Civil servants agree alternative pay plan

Tuesday 27 March 2018

Civil servants have “overwhelmingly” accepted a pay deal put in place after the States withdrew their controversial ‘Workforce Modernisation’ offer that could have seen thousands of employees take a real terms pay cut.

JCSA Prospect, the civil servants’ union, today announced that their members backed a pay award of 2% for 2017. Prospect say they now intend to focus on a prompt 2018 pay award agreement.

It followed a bitter dispute over the States’ modernisation plans, which were massively rejected by Prospect, as well as the island’s biggest unions including the Jersey Nursing Association, the Royal College of Nursing and Unite the Union.

Pictured: The result of the unions' ballot on the pay deal.

They were being offered a pay increase of just over 3.3% in pensionable pay in total by 2020 – a sum very unlikely to keep pace with inflation. A Freedom of Information response showed that public sector civil service pay had already fallen behind inflation over the last decade.

Despite targeting workers with ‘Vote Yes’ materials as part of a heated campaign, the States announced that they would scrap ‘Workforce Modernisation’ plans earlier this month. Instead, they put forward a 2% consolidated pay offer for 2017 (2.5% for nurses), stating that they would then renegotiate for 2018 and 2019. 

Pay groups who accepted the original offer – paramedics and child care workers – were still able to receive it, however.

Speaking at the time, States Chief Executive Charlie Parker commented: “We have explored the implications of the rejected offer and have continued to discuss with the unions what is possible and what is not. The unions have offered no realistic alternative proposals, and there is still no more money, so we have been left with no other option than formally to withdraw the workforce modernisation offer.”

Pictured: States Chief Executive Charlie Parker.

Chairman of the States Employment Board, Senator Andrew Green, added: “We’re disappointed that the majority of employees in the recent ballots voted to reject the offer, because we made clear at the time that there is no additional money. But we now need to move on to address the outstanding issues of pay, terms and conditions swiftly and responsibly.

“I then want to negotiate a two-year pay deal for 2018-19, which will include a pay freeze for senior managers earning £100,000 or more, as we progress with reshaping of the public service.”