Unite members back five-year public sector pay deal, but turnout low

Unite members have voted overwhelmingly to accept a five-year public sector pay deal, with the union confirming the result to the Gibraltar Government following the closure of its ballot on July 30 and despite a low turnout.

On a turnout of 21.5%, 76.2% of participating members voted in favour of the agreement and 23.8% voted against.

Unite said it had written to Chief Minister Fabian Picardo confirming the result and its collective agreement to the pay settlement, which covers the financial years from 2026/27 to 2030/31.

The union will hold a further ballot in 2031 on the second half of the proposal, which would deliver Retail Price Index plus 1% pay increases, capped at 4%, for another five years.

Stuart Davies, National Officer for Unite Gibraltar, acknowledged the low turnout but said the result represented an overwhelming endorsement among those who voted.

“Clearly the turnout in the ballot is disappointing and we would have liked to have seen this higher,” he said.

“The feedback that we were receiving was that members were broadly happy with the pay announcement at Budget 2026 and this will have impacted voter participation in the ballot, although it remains an important and fundamental principle that the union ballots on pay.”

“The ballot result is an overwhelming acceptance of the pay proposal by those members voting and HMGOG have been advised of Unite’s collective agreement on public sector pay for 2026/27 to 2030/31.”

“This pay agreement has not delivered everything that Unite was seeking, a negotiation never does.”

“However for most of the public sector this pay solution delivers what is an unprecedented agreement that maintains the real terms value of pay over the course of the deal, whilst recovering the historic erosion in the real terms pay since the public sector pay increase in August 2019.”

“The journey to this pay agreement started when Unite submitted a public sector pay claim in 2025 for 20%, the reaction to this claim was in some quarters quizzical and a view that this was unachievable.”

“The union was always clear in the pay claim, in all pay correspondence and communications, in all interviews and interactions that the 20% was around tackling real terms losses in pay in that and future pay rounds.”

“When you consider the 5% pay increase in 2025/26 for most public sector employees and the 12.5% real terms loss of pay recovery across the next five years, then that amounts to 17.5% and at the same time pay will keep pace with inflation across the lifetime of the pay deal, meaning a 30% increase across six years, that pay claim has been largely vindicated.”

Unite said there were still some outstanding elements of public sector pay which the union was following up with the Government and further discussions were pending on the Superannuation Fund and allowances.

It also noted that the public sector pay solution had not delivered equally for all and that the union would continue dialogue with the Government on that differentiated application.

“I would like acknowledge HMGOG for the commitment that has been shown to the public sector and those that work within the service with such a progressive pay solution delivering IRP increases, with safeguards incorporated in the event that IRP sits above 2.5% and of course the mechanism for the recovery of real terms losses in pay,” Mr Davies added.

“I have been critical of the negotiation process at times, but ultimately the destination is more important than the route taken and a decent destination has been reached.”

“We now look forward to engaging positively with HMGOG on a plethora of non-public sector pay issues.”

“Finally I would like to extend my thanks to the Unite Public Sector Pay Working Group who have engaged with and driven this agenda since the back-end of 2024 when we first started formulating the pay claim for 2025/26 and Unite’s members for their support, feedback and participation with the public sector pay process.”