ENVIRONMENT AGENCY PAY DISPUTE

That this House notes that the Environment Agency has imposed upon its non-nuclear staff a pay rise averaging less than 1.3 per cent which was rejected in ballot by more than 85 per cent of their union member staff and which represents a pay cut in real terms; further notes that workers at the Agency have seen their pay cut by over 20 per cent in real terms since 2009, during which time they have continued to work to safeguard our homes from flooding and the environment from pollution; and this House calls upon the independent Board of the Environment Agency to reopen negotiations with the Agency’s recognised unions with the aim of reaching a settlement giving these workers the decent pay rise they deserve.