HMRC PAY TALKS – NEED TO KEEP MEMBERS INFORMED

HMRC PAY TALKS – NEED TO KEEP MEMBERS INFORMED

The union’s 10% pay claim for 2020 is well deserved and a recognition of how far the value of our pay has fallen.

HMRC management’s business case for pay linked to contract changes has been agreed by the Treasury. This was announced to great fanfare on 27th July. Management said that it would take a few weeks to finalise talks with unions. In fact it appears talks could go on until end of March 2021. It would seem the official side is trying to place responsibility for this with Unions.

HMRC’s plans involve a multi-year above inflation pay rise, but there will be strings attached. HMRC is looking to change (worsen) terms and conditions. The details of these changes still haven’t been made public, but we can be sure that HMRC will want to retain ‘flexibility’ provided to it by 5/7 contracts .In accordance with the Treasury pay remit, no new money will be made available to fund the pay rise, so there may be more drastic changes being considered.

HMRC will be asking members to sell their terms and conditions to fund their own pay increase – this isn’t a pay rise. Over the last decade members have seen real terms pay cuts while paying more for their pension. In order to recover the position in pay, members shouldn’t be expected to accept detrimental changes to terms and conditions.

Contractual changes can’t simply be made by the employer and there are a limited number of ways to achieve them. Apparently HMRC’s preferred approach is to agree the changes with the recognised trade unions – PCS and ARC. If the changes are agreed by the unions then they will apply to all staff.

Talks have now begun on a ‘without prejudice basis’. This is a polite way of saying that the talks take place behind closed doors, with only the negotiators knowing what’s being discussed. It seems that the discussions on pay and on terms and conditions are being conducted separately – in line with PCS Group Conference policy that the two subjects are to be kept separate.

Lessons to be learned

HMRC is just the latest in a number of departments to look at contractual changes to fund additional pay . An early example was the DWP with their ‘Employee Deal’ in 2016. Millions of pounds of new Treasury money were put into a pay rise that saw some staff get a 21.5% rise over 4 years whilst others, opting out, got 0.25% for each year of the 4 year deal. Regardless of whether one believes ED was the right thing to do or not, and there are varying views in the BLN, the prospects for a serious campaign to win further concessions from DWP were damaged by the Group’s pay negotiators conducting the negotiations behind closed doors and then presenting the DWP Group Executive Committee with a take-it-or-leave-it deal. The result was that despite some improvements, a two-tier workforce has persisted in DWP, and some workers are now even further behind those doing the same job when it comes to pay.

Our PCS negotiators must resist the pressure of talks behind closed doors, designed to exclude members from the process, so the pressure of tens of thousands of members can’t be mobilised during negotiations. This makes it difficult to consult with members and to organise a response when the final terms of a deal are on the table; any campaign has to begin from a standing start. What is dangerous for our union is when the employer’s desire to reduce member participation becomes mirrored in the attitudes of the union’s leadership, as with the national union’s supposed pay campaign. This has degenerated to the point that member participation amounts to signing and sharing a petition. This can hardly be described as a national campaign to fight for a decent pay rise.

A pay and contract package was also offered in the MOD. Circumstances there were different in that all five recognised trade unions needed to agree the package for it to be implemented. By the time the PCS Group Executive considered the package it had already been rejected by one union. The PCS Group Executive rejected the offer without going to the members. Although the GEC decision was correct, the way it was done was used by the employer to turn members against the union and a significant number of members left PCS.

There is a clear lesson here that even if the R&C Group Executive think members should reject HMRC’s offer, members must be kept involved at every stage, so they understand why the deal on offer is a bad one and reject it in a ballot.

The importance of involving members is just as clear from the experience of the MOJ group. Again there was a pay and contract offer and it was put to members. Over 74% of members took part in the ballot, with 93% voting against the offer. This approach not only engaged existing PCS members, it also increased membership in the MOJ group by 10%.

Organise now

The MOJ Group experience shows what could be accomplished in the R&C Group. Yet recruitment and engagement with members doesn’t simply materialise because we ask for it – these things must be sought through GEC leadership, supporting work at the branch level across the group. The Broad Left Network demands are:

▪️Fight for the National PCS pay claim – fully funded 10% pay rise with a minimum underpin of £2,400, and no detrimental changes to terms and constitution.
▪️That the full GEC is kept informed by negotiators of the talks with HMRC.
▪️The GEC decides the PCS response at each stage and keep members informed.
▪️The R&C GEC commit now to a ballot of all members on the final offer, making the case for this in the strongest terms with the NEC/NDC.
▪️R&C group negotiate with HMRC to make paid time available to all staff to attend PCS organised meetings on the talks and the final offer.
▪️Support branches to call a series of meetings of members and non-members, whether the meetings are conducted in offices or via Teams or both. The meetings will be to discuss the terms of the offer, seek feedback from members and, when the offer is finalised, to encourage members to vote in the ballot.
▪️Support branches in contacting all members to ensure that PCS holds up to date contact information for all members. This to include discussions with the General Secretary office to ensure that the full time resources of the Group Office and Regional Offices are made available to support branch activities.
▪️Support branches in recruiting new members, using tailored materials around the pay discussions to show how joining PCS gives HMRC staff a voice in the issues that matter to them. Again this needs to include full time resources of the Group Office and Regional Offices being made available to support branch activities.

By taking these steps, PCS R&C Group can finish 2020 in a stronger position: greater density, the ability to communicate with members and ready to deliver again in the National Campaign if another ballot is called. Yet the consequences of not doing this are dire – PCS miss taking advantage of this potentially watershed moment and risk losing members at a time when office closures are already having an impact. Now is the time for the R&C GEC to show bold leadership with a clear purpose.