Ministers have made a breakthrough in their talks with civil servants over pay after backing down to offer officials in less senior roles a one-off payment of £1,500 to help with the cost of living.
The Prospect union welcomed the offer on Friday, which followed talks between the Cabinet Office minister, Jeremy Quin, and union officials earlier in the day.
Civil service unions had previously condemned the government for not offering their members the same lump sum offered to teachers and health workers. Civil servants had already suspended the strikes they planned for this week and will now consult with their members about whether to accept the government’s revised offer.
Quin said in a statement: “I am pleased with the constructive engagement we have had with civil service trade unions, and to be announcing that departments will be allowed to make a £1,500 payment to every member of staff at Grade 6 and below.
“This is both fair to the taxpayer and a recognition of the financial pressures civil servants have faced over the last year.”
Mike Clancy, Prospect’s general secretary, said: “The industrial action taken by union members has been critical in getting to this point. We will now consult our public service representatives on the substance of the offer and formally respond to the government in due course.”
After a winter beset by public sector strikes, the government has made headway in the negotiations in recent months, in part by offering one-off sums to workers to compensate for high levels of inflation. They include teachers, health workers and railway staff, but until today, not civil servants.
Prospect, whose members include technical, managerial and scientific staff in agencies such as the Met Office, the Health and Safety Executive and Natural England, criticised Downing Street last month for not making them a similar offer.
Sources close to the talks said that while a lump sum was never explicitly offered, government officials had given the impression it would be. But when Quin formally presented the offer last month, it did not include any one-off payment, prompting anger and further strikes.
The union temporarily suspended the strikes last week when the government offered to enter a fresh round of talks. Those strikes will remain suspended while the union consults its members.
Union officials said they welcomed the new offer, which they said dealt in principle with their concerns. They have not made a formal recommendation to members, however, over whether to accept it or not.
