Workers at the Planning Inspectorate to take industrial action
Prospect members working as planning inspectors and other professional staff within the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) are to take industrial action in a dispute over pay and job evaluation.
Our members at the Planning Inspectorate play a vital role in helping to deliver the Government’s growth missions, whether for key national infrastructure, national housing targets, or smaller scale approvals and appeals.
The industrial action short of strike will commence today (15 December) and could run until 23 May 2026 unless progress can be made to resolve the dispute. It comes after a ballot in which 79% voted in favour of taking action. The action will be continuous and consist of only working contracted hours and a voluntary overtime ban.
The action is taking place after the imposition of a rejected pay deal which results in below inflation pay awards for significant numbers of members linked to a contested job evaluation exercise and the freezing or reducing of pay minima and maxima for some grades.
Steve Thomas, Deputy General Secretary of Prospect, said
“The Planning Inspectorate has long depended on the dedication and goodwill of its workforce. Because of their dedication to their jobs our members routinely work beyond their hours, often spending long periods of time working remotely away from home, so that the Inspectorate can continue to perform its duties. But repeated pay restraint, increasing workloads and the erosion of trust means increasingly members feel their goodwill is taken for granted.
“The work of our members is essential both to the government’s growth mission and to the delivery of 1.5m new homes All our members want is a fair pay offer, a promise to look again at the job evaluation scheme, and a solution to the structural pay issues. If changes aren’t made there is a real danger of a collapse in morale and that the Inspectorate will face an insurmountable recruitment and retention crisis and will not be able to fulfil its duties.”
