Hundreds of Ofgem workers are planning to go on strike on the day of the next energy price cap announcement, a leading union has announced.
More than 700 employees at the energy industry regulator will walk out for three days from August 26 in protest against working conditions, pay and jobs.
Ofgem workers will go on strike on the day of the energy price cap announcement
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GETTYAccording to the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS), 85.22 per cent of members voted for strike action in a ballot.
The union noted that the strike is in response to an ongoing dispute over job reassurance and a lack of engagement with union representatives over the years.
PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote explained: “Our members in Ofgem want the pay, job security and fair treatment that workers get elsewhere.
“It’s high time Ofgem gets serious and resolves this dispute because there are fair compromises on the table.
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The energy price cap fell in July | PA“Otherwise, our members will be on picket lines as the employer prepares for one of its most important announcements of the year. This should be a wake-up call.”
According to the union, the decision to strike on the day of the energy price cap announcement is “not a coincidence”.
In a statement: “Ofgem’s failure to address pay is one of the key reasons for the dispute and rises to the price cap are as worrying to Ofgem’s employees as to everyone else.”
It cited that pay bands within the energy regulator are 10 to 20 per cent under those of the department responsible for managing it, which is the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
Furthermore, PSC noted that Ofgem’s lowest paid workers earn 20% per cen below the median wage for the country as a whole.
This means that the regulator’s employees are in the bottom 20 per cent of all earners in Britain, the union claims.
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The Government has committed to more energy bill support | GETTY GB News has contacted Ofgem for comment.
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