Guernsey civil servants reject 5% pay rise offer

Members of a trade union representing civil servants in Guernsey have rejected a 5% pay rise offer.

The Association of Guernsey Civil Servants said its members voted against the "below inflation pay offer", but added the decision was about more than money.

It said civil servants felt "undervalued and underappreciated" for their efforts.

Deputy John Gollop, pay negotiations lead for Policy and Resources, said the committee was "naturally disappointed" and the 5% pay rise was "a fair offer, especially in the current financial climate".

In 2023 four trade unions accepted a three-year pay deal giving States staff pay rises of 1% below the Retail Prices Index - the average change in prices of common goods and services.

The deal was backdated to 2022, so needed be renegotiated after 2024.

The Guernsey union, a branch of UK trade union Prospect, said pay had not kept up with inflation over the last 15 years and civil servants were struggling with high housing costs and the cost of living.

Staff were being given "more complex and ever-increasing workloads, without the investment in resources, skills and technology to support staff", the union said.

The union said rejecting the offer was "the only tangible means" for members to show how they felt.

"The States is asking its workers to do more with less," it said.

"While we know and appreciate that Policy and Resources have been openly supportive of the civil service, it also falls to them to evidence that support by re-entering negotiations to find an acceptable way forward."

Deputy David Mahoney, the former lead of States pay negotiations in Guernsey, said people needed to "get into the real world" when it came to pay increases.

"The economy at the moment is not doing well," he said.

"I think every worker, no matter where they work, needs to become part of the real world.

"There is less money floating around now, investment is down, we understand that.

"If the tax dollars are not there to pay for those things then you simply can't do it."

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