Hundreds of workers at the energy regulator Ofgem are being balloted over strike action in a dispute over pay and jobs.
More than 700 members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) in Glasgow, London and Cardiff will vote in the coming weeks on whether to launch a campaign of industrial action.
The ballot opened on 1 May and will close on 12 June.
A “piecemeal approach” to pay was at the heart of the dispute, said the PCS, with proposed recruitment and retention allowances paid out to a “handful of people” but not others, on an ad hoc basis.
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The union accused the regulator of paying little regard to the agreements it had with the union to make sure that decisions affecting our members were “made properly”.
It said stronger agreements “that Ofgem can’t evade” were needed.
An Ofgem spokesperson said: “We are disappointed to hear the PCS has today announced they will be balloting their members on possible industrial action.
“Around a third of Ofgem’s workforce are members of PCS and we continue to engage with PCS and staff on these important issues.
“As with the rest of the public sector, it’s vital we are as efficient and effective as possible for the households and businesses we serve, while also ensuring we attract and retain the people and skills we need.
“We still hope to resolve these issues without industrial action, but should they proceed, our priority will be to serve energy consumers across Britain.”
PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said: “Ofgem managers have been deliberately provocative in their dealings with us.
“Rather than driving through sticking plaster solutions for organisation-wide problems, they should reach agreement with us before committing to changes that risk industrial action.
“We’re happy to work with Ofgem, providing we can assure our members that their interests will be protected. They must have the confidence to plan for their futures.”
A PCS spokesperson told Personnel Today that pay in Ofgem was nearly 20% lower than in the department responsible for it (the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero). He said this had caused a retention problem with the loss of expertise making it harder for Ofgem to keep a grip on the energy providers and so on bills for consumers.
The employer’s proposal of retention allowances would not solve a problem that was structural and organisation-wide, he said. Alongside this, the criteria for gaining an allowance was “so vague that members have said it looks like senior managers basically want to throw money at their pals with no accountability”.
PCS said it was also seeking assurances around redundancies, which the employer was refusing to provide.
Ofgem had an average of 1,721 employees in the 2023-24 financial year according to its most recent annual report and accounts.
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