Industrial dispute at the Department for Work and Pensions

That this House notes that the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) has rejected the final pay offer from the Department of Work and Pensions; further notes the offer fails to address chronic low pay within the Department; recognises that thousands of staff are earning at or close to the current National Minimum Wage; observes that the civil service pay remit allows for average awards of up to 3.25%, plus an additional 0.5% to tackle low pay; further notes that the Department refused to meet trade union requests to achieve pay remit flexibility; is disappointed that not all of the additional monies were prioritised towards the lowest paid; understands that Government Departments can apply to the Treasury to increase spending on pay if there are recruitment and retention issues or to support delivery of workforce reform; believes that the Department for Work and Pensions qualifies for this, but refused to apply; further understands that that pay awards in other Government posts for the lowest grades is significantly higher than those offered to Department for Work and Pensions staff; regrets that the Department for Work and Pensions utilised anti-trade union provisions in the Trade Union Act 2016 to delay an industrial action ballot by the PCS; and urges the Department of Work and Pensions to negotiate a fair pay settlement with PCS for the financial year 2025-26.