DWP members need a pay rise

The following details have been supplied by the PCS DWP Group:

The GEC has submitted a pay claim for 2014 demanding:

• An end to the government imposed pay freeze/cap
• A Minimum 5% or £1,200 consolidated pay increase
• Short pay scales and pay progression as a right for all staff
• Closing the pay gaps within and across departments
• No discriminatory performance pay
• The Living Wage to underpin all pay policies and contracts

The Government wants to limit our pay increase to 1% for the third year in a row whilst inflation measured by the Consumer Price Index is currently at 1.65 and the Retail Price Index (RPI) that includes housing costs is at 2.5%.

A 1% increase means that PCS members will be even worse off in real terms.

In the private sector wage settlements this year are predicted to exceed the rate of inflation for the first time since the recession began in 2007.

Against this background PCS members will be angry at a Government that wants to hold down their pay again, deny pay progression and allow the gap between DWP pay and other comparable outside private sector workers get bigger.

The PCS DWP GEC will fight for a fair pay increase.