Staff at The Pensions Regulator (TPR) are staging the first of a series of strikes today in pursuit of a long-running pay dispute.

Members of the PCS (Public and Commercial Services Union) have begun their 37th day of strike action today with further strikes planned.

The union is planning 10 further days of strikes this month and a day in February.

Up to 400 workers are set to take part and a picket line has been set up outside the TPR offices in Brighton, the PCS said.

The union claims the action will cause continuing disruption and delays to the TPR's work.

The PCS says its members are being offered a 3% pay rise while other civil service employers have been awarded a 4.5% pay rise.

The union claims that its membership at the TPR has risen by 163% since the dispute started in September and it says its strike action is creating a backlog of work as well as disruption to the TPR’s "ability to deliver on their statutory duties."

According to the PCS, staff at the TPR on strike include lawyers, project managers, actuaries, enforcement officers, some senior managers, admin staff, facilities and tech support.

One PCS member at the TPR told the union: “Personally I waited 3 years to get some kind of pay rise which reflects the work we put in throughout the pandemic and the pay freeze, and was rewarded with a net 0.7% increase.”

The PCS said that members voted for action by a margin of 95.7% on a 75% turnout.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said that while TPR aimed to ‘build people’s confidence in pensions’: “How can it build confidence in the wider world when it’s lost the confidence of its own workforce?” 

A spokesperson for The Pensions Regulator said: "We are disappointed by the announcement of further industrial action. What we pay staff is fair and this year our lowest paid workers received a pay rise of 6.25%. After months of meetings, we have now exhausted negotiations for last year’s pay and are now looking ahead to next year.”