The recent Agency announcement of the delay of the £1500 one-off payment, is just the latest in a series of disappointments NCOA Members have suffered on pay.
As we reported in Issue 18 of Under Cover (https://www.ncoa.org.uk/media/1258/undercover-issue18.pdf), ‘projecting a supposed complex differentiated system by which member’s pay awards are decided as being part of the problem, belies successive and successful pay rounds since 2013.
The £1500, having been agreed by HM Government and announced by the Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service, has now been delayed by the Home Office and HM Treasury. Whilst this chaos is indicative of the disarray in which this Government operates, it also shows contempt for NCOA members who are not exempt from cost-of-living pressures.
The National Executive Committee of the NCOA will now meet and plan the next stage in our industrial strategy on pay. It does though seem inevitable that unless there is some good news in the next few weeks, we will be moving towards escalation and dispute. The £1500 payment is linked to the widespread Trade Union action (including NCOA members goodwill withdrawal) resulting from the substandard and delayed 2022/23 pay awards. We will of course canvas member views on this matter.
Having been made aware of the likely delay, I have asked that as a minimum, the Agency should confirm that whatever the final date of payment of the £1500 is; all those in post on the 1st August 2023 receive it. We await a response from the Agency.
Steve BOND – National Officer