DWP members say: interim pay offer is a kick in the teeth

Members are angry! The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced it will give an interim pay increase of just 1.75% for grades AO (administration officer) and above at the end of November.

Disgracefully, our lowest-paid members will have this as a non-consolidated payment, as the government has decided our AA members (administration assistants) should remain on the minimum wage.

There will be nothing for members who are not on DWP terms and conditions. There will also be a non-consolidated performance bonus of £178.

This is why the left majority on the civil service union PCS National Executive Committee has fought for a national ballot for action. The left majority includes the Broad Left Network (BLN) and Socialist Party members.

The DWP group in PCS is led by the misnamed ‘Left Unity’ grouping, supporters of the PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote, who want to avoid action.

The BLN opposes the divisions that Left Unity is trying to create, with the false hope that pay problems in DWP can be addressed within the overall pay remit of 3.5%.

Things will only keep getting worse if we do not stand up and fight now, and we will be much stronger if the different groups across PCS fight together.

• The ballot runs 20 October – 1 December