I joined the Crown Office
and Procurator Fiscal Section almost 20 years ago (my ‘long-service award’
beckons for February 2022!) and it was clear to the FDA even then that COPFS
staff were being paid far less than colleagues doing comparative jobs in
Scottish Government.
This was borne out by a
“comparability study” that COPFS agreed to fund, which provided the basis for
pay discussions in the years that followed. By 2007 however, it was obvious that
insufficient progress had been made towards pay parity, and members voted
overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action. It was at this time that I
became more involved in the union and I recall the unfamiliar territory of
strike planning meetings with our then National Officer, Jim Caldwell. It was
only as we were on the brink of strike action that we secured the involvement
of Scottish Ministers and additional funding to bring us closer to rates of pay
in Scottish Government.
However, in common with
the rest of the public sector, years of austerity and pay freezes followed the
2008 financial crash, and the pay gap widened further. We took time to raise
the profile of this long running dispute and to build support for our case – I
gave evidence several times to the Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee and
we demonstrated that, within just a few years, someone joining COPFS would be
paid £94,000 less than a comparative colleague in Scottish Government. We
secured the support of the Law Society of Scotland, made our arguments in the
press and met with the Justice spokespeople from each party. Our members
lobbied their MSPs and we organised a postcard campaign to the then-Cabinet
Secretary for Finance (CSF).
Crucially, we established
positive and constructive dialogue with the COPFS senior management team,
including the Crown Agent, David Harvie. Where previously the department did
not accept the comparison with Scottish Government roles, we now worked with
them on preparing a joint business case, submitted in late 2019, seeking
funding to address the long-standing pay inequity. Political engagement was also vital
- our Negotiator Allan Sampson’s meetings with CSF Kate Forbes were critical to
secure the deal’s funding.
Understandably, our focus
shifted to the pandemic response through much of 2020, but this again
highlighted the huge value of the job we do - as keyworkers continuing to work
and attend courts throughout each lockdown. Therefore, when additional government
funding was again not forthcoming, the PFS Section agreed to conduct an
indicative ballot on industrial action. We set up a pay campaign group which
focussed on our communications strategy, which was vital as we entered the
latter stages of the campaign.
I know some people
questioned the timing of our decision, but the circumstances highlighted the
injustice and the message it sent about the value placed on our work. Any
doubts were quickly dispelled when the results showed 95% support for
industrial action. It was now absolutely clear that we were serious and had
wide support, and detailed negotiations finally took place. In March 2021, we
received a pay offer that will finally deliver pay parity and this was
overwhelmingly accepted by our members.
There is still much work
to be done to implement the deal over the next three years, but already some of our members have seen pay rises of up to
24%, and next year, others will receive over 19%. The real success, however, was securing
the political and financial commitment to keep pace with salaries in Scottish
Government in the future.
I am enormously proud to
have been part of a campaign that demonstrated the effectiveness of
collaboration and partnership working. It has been very challenging but also
hugely rewarding, involving many union colleagues – some now retired – who all
deserve credit for building and sustaining our position to eventual success.