Scottish union members join ballot of 270,000 civil and public servants for strike action
3 February 2010
The ballot, to run between 4 and 25 February, follows the insistence of the UK Cabinet Office to proceed with making unilateral changes to the redundancy terms of civil and public servants, including 33,000 in Scotland.
The changes will see staff robbed of up to a third of their entitlements if they are forced out of their jobs and will lead to the government cutting jobs on the cheap.
The UK government is looking to save £500 million through these changes, based on the number of jobs it has axed over the last three years. The union fears that the cuts to the scheme could lead to the government cutting up to 100,000 jobs.
PCS also announced that it would be lodging papers today (3 Feb) for a judicial review, arguing that the changes need to be implemented through agreement with the trade unions rather than imposed.
The union also pointed to the mounting political pressure over the changes with 131 MPs and former ministers signing an early day motion urging the government to re-examine the ‘disappointing and unfair proposals’.
Support from MSPs in the Scottish Parliament for the union’s action is also growing, as Scottish Government Permanent Secretary Sir John Elvidge warns that compulsory redundancies are on the cards for public services in Scotland.
The ballot involves civil and public servants from across the UK including: Jobcentre staff, tax workers, coastguards, border agency officials, passport workers, court staff and driving test examiners.
In an address to over 100 PCS reps at the STUC in Glasgow on Thursday 4 Feb, Janice Godrich, PCS National President, will say: “These changes have been presented as a ‘reform’ to end fat cat pay-offs for senior managers.
In reality, the proposals threaten to strip the majority of low paid civil servants of their current entitlements to compensation in the event of redundancy, whether compulsory or voluntary.
What lies at the heart of this matter is working people not prepared to have years of service discounted and discarded.
PCS has provided costings to the employer that prove a negotiated settlement is possible if there was a political will but we will not stand by and watch thousands of members lose their hard worked for entitlements.”
Lynn Henderson, PCS Scottish Secretary added: “Slashing redundancy pay for public sector workers can only lead to massive job cuts on the cheap, at a time when the public are most reliant on the public services they deliver.
We call on our members in Scotland and across the UK to show their resolve against cynical attacks on their rights just before a general election.
It will not matter to members whether it is Gordon Brown, David Cameron or Alex Salmond that cuts their job after the election. What will matter to them is whether the government will return to meaningful talks with the unions before it is too late.”
Recent news
- Scotland on Sunday: Civil service 'facing exodus' over pay cuts
- Sunday Herald: Time we went public with cuts
- PCS Union says cuts to public services "totally wrong" for Scotland
- Facility time at Scottish Government is value for money
- PCS Union fury at Swinney's Tory wage freeze
- PCS union in Scotland will resist attack on public sector
- Civil service union responds to Swinney's delay in UK government cuts
- Union eve of election battle bus against job cuts - Glasgow
- STUC condemn Parliament cuts
- Union continues fight on cuts to redundancy payments
Tab Bottom
- Directory
- Contact Us
- Search
