10 September 2004
Chancellor Gordon Brown could be on a collision course with his own civil servants over possible modifications to performance-related pay deals, described by unions this week as 'radical and crude'.
Treasury officials were due to meet with union negotiators to discuss their 2004 pay offer to staff.
But, informally, staff representatives have told Public Finance that they will walk away from the negotiating table if the department ploughs ahead with proposals that would effectively freeze basic pay ranges for many of the 20% in the bottom rung of the PRP quota system.
The Public and Commercial Services union is investigating whether such a move would represent a breach of contract by the Treasury.
Under the quota system introduced last year, 20% of staff receive top level bonuses, 60% are awarded mid-range payments, while the bottom 20% get smaller deals. Last year, top bonuses for senior staff were as high as £2,800, while lower grade staff collected around £1,000.
But the PCS this week claimed that, with the Treasury keen to lead Whitehall's cost-cutting agenda, plans were afoot to reduce the basic pay range for individuals caught in the bottom 20%.
The Treasury has not confirmed that such a proposal is on the table. But Dean Rogers, PCS national officer, told PF that the union was expecting the offer following preliminary talks.
'That's what we're told could be the Treasury's starting point for the discussions and it's not what we wanted to hear. This is the chancellor acting tough and trying to take the lead in Whitehall's efficiency agenda.
'But it would fly in the face of what is happening at other departments, such as the Cabinet Office, where the approach to PRP has been sensible. Such a Treasury proposal would legislate against staff who are already low paid, who are more likely to fall into the lower 20% of the quota system.'
Treasury officials said that talks on a new basic pay and PRP deal had begun, but refused to comment on details.
A spokesman added: 'Everyone has a clear view of the current public sector pay agenda and the settlement will be in line with that.
'Whatever deal is agreed for 2004, pay increases will be backdated to August 1. As far as the PRP element is concerned, like all departments we have a pre-agreed amount to distribute and discussions are ongoing over just how that money will be distributed to staff.'
Quality, not quantity, counts in e-services, warns Watmore
Ian Watmore, the new head of e-government, has warned public sector contractors that the quality of on-line services is now more important than simple volume.
In a September 7 speech, Watmore also said he was determined to ensure that his post, previously held by Andrew Pinder as e-envoy, would be a 'brick in the wall of better public services'.
Speaking at a conference organised by IT company Oracle, Watmore told e-providers that it was more important now to identify the services that affect people's lives and make sure there is a high take-up, rather than just increasing the volume of services on-line.
This means a new emphasis on self-service mechanisms, such as easy Internet access, as well as wider use of easy-to-access intermediaries.
Some critics, however, said Watmore's message marked a break from previous policy, which has stipulated strict targets for getting services, such as bill payments and council information, on-line.
A spokesman for Watmore said the Cabinet Office had begun to switch its focus as many organisations had now met the first wave of targets — outlined in 2002.
'The reliance on some targets is still part of our plan, but the agenda has matured.
'Ensuring that the people who use e-government services are a continual focus is an important component of the head of e-government's plans,' the spokesman said.
Following a series of IT failures across Whitehall, Watmore also vowed to work with government partners to ensure that the e-agenda is rolled out effectively.
'I want to be collaborative and to add value rather than operate by diktat,' he said.
Error doubles pay on pension day
Benefits minister Chris Pond has criticised officials at the government-owned Royal Mail after a processing error gifted 25,000 pensioners with double their usual payment.
The computer error on August 23 also led to more than 150,000 payments being delayed after staff at the processing centre involved literally 'pulled the plug' on the system to prevent more mistakes.
It is understood that a clerk thousands of miles away at JP Morgan bank in New York – the Royal Mail's supplier for direct payments – spotted the error and turned off the system for several hours, causing the delays.
Pond said it was 'unacceptable that pensioners were left in this position'. He held immediate talks with Royal Mail officials, seeking assurances that the failure would not be repeated.
But it seems that thousands of the pensioners involved will have the last laugh – Department for Work and Pensions' sources have confirmed the department will not seek to retrieve the over-payments.
PFsep2004
