You are:

Strike action to hit budget day

17 March 2010

Civil and public servants across the UK will be walking out for a third day of strike action on budget day, 24 March, unless an agreement with the government can be found over cuts to their redundancy terms, PCS confirmed today.

Next Wednesday’s national budget day walkout follows last week’s strongly supported two day strike which saw up to 200,000 civil and public servants stay away from work over changes to the civil service compensation scheme.

The imposed changes will see staff robbed of up to a third of their entitlements and lead to loyal civil and public servants losing tens of thousands of pounds if they are forced out of a job.

Members up and down the country will also be taking part in a national campaign day this Friday (19 March) which will see a battle bus touring civil service sites in London and visiting the minister for the civil service, Tessa Jowell MP’s constituency.

In addition to public leafleting, members will also be taking their message to MPs in key marginal seats as well as the prime minister and other cabinet minister’s constituencies.

Last week’s action on Monday and Tuesday led to the disruption of court sittings, the cancellation of an estimated 4,000 driving tests and jobcentres offering little or no service to the public. Call centres dealing with taxes and benefits were also hit, with members of the public being asked to call back another day.

The union estimated that approximately 80,000 passports were delayed because of the industrial action and warned that backlogs elsewhere could develop as a result of an overtime ban.

Commenting, Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary, said: "If further disruption and strike action on budget day is to be avoided, then the government needs to enter into negotiations and reach an agreement that protects existing members’ entitlements.

"Loyal civil servants will not stand by and allow the jobs and services that they are proud to deliver to be cut on the cheap and are willing to take action to defend jobs and services. The government cannot bury its head in the sand and needs to recognise the depth of anger it has provoked in tearing up the contracts of hard working civil servants."

View all News