Posted on: 12 October 2023

Dear Members,

GMB members working for DE&S rejected the 2023 pay offer. Yesterday (11.10.23) GMB, Unite and Prospect wrote to the employer registering a formal dispute. Please see the letter below.

11^th October 2023

Dear Peter & Chris,

DE&S TU SIDE FORMAL DISPUTE OVER PAY 23 PAY OFFER

You will be aware that the Trade Unions have balloted on this year’s pay offer and you have now been informed of the results of those ballots and that four of the five trade unions have rejected your pay offer. As previously communicated, 82% of Unite members (97% of GMB members) across DE&S voted to reject the pay offer.

It is disappointing that we have not received any formal acknowledgement of this rejection nor an offer to meet to discuss a way forward.

We believe that there was scope within the Cabinet Office remit guidance for further discussions, which might have delivered a more acceptable deal, this included movement on:

1) The scope to move further away from the National Minimum Wage and recognise and reward Industrial Job roles & responsibilities, recognising that in 2022, DE&S had to increase pay on 1st April as a result, and may have to again, given that the national minimum wage will increase to £11 per hour.

2) A £23,500 annual salary for staff assembling, storing and transporting munitions is too low and almost insulting to DE&S staff, who are paid less than supermarket staff who work in nearby locations wherever DE&S are based. This may have implications for other rates of pay which we are prepared to consider.

3) Consolidate non pensionable allowances to be competitive with Industry

4) A minimum cost of living pay rise of 4.5% in line with the pay remit to all staff.

5) An agreed mechanism to progress to, & above, job thresholds

6) The elimination of Individual Performance Related Pay - including individual bonus payment which are heavily skewed towards the highest paid.

7) Consideration of fairer Performance Related Award (bonus)

However, not only were these elements absent from your pay offer, you have to date declined to acknowledge them nor have you suggested further engagement.

We need to negotiate improvements along the lines above and seek your commitment within the next seven days to meeting us or we will have no option but to enter formal dispute with you over Pay 2023. We will consult our members regarding potential industrial action across DE&S, but we hope you will agree to an urgent meeting to avoid the need for us to trigger as statutory industrial action ballot.

DE&S has already seen the consequence of industrial action at Beith, and a negative response to our request may see industrial action across every DE&S site.

Yours Sincerely

Paul Hollands

For and on behalf of the Prospect, GMB & Unite

Posted on: 22 September 2023

Beith Dispute

The Chief Executive has offered to meet GMB on 1 November 2023 as the next stage in the collective grievance procedure. GMB has requested that the meeting be brought forwards to an earlier date.

We have also sought an urgent meeting with the DE&S pay team to discuss how we can resolve the dispute at Beith.

Awaiting confirmation of a date.

The dispute has also been escalated to the Andy Start, Chief Executive of DE&S as the second stage of the dispute procedure and while we have been offered a meeting on 1 November, we are seeking to bring this forwards. We are also aware that an accident involving a fork lift truck being driven by a member of military overturned on site. It was very lucky there were no munitions being carried as this could have had disastrous consequences.

GMB members at DM Plymouth have a collective grievance already submitted similar (but not identical) to Beith.

DE&S Pay 2024

GMB Members meetings have taken place on DES sites around pay. The ballot closed with a 60% turnout and a whopping 97% rejection of the offer. tomorrow and the result will be published to members. It is expected that GMB members will reject the offer. Unite, PCS and Prospect have already rejected the

offer. The four unions which have rejected the offer will formally lodge a dispute with the employer and will seek an improvement of the miserly offer from the employer.

DECA Pay 2023

GMB is waiting for an improved offer from the employer after the previous offer was rejected. Two consecutive meetings with the employer have been cancelled by DE&S without any consultation and with a belated explanation (which unions do not accept) after the event. We have pressed the employer for an early meeting.

KornFerry Hay

KornFerry Hay is the tool DE&S use to evaluate jobs in DE&S. It is not used anywhere else in the MoD. This is tool is shrouded in secrecy and some of the information management use is “commercial in confidence” and not shared with the trade unions. Trade Unions do not accept the secrecy and have no confidence that pay is determined fairly.

During the grievance hearing will Jill Hatcher, GMB used local pay rates in Totaljobs.com (which we understand it used by KornFerry Hay. We found that many local jobs in retail (supermarkets such as Aldi) and other roles involving distribution and storage had higher rates of pay than DE&S. An example was a shelf stacker in Aldi with an advertised salary of £25000 per year.

