PCS members working for Ofgem will strike for three days this month in what the union has called a “wake-up call” for the energy regulator in an ongoing dispute over pay, jobs and working conditions.
Staff will walk out on 26, 27 and 28 August following a ballot in which 85% of voting members backed strike action. Two-thirds of eligible members voted in the ballot – comfortably above the 50% threshold to take action.
The strikes at Ofgem’s Glasgow, Cardiff and London offices will include “price cap day” on 27 August – the day on which the arm’s-length body announces the energy price cap for the following three months. The union stressed that this is “not a coincidence”, adding that rises to the pay cap are “as worrying to Ofgem’s employees as to everyone else” amid the dispute over pay.
Pay bands within Ofgem are 10-20% below those in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, its sponsor department, according to PCS. The regulator’s lowest-paid workers earn 20% below the median wage for the country and are in the bottom 20% of all earners, it added.
PCS said it had been negotiating with the regulator in an attempt to resolve the dispute since the ballot. “Our negotiators have listened to Ofgem’s views about our initial proposals and have offered new alternatives which constructively respond to those views,” the union said in its announcement.
“Unfortunately, Ofgem has not taken the same approach, which has led to the negotiations stalling,” it added.
It said that while negotiations had led to progress on “a couple” of the contested issues, the two parties had not reached agreement on others.
In May, ahead of the ballot, PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote accused Ofgem of having been “deliberately provocative” in its dealings with the union. It said the ALB had allowed senior leaders to spread assumptions about the inevitability of job cuts and had tried to impose changes to office-attendance requirements without demonstrating that there are problems with the existing arrangements.
PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said: “Our members in Ofgem want the pay, job security and fair treatment that workers get elsewhere.
“It’s high time Ofgem gets serious and resolves this dispute because there are fair compromises on the table.
"Otherwise our members will be on picket lines as the employer prepares for one of its most important announcements of the year. This should be a wake-up call.”
An Ofgem spokesperson said: “We are disappointed to hear the PCS has today announced industrial action.
“Around a third of Ofgem’s workforce are PCS members, and we continue to engage with them and staff on these important issues.
“As with the rest of the public sector, it’s vital we are as efficient and effective as possible for the households and businesses we serve, while also ensuring we attract and retain the people and skills we need.
“Our priority will be to minimise disruption to our operations and to continue to serve consumers across Britain."