Acas staff ballot for strike

Advisory and arbitration service Acas received a funding boost last month in a government shake-up designed to improve the dispute resolution system. But the announcement came as staff at the service were voting on strike action in a dispute over their own pay.

Pat McFadden, minister for employment relations, revealed on 6 February that the service was to get an extra £37 million over three years. The announcement is seen as recognition for Acas, which aims to improve organisations and working life through better employment relations. It will allow the expansion of a number of services including its helpline, which answers nearly one million calls a year. Acas chair Ed Sweeney, said: “This new investment will enable us to increase our effectiveness and spread the benefits of good employment relations more widely”.

But the 650 Acas employees have a dispute of their own to resolve. They are angry that they still haven’t received a pay offer for 2007, six months after the August settlement date, and were balloting for industrial action as Labour Research went to press. The move, PCS civil service union said, followed a refusal by the employer to hold substantive negotiations on the 2007 pay offer.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: “It is deeply ironic that staff, who mediate in resolving industrial disputes, are themselves being forced into a situation which could involve strike action.“.