Civil service trade unions have succeeded in getting courts to give urgent consideration to their challenge to the Treasury’s pay guidance for departments that is set to award civil servants the lowest pay increase of all public sector employees.
The Public and Commercial Services union, Prospect and the FDA today asked the High Court for the judicial review proceedings on the case to be expedited given that civil service employers are now relying on this guidance to inform their pay offers for this year. This was granted by Mrs Justice Nicola Davies.
In a joint statement, the general secretaries of the three unions – PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka, Prospect chief Mike Clancy and FDA boss Dave Penman – said that the review needed to be heard quickly.
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The guidance, issued by the Treasury and Cabinet Office in June, limits pay rises for civil servants to a range of between 1% and 1.5%, less than increases offered elsewhere in the public sector.
The three unions, representing more than 200,000 civil servants, launched legal proceedings after what they argue was inadequate consultation on the 2018 civil service pay guidance.
“The court accepted our arguments and has agreed to seek a date to consider the application for Judicial Review as quickly as possible,” the three general secretaries said in a statement. This is "likely to be in early October”, they added.
“We are grateful to the court for recognising both the significance of the issues at hand and the necessity to have these matters resolved quickly.”
The union chiefs said that a fresh consultation is needed due to a lack of ministerial engagement with unions, including promised consultation meetings that did not take place, and they launched a judicial review after Cabinet Office minister David Lidington refused to withdraw the policy.
Today’s update highlighted that the application for expediting proceedings had been opposed by Lidington, a decision the unions said was “unfortunate”.
They added: “It is, however, symptomatic of the approach taken to the civil service pay guidance this year and, even at this late stage, we would urge the minister to reconsider his position and engage in a meaningful process of consultation over the pay arrangements for 400,000 dedicated public servants.”
Responding to the unions' statement, a government spokesperson said: "Civil servants do an outstanding job supporting the delivery of public services right across the country. This year's pay guidance provides greater flexibility for Civil Service pay, striking a balance between rewarding our hard working staff while ensuring good value for the taxpayer.”