Government urged to bring back civil service pay negotiations

THE Government has been urged to reinstate national pay and conditions negotiations in the civil service amid speculation that ministers plan to cut the time union reps are allowed to deal with disciplinary hearings.

The Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) said restoring national bargaining, which was abandoned by a Tory government in the mid 1990s, would save money and time because most industrial relations issues were now dealt with by more than 200 departments and agencies.

The union said this was time-consuming and wasteful, particularly at a time when civil service departments were facing budget cuts.

PCS officials said they expect Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude will announce in his party conference speech this weekend a cut in the amount of time union reps are allocated to deal with negotiations.

The union said the so-called facility time accounted for just 0.2 per cent of staff time across the whole civil service.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: “We have repeatedly said that it is hugely inefficient and costly for union reps to spend their time negotiating issues that were once handled nationally. At a time of unprecedented change for the civil service, Mr Maude should sit down with us to discuss the best way to handle employee relations for the good of his staff and his organisation.

“It would be very disappointing if he refused to do this and instead sought simply to undermine union reps who bring huge value to the civil service and our economy.”