Labour's redundancy plan was the best we've heard so far

Given the new government’s determination to cut spending, its radical reform agenda, and its Tory members’ traditional antipathy to the union movement, a serious clash with the civil service unions was almost inevitable. I say ‘almost’, because while job cuts and public service reforms were always going to be flashpoints, the previous government nearly pushed through a compromise on redundancy payments that would have headed off the current battle over the civil service compensation scheme. As Civil Service World has said before, the PCS’s successful court action put the unions back to square one – but this time their opponent, a newly-elected, Tory-dominated coalition, is a lot fiercer.

Stances are fast hardening in this struggle. There are, however, enough weaknesses on both sides – both in arguments, and in strategic positions – to offer hope of a compromise. The unions argue that civil servants accept low wage levels in exchange for good terms and conditions; but who ever took a poorly-paid job on the basis that they’d be well compensated if they lost it? Meanwhile, the superannuation bill being rushed through Parliament threatens to undermine the legal basis on which the PCS blocked Labour’s reforms. And while a return to the Labour compromise that the PCS defeated might be embarrassing for the union, it looks a lot better than the likely, coalition-imposed alternative.

On the other side, the Tories (for the Lib Dems have given this debate a very wide berth) argue – reasonably enough – that the more they pay each redundant civil servant, the more people they’ll have to sack to balance the books. Yet they’ve no interest in wrecking relations with the less combative civil service unions. And while the superannuation bill is a powerful weapon, it too could be declared unlawful – or at least have its implementation delayed – if the PCS win further court victories, playing havoc with the coalition’s plans for reforms and redundancies.

Rather than allowing opposing positions to become entrenched, with the result decided slowly and expensively in the courts or Parliament, both unions and Tories should swallow their pride, accept something short of perfection – and return to the previous government’s plans for compensation. Redundant civil servants would be paid similar sums to others in the public sector, the government could get on with the job in hand – and neither side would be happy. As negotiators know, that is itself the mark of a truly effective compromise.