Civil Service Pension Scheme administrator MyCSP is facing the prospect of strike action by staff who are members of the PCS union.
Their dispute centres around formal recognition for the union – the civil-service's biggest – ahead of the transfer of staff to outsourcing giant Capita, which is due to take over the administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme at the end of this year.
The strike mandate at MyCSP, which administers pensions for around 1.7m scheme members, comes just days after public spending watchdog the National Audit Office published a damning assessment of the organisation’s customer services record.
It said complaints about the scheme increased by 43% between 2016-17 and 2023-24 – rising from 3,335 to 4,780 over that period. Among the issues identified by the NAO was call-handling at MyCSP. It said the organisation was falling well short of its target of answering 80% of customer calls within 30 seconds – and that the average waiting time for customers was 24 minutes in November last year.
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 was 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 new Civil Service Pension Scheme provider 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.
PCS said the ballot of members at MyCSP had shown 79.61% in favour of strike action and 86.27% backing industrial action short of a strike.
It did not provide turnout figures or specify the number of members it has at MyCSP, which has around 400 staff.
PCS said the support for strike action was “overwhelming” and should send a clear and powerful message that members at MyCSP are determined to fight for their right to be represented by their union.
"Our members have spoken loud and clear,” a PCS spokesperson said. “This is a strong mandate for action, and we are committed to ensuring their voices are heard and respected. PCS members deserve full recognition and proper representation in the workplace.”
PCS said it would now consult with its members and representatives at MyCSP to decide how best to implement the strike mandate.
CSW sought responses from Equiniti and the Cabinet Office. Both declined to comment.