News
2010 and 2011 NI Civil Service Pay
08/03/2011
The Management Side has now made what it describes as a final offer to NIPSA on NI Civil Service pay for the two years 2010 and 2011.
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Dear Colleague
The Management Side has now made what it describes as a final offer to NIPSA on NI Civil Service pay for the two years 2010 and 2011.
While the NI Executive can determine its own policy in respect of NI Civil Service pay it has previously adopted the approach recommended by HM Treasury. This offer, again reflects the UK Government’s pay policy, and is as follows:-
2010 and 2011 Pay
This is a two year pay award package, with year 1 payable from 1 August 2010 and year 2 payable from 1 August 2011 and in relation to reporting years 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010 and 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011 respectively. The main elements of the offer are as follows:
(a) All eligible fully satisfactory or better performers receive one step progression with effect from 1 August 2010 and a further step progression from 1 August 2011;
(b) The majority of pay scales will have the minimum point removed;
(c) Following the one step progression all staff below a full time equivalent salary of £21,000 will receive a non consolidated payment of £250 (pro rated for part time staff);
(d) Restructuring of ‘O’ level trainee pay scale; and
(e) Support Grade Band 1 Security guards and staff on the maximum of their pay scale will remain on their existing salary but will receive the benefit of (c) above if their salary is below £21,000.
Implementation
The sequence for implementing pay awards for 2010 and 2011 is as follows:
- For the 2010 pay increase all eligible fully satisfactory performers or better should move up one step on the 2009 pay scale with effect from 1 August 2010;
- The minimum point is removed from the pay scales with effect from 1 August 2010 (with the exception of the Graduate Trainee and ‘O’ Level Trainee scales);
- Following the one step progression all staff below a full time equivalent salary of £21,000 will receive a non consolidated payment of £250 (pro rated for part time staff);
- For the 2011 pay increase all eligible fully satisfactory performers or better should move up one step on the 2010 pay scale with effect from 1 August 2011;
- The minimum point is removed from the 2010 pay scales with effect from 1 August 2011 (with the exception of the Graduate Trainee and ‘O’ Level Trainee scales); and
- Following the one step progression all staff below a full time equivalent salary of £21,000 will receive a non consolidated payment of £250 (pro rated for part time staff).
The offer was considered by the NIPSA Civil Service Executive Committee at its meeting on Monday, 7 March 2011. The Executive Committee does not regard the offer as satisfactory and in any event NIPSA, along with the public sector trade unions across the UK, is opposed to the two year pay freeze for the public sector imposed by the government and announced in the June 2010 budget by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne.
The offer should be viewed against a background of Retail Price Inflation which is currently over 5% and the increase in VAT (effective from January 2011) which places a greater burden on low and middle income earners. Members are also facing the prospect of significant increases in their pension contribution.
While the Executive Committee considers the offer for the two year period as totally unsatisfactory especially as it provides little or no cost of living increase it is also concerned at two major deficiencies in the offer. The first is the non consolidated nature of the £250 and the second is the refusal of the Management Side to countenance any increase for staff at the maximum of their pay scales. NIPSA has made it clear that the persistent targeting of staff who are at the maximum of their pay scales is totally unfair and unacceptable.
The Executive Committee has decided that NIPSA should seek an early meeting with the Finance Minister Sammy Wilson to express its concerns about the inadequacy of the offer and to press the Minister for an improved offer. It is hoped that this meeting can be organised at an early date.
In the meantime branches should be aware that the Executive Committee is committed to consulting branches on whether to accept or reject any final offer and this will happen following the meeting with the Minister. A further more detailed bulletin will be issued as soon as possible after that meeting.
I appreciate that the offer in relation to 2010 pay has involved a considerable delay. This was due to the delay in Civil Service Officials on the Management Side receiving a pay remit from the Finance Minister and this was only recently finalised following publication of the draft budget in December 2010.
Yours sincerely
BRIAN CAMPFIELD
General Secretary
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