Even after the 2023 pay offer, a supermarket starting salary is higher than a new non craft employee in Beith, and other assembly and distribution jobs were also identified with higher starting pay.

When this was raised the DE&S response was that the jobs were not comparable…

Which is the more important role, a Supermarket Assistant, with a role including the stacking of supermarket shelves, or a non craft employee at DE&S Beith, assembling, transporting and storing munitions including missiles for Ukraine…

In meetings with members around the country, the use of KornFerry Hay and its “success profiles” has been a source of stress and contention with staff on different sites undertaking the same role but being places in different success profiles and therefore paid widely different rates of pay, experienced staff doing hazardous jobs have complained about being paid less than school leavers taking up roles with less responsibility and danger.

Many staff were angered by the use of a scheme which consistently undervalues their roles compared to those of higher management, and the operation of a performance scheme which results in huge performance bonuses (up to

£15000) for the highest paid in DE&S, with around a tenth of that for a lower paid worker with the same performance.

RAAC

This form of concrete has been in the news. GMB has been involved in meetings with the Government Property Agency (GPA) and the Office of Government Property (OGP) recently and we have been advised of the following:

• All Government Departments and Arms Length Bodies (such as DE&S) have been told to undertake surveys for RAAC. These involve:

• A document search to identify the concrete used in any buildings, if apparent RAAC was definitely not used to take no further action;

• If not the case to undertake a visual inspection of concrete, and if in doubt;

• Undertake an physical inspection involving sampling;

• Remedial action should follow to make buildings safe, and if not possible the building should be closed down.

During the meeting GMB raised the likelihood of asbestos being present in buildings and walls and this was taken on board by the GPA and OGP. This is likely to be an issue in DE&S sites.

Cabinet Office has also told employers to consult with Health and Safety Representatives, about plans for inspection, to share results and indicate any measures to be taken.

If you are a GMB Shop Steward or GMB Safety Representative please ask the managers of your workplace what they are doing or have done and remind them of their legal responsibilities to keep you informed and to consult you.

If you are a member in a workplace but have no safety rep, please consider undertaking the role.

Training an information will be made available to help you.

GMB is incredibly proud of the industrial action Beith members are taking which is the first action around pay in a generation in the MoD. The organisation on the ground to maintain pickets has been brilliant.

Please pass this on to colleagues. They can join GMB by using -

www.gmb.org.uk/join

Kevin Brandstatter National Officer GMB

Posted on: 21 July 2023

GMB Industrial Action at Beith Ayrshire

GMB members in Defence Munitions Beith have been on strike over pay and bonuses and are considering further action in August.

In 2022, Craft fitters received a substantial pay rise, which was subsequently bolstered by a £3000 recruitment and retention bonus. GMB members working alongside craft fitters got nothing.

A protracted process involving individual and collective grievances finally led to a meeting with the Director of HR for DE&S but to date no formal proposal has been made to resolve the dispute.

The members were on strike on 14 and 17 July and there was a tremendous response from other colleagues at Beith. The press coverage in Scotland was extensive.

GMB members in Beith are simply looking for pay justice. Our members assemble missiles and store and transport munitions destined for use elsewhere. In return their rate of pay is just over the national minimum wage, while the craft colleagues they work with are paid £38,000 per annum (nearly £18,000 more than non craft fitters and warehouse staff, and £14000).

GMB believes that all craft fitters should be paid the rate for the job – and if that is £38k, so be it, but that non craft fitters and warehouse staff should also be paid the rate for the job, and just over £20,000 is NOT right. The reason given to us for the increase in pay and the was that with other defence employers around Ayrshire and in Glasgow, craft fitters might leave.

At the grievance hearing we presented information which clearly showed that GMB members assembling, storing and transporting missiles were paid less than local supermarket staff responsible for filling shelves and delivering groceries.

GMB believes that it is not right for anyone involved in munitions – whether it is assembly, storage or transport – to be paid less than someone working in a supermarket.

Our aim is to secure pay justice for all those who undertake this work in DE&S, which is supposed to be vital to the security of the UK and other nations. If it is vital those who undertake the work should be paid properly.

Please let colleagues in your own workplace and elsewhere in DE&S that GMB is fighting for better pay for all.

In the meantime, negotiations on the 2023 pay have continued and an offer is expected shortly.

