme.
PCS has 156 members in MyCSP, including pension administrators, senior pension administrators, telephony administrators, team leaders and managers.
MyCSP administers pensions for around 1.7 million scheme members. Capita is due to take over the administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme at the end of this year.
PCS said MyCSP has refused to recognise PCS and engage the union in formal consultation in the TUPE transfer process ahead of the transfer contract from MyCSP Ltd to Capita on 1 December.
On 7 July, the same day the strikes begin, senior Cabinet Office officials will appear at the Public Accounts Committee to speak about the levels of customer service scheme members are now receiving, and the upcoming transfer of administration to Capita.
Earlier this month, public spending watchdog the National Audit Office published a damning assessment of the organisation’s customer services record.
MyCSP span out of the civil service in 2012 as part of then-Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude’s mutuals drive. So-called “employee partners” own 25% of the company, with the remainder now owned by private sector business Equiniti Group. The Cabinet Office still has overall responsibility for the Civil Service Pension Scheme.
PCS said the heart of its dispute with MyCSP is the company’s refusal to acknowledge it as the recognised trade union for staff, effectively shutting it out of the formal process for transferring workers to Capita.
The lack of recognition means PCS has no official role in talks related to Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) regulations. The TUPE process is designed to ensure workers’ terms and conditions are not negatively impacted when a business is taken on by a new employer.
The TUPE process for the Civil Service Pension Scheme’s change of administration was due to start last month.