Offer made to civil servants in bid to end strikes

The government has made a new offer in a bid to end a dispute over pay and jobs with civil servants, union bosses have said.

Union officials said civil servants below senior grades had been offered a lump sum of £1,500 for 2022/23.

Civil servants have staged strikes in recent months, with unions calling for pay to reflect the rising cost of living.

The fresh offer was broadly welcomed by union reps, who are now considering it.

Unions said as well as the lump sum, the deal also included a moratorium on any changes to the civil service compensation scheme and ministers had committed to avoiding compulsory redundancies.

Last month, the government published new plans for an average 4.5% pay increase for civil servants, with an additional 0.5% for lower pay bands.

Inflation - the rate at which prices rise - dipped slightly from above 10% to 8.7% in April but remains high.

Prospect union general secretary Mike Clancy said he welcomed the new offer which he said "addresses the three issues at the heart of this dispute".

"This payment will help to address the cost-of-living crisis [civil servants] have been facing," he said.

"For too long they have been at the back of the queue when it comes to public sector pay, and throughout this dispute we have been fighting for a deal comparable with that in the rest of the public sector."

The Public and Commercial Service (PCS) union said the breakthrough came at a meeting on Friday between civil service union leaders and the Cabinet Office.

Jeremy Quin, minister for the Cabinet Office said he was "pleased with the constructive engagement" between the government and trade unions.

He said the offer was "both fair to the taxpayer and a recognition of the financial pressures civil servants have faced over the last year".

FDA general secretary Dave Penman said the new pay deal represented a "a clear demonstration" that this message from the strikes had "now been heard".

"For the first time in many years, we have reached a tangible, positive outcome for the civil service which compares well with the rest of the public sector," he added.

"That, in itself, is no mean feat."

Members of the FDA and Prospect unions suspended their planned strike action on 7 June after talks were arranged.

In April, more than 130,000 civil servants who are members of the PCS union went on strike over pay, pensions and job security.