Colleagues can join by following the link www.gmb.org.uk/join

Posted on: 28 July 2021

GMB and sister unions  have received a “best and final offer” for civilian staff employed directly by the Ministry of Defence (This does NOT apply to Defence Equipment and Support and DECA).

Members may have seen details of the offer from the Permanent Secretary. To re-cap:

Pay

Anyone with a full time equivalent salary of £24,000 will get an increase of £250 per year and there will be tapered award of up to £250 per year for those earning between £24,000 and £24,250.

The MoD employs 57,000 civilian staff, and 13,000 will see an increase of up to £250 per year, and 44,000 civilian staff will see no increase.

The 13,000 staff receiving increases in pay are in skill zones 1-3 and band E1 and E2 (London and National).  Skill zone 4 staff will receive no increase.

The only additional payments which will be made will be individual awards under the In Year reward scheme.  These payments will not be consolidated and will not be pensionable.

Allowances

There will be no change to location based allowances, except in Northern Ireland where those in receipt of the NI Environmental allowance or the NI Allowance Attendance element will move to a new NI RRA of £750 per annum.

Analysis

The Government and the Ministry of Defence has failed to reward MoD civilian staff, especially but not only skill zone grades, who continued working on Army, Navy and Airforce bases while others worked from home. In Year reward schemes are based on an individual managers’ view of performance, and are often associated with discrimination.

Others, including one that GMB negotiated with had non consolidated lump sums of between £720 and over £1000 awarded to 92% of staff.

Taking inflation into account pay of MoD staff has fallen considerably in the last decade and this offer does nothing to redress the balance.

Recommendation

GMB does not support the continued cuts in living standards of members and therefore does not  recommend this offer from the MoD.

Next Steps

GMB Regions will undertake ballots of members, either by meetings in the workplace, electronically or by post.

Pay 2022-25

Those who were GMB members in 2019 will remember that the MoD made proposals for a three year pay deal based on cutting overtime and allowances and using the funding to raise pay in a number of areas.

When analysed the offer at the time would have seen cuts in the take home pay of industrial staff and worse conditions for new staff.  Those gaining from the proposals would have been mainly white collar staff, who already had better pay than skill zone staff.  Quite rightly GMB, after months of negotiations GMB rejected the “offer” to maintain members pay.

The MoD have asked unions to get involved with a further three year pay agreement and want unions to work with them on potential proposals.

A three year deal has been accepted in HMRC, but a the cot of six day working in some areas, decent pay rises for some but a the expense of lesser rises for others, with all overtime now paid at time and a quarter.

GMB sees significant dangers in this for members and non members alike and in order to safeguard the existing terms and conditions of employment we need to gain new members throughout the MoD. 

Please ask your colleagues to join GMB.

In the autumn a survey of all MoD members will be undertaken to establish what you want from a three year pay deal.

The survey will be for individual members, but there will be opportunities for members to participate in meetings with GMB, both in person and on-line if the pandemic allows it. Please let your colleagues know of this survey.

Posted on: 5 April 2021

Take the MoD Holiday Bookings Flash Poll!

As you will be aware, a new system has been introduced by the MoD for the recording of annual leave.

We have been informed by MoD that clear instructions have been issued to all staff required to book annual leave and that there should be no issues.

However, there do appear to be problems within the MoD around communication of the new system, and issue still seem to be unresolved around recording of time for shift workers; payment of holiday pay and pay for those working on a bank holiday.

As well as the booking of leave we would like to hear from you about whether you are being paid properly for holiday that you take.  Just to be clear, your holiday pay should be calculated on your average pay over the previous 52 weeks, and needs to include overtime, shift pay etc to produce an accurate figure.

Your National Rep, Richard Barber and I are asking for feedback on any issues you have with the implementation of the new system for booking holidays.

Email Kevin Brandstatter

This is an issue which impacts all staff in the MoD and we encourage you to share this with colleagues.  

Not a member? Join today!

Posted on: 5 January 2021

Following the announcement that the country is moving into a national lockdown, unions discussed the implications with HR.  

There are three major changes to the existing regime in MoD:

1. Instructions to stay at home
2. The implications of school closures
3. Changed advice around shielding

MoD guidance will be updated as soon as possible after consultation with unions, and a national health and safety meeting will be called as soon as possible.  

The revised guidance will include a tighter definition of who is a key/essential worker. The message should be that all workers should stay at home unless their work was critical, and laptops would be supplied to those who would need them to work.

