As strikes hit again, can we look at engagement?

Jo Faragher

Once again, strikes will be taking place across the UK today by public sector workers. 

They are protesting over pay, pensions and cuts or caps on their wages – and more than one million workers are expected to join the action. They’ll include teachers, council staff, firefighters and civil servants and we can expect public services across the country to be disrupted.

According to general secretary of Unison, Dave Prentis, workers in the public sector are now £4,000 a year worse off than they were in 2010, thanks to an increase in the cost of living and no concomitant rise in wages.

Ministers froze public sector salaries in 2010 and introduced a 1% cap on pay rises in 2012, which remains in place.

In the private sector, many workers faced similar freezes and many businesses were forced to reduce headcount, but savvy employers have continued to invest in staff in other ways.

Recognising that engagement during the recession was low, they found different ways to reward employees such as through training and development or salary sacrifice schemes to save money on costs such as childcare or travel. Of course there will be a number of public sector employers that do this, but engagement for government workers, clearly, is not improving.

Perhaps all employers could take a leaf out of the recommendations that came out of One4all Rewards this week, suggesting that most employees would prefer to work somewhere where they felt appreciated over taking a higher salary.

This shouldn’t belittle the concerns public sector workers have about pay and the way resources are being squeezed, or why they’re striking. But authentic recognition for a job well done, coupled with a fair reward package, can go a long way.