MyCSP staff are planning to take a further six weeks of strikes in their battle for union recognition for PCS ahead of the transfer of staff to outsourcing giant Capita.
PCS members working for the Civil Service Pension Scheme administrator are set to extend their strike action until 26 September unless MyCSP makes “positive moves” to address their concerns, the union said.
MyCSP staff are now into their fifth week of industrial action over the company’s refusal to meet PCS's demand for recognition and full consultation regarding the TUPE transfer of staff over to Capita, which is due to take over the pensions administration contract later this year.
The initial round of strikes, affecting offices in Liverpool and Cheadle Hulme, began on 7 July and were due to end next Friday, 15 August.
PCS said its efforts to come to an agreement with MyCSP have been met with a “deeply uncooperative attitude”, and so “to maintain the pressure, we have informed MyCSP that we will be extending our industrial action for another six weeks”.
The union said it has written to the Public Accounts Committee over MyCSP’s “misleading” reasons for refusing to recognise the union.
Last week, PCS said the action had led to a “breakthrough” when Capita, agreed to meet PCS in early August to discuss recognising PCS from “day one” of the new contract.
The union said this means “there’s no excuse for MyCSP not recognising the union as well”, given MyCSP chief executive Duncan Watson’s comments to PAC in early July.
Asked why MyCSP had not formally recognised PCS, Watson said: “If I recognise the union now, there will then be an assumption that the union will be recognised by Capita. I need to make sure that Capita is comfortable.”
PCS said MyCSP’s failure to respond to this development and recognise the union “makes the MyCSP chief executive’s answer to the Public Accounts Committee look (at best) misleading”.
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 retains overall responsibility for the Civil Service Pension Scheme and made the decision to award the new contract to Capita.
Equiniti has been approached for comment.