21 January 2005
The long-running pay dispute at the Department for Work and Pensions could end this week after leaders of Whitehall's largest trade union endorsed a three-year deal, worth up to 15% for some staff.
But the DWP's final pay offer alarmed the Treasury, which had stipulated that the annual public sector wage rise should be around 2.5%. Treasury officials accepted the deal to resolve the dispute, but warned that Chancellor Gordon Brown's commitment to wage restraint remained.
The acceptance of the multi-year offer, the first of its kind at the department, by the executive of the Public and Commercial Services breaks a year-long stalemate between the union and the DWP's management. The PCS called several strikes over pay last year, disputing the use of a quota system for performance bonuses.
A High Court ruling upheld the department's broad PRP strategy, but called for minor amendments, paving the way for the pay deal, which was brokered by Work and Pensions Secretary Alan Johnson and the Trades Union Congress.
PCS branch representatives will meet on January 20 to vote on the offer, but both sides are confident it will be accepted. A PCS spokesman told Public Finance: 'The offer involves substantial rises for many of our members. There is a strong feeling among the union's Group Executive Committee that the issue could be resolved.'
Meanwhile, PF as obtained a departmental memo from Kevin White, the DWP's director of human resources, which states: 'Our judgement is that the strong recommendation from the [PCS] GEC makes it safe for us to work on the assumption that the GEC position will be confirmed.'
If the offer is not accepted, DWP permanent secretary Sir Richard Mottram could impose a deal.
The pay package is complex, but covers three years with a basic increase of 4.6% for the delayed 2004 rise, followed by 4% for 2005 and 2006. When performance bonuses are added, some of the lowest paid civil service staff could receive 15%.
Almost half of administrative staff would receive over 5.5% for 2004, while half of all staff would receive 13% over three years. The lowest rises would add 9% to basic pay by 2006.
However, Treasury sources warned that Brown would not tolerate excessive deals. One said Whitehall should expect 'another round of tight, but sensible' rises in 2005.
Forensic service safe from sell-off, for now
Home Office minister Caroline Flint has announced that the Forensic Science Service is to remain in public hands as a government-owned company – for the time being.
Speaking last week, Flint said the FSS would be turned into a wholly owned government company (GovCo) for a minimum of two years, but warned it could still be sold to private firms after 2007. Such a move would make it the first fully privatised national forensic service.
'This will be a transitional structure,' Flint said. 'In light of FSS performance as a GovCo, the government will consider what steps are necessary to facilitate the growth of the business, ensure the future of the FSS, maintain its position at the forefront of forensic science, and maximise its contribution to reducing crime and the fear of crime.'
The decision against immediate privatisation represents a small victory for the trade union Prospect, which launched a fierce campaign to prevent a sell-off after an independent review in 2003 recommended a change of structure.
The FSS conducts forensic work on behalf of the UK's police forces, military and government departments. Prospect, police chiefs and backbench MPs had argued that privatising the service, which employs 2,600 specialist public professionals, would jeopardise its 'impartiality', which is crucial to its success as a crime-fighting organisation.
Whitehall staff and police sources said they relished the opportunity to prove that the GovCo structure could be retained in the long term.
Paul Noon, Prospect's general secretary, warned: 'This is not an organisation that can be allowed to crumble under the pressure of shareholder demands and therefore needs to be maintained within a public sector framework.'
Corry joins Ruth Kelly Dan Corry, director of the New Local Government Network, has returned to his Whitehall roots as a temporary adviser to Education Secretary Ruth Kelly.
Corry, who has been instrumental in the NLGN's campaign to bring 'new localism' to government since he arrived at the think-tank in 2002, has been seconded to the Department for Education and Skills for six months. He will provide strategic and policy advice in the run-up to the election.
Kelly has also appointed Richard Darlington, former media manager at the Institute for Public Policy Research, to her permanent team.
Corry was a special adviser at the old Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions under former secretary of state Stephen Byers. In 2002, he was accused by Conservatives of 'smearing' individuals fronting the Paddington rail crash survivors' group, which had criticised Byers. In leaked DTLR e-mails to the Labour Party, he asked: 'Basically, are they Tories?'
Corry apologised following the incident and later stood down after Byers resigned.
Darlington is a former campaigns manager at the Trades Union Congress, who moved to the IPPR via the Department of Trade and Industry.
PFjan2005
