I’m fed up with talking about the weather, but I can console myself with the fact we have grabbed every opportunity so far and progress is not too bad.Defra staff vote for industrial action
DEFRA staff have voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action in protest at an imposed 2007 pay offer they say amounts to a real terms cut for the majority of employees.
In a ballot of Defra members of the union, Prospect, over 71 per cent voted in favour of action short of action.
The action, which will begin in the New Year, will take the form of a ban on overtime with staff only working conditioned hours and banning all out-of-hours coverage except emergencies.
Members expect the action to impact on key activities, including import inspections of plants and animals entering the country.
But it falls short of full strike action that would have had a much bigger impact on the farming industry.
Prospect represents over 730 members working in core Defra plus the Marine Fisheries Inspectorate, Plant Health and Seed Inspectorate, Veterinary and Animal Health, Veterinary Medicines Directorate and Pesticides Safety Directorate.
The union said the result reflected the anger felt by members who consider their efforts in 2007 tackling emergencies such as bluetongue, foot-and-mouth, and avian flu, have been ‘insulted by the lack of any cost of living increase’.
The union argues that the imposed offer is worth only 2.9 per cent overall, is five months late and provides no basic increase to the department’s pay bands.
It claims the pay deal will have a ‘major impact’ on future salary increases and will also affect the pensions of all core Defra staff.
Prospect national secretary Geraldine O’Connell said: “Since 1996 Defra and its predecessor department have had their own pay system and pay negotiations. In all those 11 years, despite some pay settlements that have caused serious problems and hardship, our members have never voted for any form of strike action.
“Yet this year members feel they have been pushed too far. Defra’s decision not to revalorise the pay bands means not only that our members will lag behind their private sector colleagues, by as much as 10.5 per cent at the highest grade, but Defra pay scales will fall behind many civil service equivalents.
“It is a testament to the commitment and professionalism of our members that they rejected the proposition of full strike action for fear of the impact this would have on the UK’s agricultural and farming industries.”
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