Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) staff have overwhelmingly backed strike action in protest over changes to the regulator’s pay and benefits policy announced in October.
The FCA’s original proposals included adding an excess for staff to use the organisation’s private medical insurance (PMI) cover as premiums had doubled in the last five years, along with creating new salary bands and assessment processes.
Last week, Health & Protection reported that the regulator’s staff were being balloted for strike action over the changes.
This morning, trade union Unite which represents staff at the regulator, announced its members had voted 87% in support of industrial action.
While the vote for industrial action came in a non-binding indicative ballot, the union warned that unless a negotiated settlement is reached it can now proceed to a full industrial action ballot if FCA CEO Nikhil Rathi refuses to come to the negotiating table.
Unite added it has approached mediation service ACAS in an attempt to resolve the dispute.
Sharon Graham, general secretary at Unite, said: “The employees are telling FCA bosses that the proposed changes are damaging and destroying any remaining goodwill the staff had.
“It is time for the FCA management to come to the negotiating table and ensure they avoid damaging the important work of the regulator. Unite will sit down and negotiate through ACAS as soon as the FCA agrees; the ball is in FCA’s court now.
“While the proposed cuts at the regulator is good news for fraudsters and rip-off merchants it is bad news for people with savings, loans, mortgages and pensions as experienced and committed staff are being forced out of the door. The new FCA CEO, Nikhil Rathi, should be waging war on malpractice in the financial sector, not on his own staff.”
In response, a spokesperson for the FCA reiterated that in their view their proposals would ensure the FCA continues to provide “one of the best, if not the best” employment packages of any regulator or enforcement agency in the UK as well as its expectation that it will publish the outcome of its staff consultation of the changes by March, following consideration by the FCA board.