Prospect union members vote for further industrial action at the Environment Agency

A ballot of Prospect members in the Environment Agency has renewed the industrial action mandate for a further six months.

Staff are taking ongoing action short of a strike and will join Prospect members from other Civil Service employers in taking strike action on Wednesday 10 May.

Prospect represents Environment Agency staff working in areas such as river inspection, flood forecasting, nuclear inspection and permitting, coastal risk management, and pollution control.

The government’s failure to fund the Agency properly over many years has resulted in wages that are too low and nowhere near the going rate for the skilled jobs these workers do, leading to a recruitment and retention crisis.

Workers at the agency have been taking industrial action since late last year in a dispute over pay. Overall, wages there have fallen by more than 20% since 2010.

Garry Graham, Deputy General Secretary of Prospect, said: 

“It is high time that the government properly resourced the Environment Agency and let its leadership meaningfully negotiate with unions on pay.

“Staff are critical to the effective operation of government agencies and decent pay is vital to retain the skilled experts we need.

“Public concern over the pollution of our rivers and seas has never been higher. The government must resolve this industrial dispute and invest in the Environment Agency to begin to meet these concerns.”