Lindsay McNaught, chair of the energy service group executive. Image: Steve Forrest
The pay systems currently in place within the energy sector simply don’t deliver fair pay, delegates at this year’s energy conference agreed yesterday.
Debating a motion on pay progression, delegates agreed on the noticeable lack of clarity on pay from all energy employers.
Proposing the motion, Patrick Knowles from the energy service group executive said: “Quite frankly, the systems we have now in place don’t deliver fair pay. The systems are not working for our members, not for fairness, and not for the future of this industry.
“Across the energy sector, pay progression is inconsistent, unclear, and in many cases, completely stagnant, with skilled workers stuck on the same pay point for years — while others doing similar work are being paid more simply because their employer happens to take job evaluation more seriously. That’s not fair. That’s not sustainable. And that’s not acceptable.”
He continued: “Conference, a worker’s pay should reflect their skills, their experience, and the value they bring. Too often, the pathways to progress are hidden behind jargon, closed-door decisions, and job evaluation schemes that are well past their sell-by date, based on old models that don’t recognise the complexity of modern roles.
“They fail to account for the evolution of technology, for the expansion of responsibilities, and for the diversity of skills that our members bring to the table every single day.”
He said that energy workers “pay the price for these failures”, especially women, Black workers, disabled workers, those already facing systemic pay inequality.
“It’s a slow, silent erosion of opportunity that we cannot let continue. We will not stand by while our members are undervalued, underpaid, and overlooked. We will stand up, together, for a sector that pays fairly, progresses clearly, and evaluates jobs with integrity.”
Delegates resolved to:
- Call on the the energy service group executive to conduct a sector-wide review of pay progression and job evaluation, identifying key issues and best practices
- Demand that energy sector employers work with UNISON to improve pay progression pathways, ensuring fair and transparent systems for all workers
- Campaign for better access to training and career development for energy workers, ensuring pay progression reflects skills and experience
- Develop and roll out specialist training for UNISON activists engaged in job evaluation, equipping them with the skills to negotiate effectively with employers
- Push for greater employer accountability and transparency in job evaluation, preventing unfair grading and pay stagnation
- Raise awareness, across the union and with employers, of the Women in Energy charter, creating a career development for women workers.
Despite concerns and the continued need for progress, when speaking to the conference, UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea praised the pay successes that its activists have recently won.
“It’s clear you’re delivering meaningful gains in pay and other rewards across 14 distinct employers and bargaining groups,” she said.
“That’s no small feat. From British Gas to EDF, SSE to Cadent Gas, you’ve set high standards on pay, terms, conditions and recognition agreements.
“These achievements matter not just to the workers affected, but to the wider union, and the entire energy sector. You’re setting the benchmark for fairness and respect at work.”
Combating far right rhetoric
Bill Esterson, Labour MP for Sefton Central and chair of the House of Commons energy security and net zero committee, was a guest speaker to the conference.
Mr Esterson argued that Reform are offering easy, simplistic solutions to complex problems – for example re-opening cold mines, granting new oil licences and abandoning net zero – in response to sections of the public becoming disillusioned by high energy bills, low levels of investment and a lack of decent jobs in their communities.
He said that Labour’s plan is to put a clean energy transition at the heart of the government’s industrial strategy, which would scale up cheap, renewable electricity generation, build key infrastructure and create thousands of jobs in the process.
He admitted that progress on this transition has been too slow – which Reform had exploited – but that the government was now accelerating the pace of change.
Organising to win and a just transition
The conference also agreed on the need to build on UNISON’s Organising to Win strategy across the sector, focussing on growing membership, training new activists and strengthening workplace organisation; while launching a dedicated recruitment and organising drive aimed at workers in renewables and clean energy jobs, and campaigning for a just transition across the energy sector that delivers high-quality unionised jobs.
Black members in the energy sector
Soulla Psomas of the service group executive member told delegates that significant issues affecting Black workers, including workplace marginalisation, discrimination and barriers to career advancement, “are still very much present in the UK energy sector”.
These disadvantages manifest themselves in many ways. For example, in 2024 some estimates of pay gaps across the energy industry put the average hourly pay for Black British workers at between 6% and 8% lower than white British workers in the same sector.
“At the same time, the under-representation of Black workers in positions of leadership and decision-making, such as senior managerial and executive roles, persists across the industry,” she said.
“That these injustices still exist in our sector should motivate us all to redouble our efforts to advance an equality agenda for Black workers across the organising, bargaining and campaigning work that we do in our branches.”
Delegates passed the motion ‘Progression for Black workers in the energy sector’, which includes the call for their executive to work with employers to improve the representation of Black workers at all levels, particularly within management structures.
Artificial intelligence
Concerns are already being made about the pace and scope of AI change across energy employers, without appropriate consultation with trade unions.
Moving a motion ‘Protecting energy workers in the age of AI’, Leanne Glen of the service group executive, said: “Some research surveys have indicated that almost three-quarters of large employers have either already introduced AI technology into some aspects of their operations, or that they are considering doing this in the next few years.
“This is especially the case in the energy and utilities sectors, where AI is seen to have potential applications in areas including customer service operations, administration, human resources, usage forecasting, demand management and others, as well as playing a part in the analysis that contributes to workforce planning.
“We have also seen how the UK government is seeking to make AI workplace training compulsory for some public services workers, and it may only be a matter of time before this pattern is repeated in other areas of the economy and the workforce as well.”
That’s why AI is very much a trade union issue, she said. “It is vital, therefore, that as the trade union voice of workers in the energy sector, our service group develops an effective strategy on AI that encompasses recruitment, organising, bargaining and campaigning.”
The motion called on the executive to ensure that AI and automation are implemented in a worker-friendly way, with full consultation and agreement from unions, “ensuring it enhances rather than replaces human roles.”
The article Pay top of the agenda for energy conference first appeared on the UNISON National site.
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