WIREDGOV

The FDA, Prospect and PC – unions representing more than 200,000 civil servants – yesterday jointly launched legal proceedings, seeking Judicial Review of the Government’s consultation over the 2018 civil service pay guidance.

This legal action follows a number of failed attempts to resolve the dispute with ministers. Instead, the Government has made clear in defending its position that there was never any attempt meaningfully to consult the unions on the new civil service pay cap, and did not trust the unions to keep any proposed figure confidential during negotiations.

Announcing the launch of the legal action, FDA General Secretary Dave Penman said: “To add insult to injury, the Government’s defence of its shambolic consultation process on pay for hundreds of thousands of civil servants is that they never intended to consult us on the new pay cap and rushed the guidance out because they didn’t trust us not to leak the 1.5% figure. This, more than anything, demonstrates the perilous state of industrial relations in the civil service.”

Prospect General Secretary Mike Clancy said: “By refusing to consult on the remit guidance in any meaningful way, the Government has demonstrated a disdain not only for the unions, but for hundreds of thousands of loyal, hard-working civil servants. By treating civil servants differently and worse than those employed in other parts of the public sector, the Government has shown how little they value their vital contribution.”

PCS General Secretary Mark Serwotka said: “Not content with reneging on its commitments to engage in consultation on an issue as fundamental as our members’ pay, the Government is now adding insult to injury by claiming it never intended to consult in the first place. This shambolic state of affairs cannot go unchallenged and we will now pursue this matter to the High Court.”

Notes for editors 

1. The FDA is the union for senior managers and professionals in public service, representing more than 18,000 members at grades HEO and above. Membership includes senior civil servants, government policy advisors, prosecutors, diplomats, tax professionals, economists, solicitors and other professionals working across the Government and the NHS.
2. The FDA (formerly the First Division Association) should be referred to simply as "The FDA" and can be described as "the senior public servants' union". 
3. The FDA can be found on Twitter @FDA_union. General Secretary Dave Penman tweets as @FDAGenSec.
4. For more information contact FDA Communications Manager Kay Hender on 07980 700747 or Communications Officer Tommy Newell on 07738 729145.