Civil servants in Jersey are continuing their work to rule over their pay award for 2018-19 which was imposed by the employer.

Civil servants were offered the lowest pay award for 2018-19 of any public service pay group in Jersey. This was at a time when significant organisational changes were being made to their jobs through a complete restructure.

Civil servants demonstrated their anger by taking unprecedented strike action on one full day and four half-days in 2019.  

Branch president Gary Davies said: “The relationship between civil service unions and the employer are at an all-time low, as the employer continues a brutal organisational change programme.”

In November 2018, the union asked civil service members in Jersey to work to their contracts and not do any hours they were not paid for.

Examples included:

• not answering work phones, or any other telephone calls, emails or messages outside of normal working hours unless on ‘paid on call’ or ‘standby’
• not attending work outside of normal work hours, unless paid overtime
• not covering duties outside of their contract
• not attending meetings over lunch breaks, which are unpaid
• only working contracted hours, unless paid overtime for additional hours.

The union also asked members not to accept changes to the timings of their shifts or working days without at least seven days’ notice.

“We are asking members to continue with this action until we get a resolution of our pay dispute. 

“We want to send a message to the employer that we are still in dispute, despite comments from the Chief Minister that all pay disputes have been resolved,” Davies concluded.