Civil servants being "badly let down" on pay, new figures show

17 Nov 2017 01:13 PM

News from the FDA, the union of choice for senior managers and professionals in public service.

Commenting on the latest Civil Service People Survey results, FDA General Secretary Dave Penman said:

“Despite the turbulent political times we’re living in, it’s heartening to see that civil servants have increasing confidence in their managers, high levels of trust in their colleagues, and a real sense of pride in what they do. It’s also clear, however, that they’re being badly let down on pay at a time when their expertise is needed more than ever.

“Only a quarter of civil servants believe their pay is reasonable when compared to someone doing a similar job elsewhere, while just 30% believe their pay adequately reflects their performance. While politicians like to talk about generous public sector perks, the figures also tell a different story: since 2009 civil servants’ satisfaction with their total benefits package has fallen by ten points to just 34%.

“As the civil service grapples with the hugely complex challenge of Brexit while keeping vital public services running, ministers cannot afford to ignore the scale of dissatisfaction on pay any longer. The Chancellor must use next week’s Budget to ensure that all public servants are given a fair, fully-funded – and long overdue – pay rise.” 

Notes for editors

  1. The FDA is the trade union for the UK's senior public servants and professionals at grade HEO and above. FDA membership includes more than 18,000 senior civil servants, diplomats, Government policy advisors, prosecutors, tax professionals, economists, solicitors and other professionals working across 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 and at www.fda.org.uk. General Secretary Dave Penman tweets as @FDAGenSec.

For further information contact:

Matt Foster, Communications Officer, tel: 07982 514 524.
Tommy Newell, Communications Officer, tel: 020 7401 5555 or 07738 729 145