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Strike success closes Scottish courts

23 September 2008

The justice system ground to a halt today across Scotland as a result of strike action by members of the Public and Commercial Services union in the Scottish Court Service and Crown Office and Procurator Fiscals Service.

More than 1,700 union members in justice, sportscotland and the National Museums of Scotland are on strike today in a growing dispute over Scottish Ministers pay cap of 2% on pay increases over the next three years. Today's strike follows from action earlier this summer by PCS members in the Scottish Government and Registers of Scotland.

Impact of the strike:

  • Glasgow Sheriff Court, the busiest in Europe, four out of seven courts closed
  • The National Museum of Scotland shut to the public
  • Court cases deferred, juries and witnesses told not to come in.

With starting salaries at under £13,000 PCS believes that 2% is in effect a pay cut for members at a time when inflation is around 5% and food, transport and heating costs are rising. For many, this means only 60p a day.

Janice Godrich, PCS national president, who lives in Scotland, joined the picket line at the Glasgow Sheriff Court.

She said: “As we start a ballot of more than 260,000 members across the UK, the determination of members such as those on the picket lines today cannot be underestimated.

“Members now face everyday choices between daily essentials such as fuel or food. In Scotland Alex Salmond is keen to distance himself from Gordon Brown yet he continues to hide behind Westminster’s pay policy and in doing so let down thousands of paid workers in Scotland.”

Today’s strike action will be followed up with a work to rule for all seven areas in dispute, with the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency joining Scottish Government, Registers of Scotland, Scottish Courts Service, Crown Office and Procurator Fiscals Service, sportscotland and the National Museums of Scotland.
 

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