The PCS union has decided not to launch a national campaign over pay after the Cabinet Office indicated that it is open to reforming civil service pay to create greater pay coherence.
The union has announced that, following delegated pay talks and a series of consultations with groups and members, its National Executive Committee has “agreed that there is not a strong enough case to move to an industrial action ballot under the national campaign at this time”. It added that “this will be kept under review”.
In a news update published yesterday, PCS said the Cabinet Office has “indicated that it is open to reforming civil service pay to create greater pay coherence”.
The union said the Cabinet Office “has accepted the problems caused by years of pay restraint post-2010 (i.e. low pay and recruitment and retention), the differing levels of pay across civil service departments and bodies, and the erosion of grading differentials”.
“While we have not yet won the case for national pay bargaining, they are recognising the need for greater standardisation and harmonisation,” it added.
Fran Heathcote, the union's general secretary, said: "PCS has held a consultation with our members who have indicated that we should continue to pursue progress in negotiations rather than moving to industrial action at this stage.
"We are in talks with ministers and senior officials. The Cabinet Office accepts our case: that pay restraint and delegation has caused recruitment and retention problems. We are pressing for inflation-proofed pay rises and pay restoration, as well as better standardisation across the civil service.
""There have recently been a large number of good, above-inflation pay settlements for some of the lowest paid of our members. The detailed talks ahead will be crucial. Only if our members' needs are met will it be possible to guarantee the future effectiveness and efficiency of the UK's public services."
At PCS’s annual conference in May, delegates passed a motion directing the union’s National Executive Committee to “proceed to a ballot by no later than mid-September if there is not satisfactory progress made to meeting” its key demands.
These demands included:
- An £18-per-hour minimum wage for civil servants
- Fully consolidated pay rises of at least 10%
- Pay restoration for money lost since 2010
- A shorter working week without loss of pay
- A London weighting minimum of £5,000 a year
- Shortening pay scales where they exist, automatic pay progression and no overlap between pay scales
In an interview with CSW at the conference, Heathcote said the union's members were "losing faith a little bit” that the Labour administration would be better than recent Conservative governments but also said there was "more engagement than we would ever had had under the Tories" from Cabinet Office ministers.
Union vaunts delegated talks successes
PCS also gave an update on progress with delegated pay talks. It said its reps and officials “have achieved a large number of settlements that exceed the current inflation rate of 3.8%, especially for AAs, AOs and EOs”. The union also listed a series of pay settlement achievements at a number of departments and public bodies – mostly highlighting inflation-busting awards for the lower grades across the civil service – as shown below.
PCS also noted the situation at the DWP where the department weighted increases towards higher and specialist grades, leading to the union holding a consultative ballot. Results from the poll earlier this month indicated DWP members would be prepared to take industrial action.
The union said its negotiators “are pressing the employer to re-open talks on the shape of the offer” and the DWP group executive committee is “weighing up moving to a statutory ballot”.
The Cabinet Office has been approached for comment.
Pay settlements for 2025-26 highlighted by PCS
ACAS
AO 8.5%
EO 4.75%
Cabinet Office
AO and EO 4.75%
Crown Commercial Service
AO and EO 4.45%
Department for Business and Trade
AO 5.5%
Department for Culture Media and Sport
AO 4.14%
Department for Education
AA 6.4%
AO 7.43 - 7.88%
EO 4%
Department of Health and Social Care
AO 4.5%
EO 4.25%
Department for Work and Pensions
AO 4.01%
Food Standards Agency
AO 8.48%
Forestry Commission England
PB6 Ops 6.9%
PB5 5.5%
HM Revenue and Customs
AA and EO 4%
AO 4.66%
Institute for Apprentices and Technical Education
EO 7.5%
HEO 6.5%
The Justice Board
AO 10%
EO 6%
Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency
AA 10.61%
Ministry of Justice
AA 5.6%
AO 5.7%
National Savings & Investments
Lowest paid 9.5%
Office for Nuclear Regulation
All grades 5.39%
Ofsted
AA, AO and EO 4.25%
Pensions Ombudsman
AA 4.41%
AO 4.28%
EO 4.08%
Royal Botanic Gardens
AA 4.25%
AO 4%
EO 4%
Serious Fraud Office
AA 4%
AO 4%
EO 4%
UK Export Finance
AO 7.35%
EO 4%
UK Hydrographic Office:
AO 5%
EO 4.51%
UK Research and Innovation
AA 6%
Westminster Foundation for Democracy
AO 4.1%
EO 4.9%