Lucky for Some

by New Worker correspondent

 Despite the gloomy prognosis on pay for most public sector workers there are rays of sunshine for some of the high castes. The Chancellor’s pay freeze for civil servants does not apply to those at the very top. Clare Lombardelli, the Chancellor’s chief economist got a rise of £30,000. This blow against the gender pay gap means her salary is now just under £150,000.
     One way round pay freezes is for the chosen few to be awarded bonuses, which they can “earn” by simply turning up. The two top Treasury civil servants, Sir Tom Scholar and Charles Roxburgh, were each given bonuses of up to £20,000 on top of their salaries, along with the Treasury’s department’s head of tax and welfare, Beth Russell.
     Well-heeled Tory MPs, such as former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith disapproved because it would cause grumbling in the lower ranks. He said: “I would have thought that they would show a bit of sympathy and that even if you were to pay them bonuses, they weren’t paid until everyone was back to work properly” .
     One group of workers who won’t be getting a pay rise because it would be too politically embarrassing are MPs whose pay will be frozen in this financial year. The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) had recommended a bumper pay rise worth about £3,300 late last year, but both Boris Johnson and Sir Keir Starmer opposed it. It dawned on the IPSA that an increase “would not reflect the reality” faced by many voters after the coronavirus crisis. As MPs are on a minimum of £81,922 this will not cause too much hardship and they would have to have remarkably tough brass necks to accept a rise while lecturing others on the necessity of fiscal prudence.

DVLA – People before Profit

By New Worker correspondent

At the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) at Swansea talks to avert strike action over Covid-19 health issues broke down resulting in workers taking strike action earlier this week. The four day Tuesday-Friday strike was organised by the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) who are deeply concerned about the lack of immediate moves by Management to reduce the number of workers on site. Since September 600 workers have tested positive for the virus, and one has died. Despite this most of the 2,000 workers till have to come into work, sitting just a metre apart.
     PCS is seeking a reduction in the capacity of the site by removing over 300 desks, a revision of risk assessments which has led to a further 300 staff being sent home to work safely from their homes. PCS points out that further consideration needs to be given to pregnant women and those who live with vulnerable people. It also demands from management a commitment on how to proceed in the talks over the coming months, in terms of extending home working, safety on site and any potential increase in the numbers of staff on site when it is safe to do so.
     Despite progress during the failed talks PCS argues “that the DVLA is able to give more than it is willing to at this stage and we believe that a strong show of strike action next week will help tip the balance to getting management to reduce numbers in the medium term and make the site safe”.
     Instead of a physical picket virtual rallies were held and an overtime ban begins this Saturday.