For those in critical roles, all existing risk assessments will need to be adjusted to take account of the way the virus has changed and become easier to spread.For example the easy spread of the virus will mean existing 2m social distancing is likely to be insufficient to prevent the spread of the virus; 

Those working in workplaces will probably need to wear face coverings at work;

A complete reassessment of the training plans for 2021 will need to take place, including where trainees are in shared accommodation;

There will need to be a review of the use of vehicles with passengers to assess the numbers on trips;

In addition the guidance will need to spell out differences between England and the devolved nations so that all MoD staff are aware of what they can and cannot do.

Further news will follow as soon as it is available.

Posted on: 24 August 2020

The MoD have made a final pay offer following a period of negotiations.  The offer applies to anyone working for the Ministry except for staff working for: 

DE&S/ Submarine Delivery Agency 

Defence Electronics and Components Agency 

DSTL 

UK Hydrographic Office  

Royal Fleet Auxiliary 

RAF Museum 

National Museum of the Royal Navy 

What is the offer? 

A one-year award from 1 August 2020 to 31 July 2021. 

• Maxima of scales will be increased by 1.0% - individuals on the current maximum of their scales will be moved to the new maximum;
• Everyone below their new maximum will receive an uplift in their pay of 2.7% unless this takes them above the new maximum; if this is the case the individual will be placed on the new maximum.  
• The minimum of each scale will be increased to the rates detailed in the table below.  
• Where possible, MOD has created single point scales (spot rates).  
• Individuals who fall below the new minimum after this will be moved onto the new minimum or spot rate.  
• Retained Grades with single point scales will be increased by 2.7%.  
• All staff will receive a one-off non-consolidated award, calculated as the difference between their consolidated percentage uplift and 3% of their 31 July 2020 basic salary.  
• Those staff whose salary exceeds the new maximum of their pay scale will not be entitled to a consolidated award. Their salary will continue to be held on mark-time. Should the new maximum exceed their 31 July 2019 salary, then their salary will be adjusted to the new maximum for their grade. 

The old and new pay rates are set out in the table below.  The offer has also been published on MODNet, and can be found on the GMB web site.

What are the new pay rates? 

Existing pay rates from 1 August 2020:

The full pay offer includes a lot information not relevant to GMB members but there are a few points to draw your attention to: 

The MoD wants to move towards “spot rate” pay.  This will mean everyone getting the same rate of pay for the same job. 

A large number of allowances that no one claims are being removed. 

A number of location based allowances are being simplified.

A new way of paying on promotion. All promotes will move to the minimum of the new grade. 

SK1 to SK2 – an increase of £1526 p.a. 

SK2 to SK3 – an increase of at least £1703 p.a. 

SK3 to SK4 – an increase of at least £1880 p.a. 

A new calculation for part time pay will be introduced which should resoove a few problems when staff change hours during the month.

In addition where an individual pay award falls below 3% a non consolidated cash payment will be made.

GMB will undertake a ballot of members shortly.

Kevin Brandstatter 

National Civil Service Officer

Posted on: 4 June 2020

GMB have continued to represent our members in the civil service throughout the Covid-19 Panemic. We've made representation both on working conditions, and pensions. You can read our latest bulletin here:

Posted on: 30 March 2020

GMB and sister unions have been meeting with Civil Service Employment Policy, twice a week this month, and guidance has been revised after every discussion. The advice has been delegated to individual Departments to implement.

GMB continues to push for the best possible deal for workers in these extremely challenging times and the guidance has been the subject of lengthy consultation with unions.

Government advice to slow down and halt the spread of the virus will continue to change, and you should follow it.

Key Workers

Many MoD workers have been defined as key workers. If you are a key worker and have issues about how this is working please let me know by email (see below).

MOD Pay

2019

The recent ballot resulted in 95% of members supporting the pay offer. The employer has been informed and the backdated pay should be in the end of March pay packets.

2020

Initial pay discussions have begun with MoD and a pay claim is being prepared.

National Representative

Richard Barber, an Industrial grade at RAF Brize Norton, has volunteered to be the National Rep in the MoD and will attend all the major meetings around pay, and terms and conditions of employment.

He will be involved in all pay meetings, when they eventually take place.

Further bulletins will be issued shortly.

If you need any further information, please email: publicservices@gmb.org.uk or kevin.brandstatter@gmb.org.uk