Employees at the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) have rejected a below-inflation pay offer.
The Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) said 87% of its 2,600 members declined an offer which would see average increases of 3% for more than three-quarters of staff, and a significant number of staff on their precursor terms and conditions not receiving any pay award at all.
Soca was created in 2006 through a merger of the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS), the National Crime Squad, and parts of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and the Immigration Service.
PCS warned that the morale of staff working on the front line to protect the public from serious crime was “plummeting to an all-time low”.
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Jeremy Gautrey, negotiations officer for Soca, said: “This huge rejection of the pay offer indicates the strength of feeling of members working in Soca. With all the current staffing issues within the agency, a below-inflation increase only worsens the morale of hard-working staff and raises the possibility of a ballot for industrial action, should management be unwilling to address these issues.”
Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary, added: “Staff working for Soca are at the forefront in protecting society from drug trafficking, child exploitation, human trafficking and money laundering. It is essential that their pivotal role in the fight against crime is recognised by a fair and decent pay offer.”
