Action on Pay

Bulletin No 2

Probation Employers Stop Increments

Dispute Registered

A dispute was registered by the Trade Union Side at the National Negotiating Council on 4 March, when the Employers confirmed that they would be withholding the payment of increments from 1 April.

The Employers refused to take account of the points made by the Trade unions, namely that:

 Increments are an agreed contractual right.

 There is nothing in the 2005/2008 pay agreement which means the payment of increments on the current basis – three increments before the development point, two on it and one after it - should cease on 1 April.

 Staff are appointed to a pay band not a pay spine.

 Withholding increments could result in taking longer to progress to the scale maxima – arguably the rate for the job- despite the fact that the Employers have previously conceded that the bands are already too long.

 Withholding increments puts the Employers in potential breach of equality legislation.

 In other public sector areas such as local government, the police, teaching and the NHS, increments are not affected by the annual pay increase.

 Their non-payment could mean a cut in take home pay for many members from 1 April as a result of the increase in pension contributions from that date.

The Employers accept that increments are a contractual right but insist that they want to hold payment back so that the actual size of increments is included in the negotiations on the annual pay increase. They said that increments, once agreed, will be backdated to 1 April.

They have stated that they want early negotiations on the overall settlement but have not yet made us an offer. They have been forced to recognise that negotiations will take some time as the Treasury imposes a range of obstacles to public sector pay negotiations.

We have reminded them that in past years it has often been December/January before members have received the increases agreed in their pay.

Employers Reject our Claim

The Employers have also given us a written response rejecting our pay claim of 5% or £1,000. No pay offer has yet been made.

A fuller analysis of the Employers’ letter will follow, but it includes wanting to hold back part of any settlement until agreement is reached on a range of issues.

These include

• flexible working
• harmonisation of working hours
• clarification of local negotiation parameters
• sickness absence
• and training arrangements.

They have also stated that from April 2009 they want movement through the development point to be based on performance.

On sickness absence for example, the Employers state that they have received representations from Boards about the high level and costs of sickness absence and they want to discuss the sick pay arrangements with us.

Attacking Pay and Conditions

It would seem that this year the Employers wish to attack our pay, our rights to pay progression and possibly attack other conditions such as sick pay arrangements. Members will feel let down by their employers who are acting in bad faith at a time when staff should be receiving support and encouragement.

We are yet to receive a pay offer, but no doubt they will be looking at the Treasury Guidance which states that basic awards should be no more than 2%. This is when the Retail Price Index is at 4.1% and many other costs such as energy bills are increasing by even higher amounts.

At a time when staff have ensured that the Service is performing better than ever against all targets despite all the uncertainties that have accompanied the various re-organisations of the past few years, we might have expected our Employers to have sought to find a pay offer that would increase staff morale.

This is clearly not the case.

This year we are likely to receive a pay offer that will mean a pay cut in real terms as well as an attack on incremental progression.

Napo and Unison agreed to register a dispute at the NNC earlier this week.

We now have to consider our response.

Napo’s Officers will be recommending to the NEC that, as a first step, we hold an indicative ballot to see if members are prepared to take industrial action in support of pay and increments this year.

Members are urged to support the call for action, to strengthen the hand of Napo negotiators in what will clearly be a particularly difficult pay round this year.

Judy McKnight
General Secretary

7th March 2008