NIPSA has now received a formal pay offer for the 2023/24 pay year.
The offer is set out in detail below:
- all eligible satisfactory performers to receive one step progression, subject to band maximum, with effect from 1 August 2023;
- AA and analogous civil service pay scale to be revalorised to £23,177, in line with the Civil Service’s continuing commitment to being a voluntary Living Wage Foundation employer;
- all points on civil service pay scales AO and analogous to SCS inclusive, excluding non-NICS retained pay scales, from minimum to maximum to be revalorised by 5%;
- any staff receiving less than a 5% consolidated increase, to receive a non-consolidated, non-pensionable payment to bring them up to the equivalent value of 5% of their salary at 31 July 2023 (for those in civil service grades who are in receipt of a salary in excess of the maximum, the 5% would be based on the scale maximum. For those on non-civil service pay scales the 5% would be limited to 5% of the equivalent civil service general service scale maximum); and
- a £1,500 non-consolidated, non-pensionable, gross payment to staff eligible for the 2023 pay award, to be pro-rata-ed as appropriate.
The Civil Service Executive Committee met to consider the offer and has agreed to recommend to members that we accept the offer.
In taking the decision the Executive Committee took account of the significant and extended period of industrial action taken by members and the exceptional political situation we have all lived through.
Inflation is currently 4% and an increase of 5% on all scales is, therefore, above inflation. The Executive Committee noted that this is the first above inflation pay offer we have received in decades. In addition, the incremental progression for those below the maximum of the scale adds 1% or more to the award. On top of that, the £1,500 lump sum is roughly equivalent to 5% for those on £30k and below. We believe this award will go some way to ameliorate the derisory award you received in 2022/23.
This is also the first pay offer we have received without strings attached for many years, and we note this as a success in ensuring that pay awards are no longer contingent upon NIPSA agreeing to any diminution of your Terms and Conditions.
Members will be aware that our pay claim was for inflation plus 5% to address the real loss in earnings over the last decade. The Civil Service Executive Committee took that into account when it met to discuss the offer, but also considered that the significant and strategic action taken by NIPSA members over the last year has pushed the award higher than it might otherwise have been.
There is no doubt that the 3 days of strike action by all members, the 1 day of strike action by members in the museums, the action short of strike action by all members, the protests and the lobbies and the very successful targeted strike action by members in DAERA, have all served to push NICS pay to the top of the political and economic agenda. The strike action, plus the additional political and strategic activities in which we engaged, ensured that NIPSA was at the forefront of the action taken by trade unions here. Not only did we ensure that civil servants were not left behind, but we pushed civil servants to the forefront of attention.
Some of the other activities in which NIPSA engaged are listed below.
- A meeting with the Secretary of State.
- Continued engagement with the Northern Ireland Office
- A meeting with the Shadow Secretary of State.
- Meetings with all the political parties including with the party leaders.
- Meetings with MPs.
- A submission to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee.
- NIPSA banners and placards placed strategically across all towns and cities.
Branches are now being asked to convene meetings of members, as soon as possible, to consult them on acceptance or rejection of the pay award. Members of the Civil Service Executive Committee and NIPSA Officials, including myself and the acting Deputy General Secretaries, Maria Morgan and Antoinette McMillen, will be available to attend branch meetings. If you would like a speaker, please contact
I would be grateful if you would ensure your branch meeting is held in time to make a return to
I have also convened a meeting for NIPSA activists on Tuesday 27 February at 4pm and the link has been issued to Branch Secretaries.
If the pay offer is accepted, I hope that members will receive the back pay in June. NIPSA has asked that urgent attention is given to also making the pay award available to those ALBs that mirror NICS pay without any delay.
If you have any questions, please contact your Branch Secretary or NIPSA Official.