Public and Commercial Services Union

3 September: BBC Scotland: Swinney warns councils over pay

Finance Secretary John Swinney has warned councils not to come to him for extra cash after local government staff threatened more strikes over pay.
In a similar dispute over a below-inflation pay offer, Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) workers in five agencies and public bodies voted for strike action and work-to-rule.
Scotsman: The quid pro quo of pay restraint
SCOTLAND'S justice system, which is already creaking, faces a new crisis: staff belonging to the PCS union have voted to take strike action after rejecting a pay offer.

2 September: BBC Scotland: Further council strikes planned

Scotland faces more council strikes after local government employers refused to increase a 2.5% pay offer.
Meanwhile, hundreds of other civil and public servants voted for strike action which could cause serious disruption to the justice system.
Staff from the Scottish Courts Service, Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, sportscotland and the National Museums of Scotland are unhappy with a 2% pay offer.
Eddie Reilly, PCS Scottish secretary, said a one-day strike could mean prisoners being held in custody longer than normal, and others granted bail.
 

2 September: Glasgow Evening Times: More strikes on way as talks stall

Scots councils are braced for another wave of public sector strikes after pay talks between council workers and employers broke down.
Further industrial action was described as "inevitable" last night as more civil servants voted for a strike.
Meanwhile, the civil service union PCS has warned that the justice system could grind to a halt within weeks staff at the Scottish Court Service and the Crown Office and the Procurator Fiscal Service voted for strike action.
They have backed a walkout in a vote along with sportscotland staff and workers at National Museums of Scotland.

2 September: BBC Scotland: Office closures fight stepped up

Staff campaigning to save two tax offices in the Borders have taken their fight to the streets.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) hopes to reshape services across the UK with 19 possible sites being closed in Scotland - including Hawick and Galashiels.
The Public and Commercial Services Union was in Galashiels on Friday gathering signatures of support.

29 August: Press and Journal: Service warning as DVLA staff strike over wages

The registration of new cars across north and north-east Scotland will be disrupted today as DVLA staff take strike action over pay.
Offices in Aberdeen, Inverness and Dundee are expected to close over a 2% below inflation cap on pay rises.
Around 200 members of the Public and Commercial Services union are taking part I the 24-hour stoppage, which also involves staff in Glasgow and Edinburgh.Lynn Henderson of PCS said members were “very angry” with the Department of Transport because the rate of inflation – more than double the offer – means they are effectively taking a pay cut.

28 August: Scotsman: Acas staff vote to strike over pay

Hundreds of staff at the conciliation service Acas have voted to go on strike in a dispute over pay.
Union leaders called on the government to take immediate action to settle the row to avoid "embarrassing" industrial action at the organisation, which helps to resolve industrial disputes across Britain.

15 August: BBC Scotland: Pay dispute call ahead of strike

Unions have called on the Scottish Government to intervene in a pay dispute which is due to trigger strike action among council workers next week.
Scottish Government civil servants also staged a pay strike last month.

13 August: The Herald: Pay rise demands over leap in inflation

Union leaders yesterday demanded higher pay rises for workers and decisive government intervention after the rate of inflation jumped by its biggest monthly amount since records began more than a decade ago.
… A host of unions - including the GMB, Unison, Unite and the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCSU) - said it was "inevitable" that wages will have to rise as hard-pressed families face "unparalleled hikes" in the cost of basics such as milk, bread, petrol, gas and electricity.
The warning came before a planned one-day strike by 100,000 public sector workers in Scotland next Wednesday in protest at a below-inflation pay offer. The action will cripple council services, from bin collections to schools, across the country. About 2000 rail maintenance workers in Scotland are also set to join 10,000 colleagues in England and Wales in staging a 96-hour stoppage from this Friday in support of a pay and conditions claim.
… Mark Serwotka, PCSU general-secretary, said the credibility of the government's argument that public sector wages fuel inflation was now "in tatters".
He added: "In the face of rising food, fuel and housing costs, the government cannot continue to penalise the people who deliver vital services."

13 August: Cumbernauld News: Summer of discontent?

Hundreds of North Lanarkshire Council workers are expected to join a Scotland-wide one day strike in pursuit of a pay claim next week.

The threat of council workers going on strike raises the spectre of the biggest municipal stoppages seeen since the 1978-79 Winter of Discontent. Civil servants from the PCS union may also join in next week's day of action.