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Civil and public servants start National 48-hr strike

8 March 2010

Courts, jobcentres, driving tests, tax offices, border controls and passports are amongst some of the services that will be affected today (8 March) as up to 270,000 civil and public servants from across the UK begin a 48 hour stoppage over cuts to redundancy terms. Over 30,000 members in Scotland will be taking part in the action.

The strike, called by the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), will also see staff working in every area of the Scottish Parliament from security to committee clerks taking strike action for the first time.  

The dispute is over changes to the civil service compensation scheme which will see staff robbed of up to a third of their entitlements and see loyal civil and public servants lose tens of thousands of pounds if they are forced out of a job.  The union fears that the government wants to make it easier for whoever wins the general election to cut low paid civil and public servants on the cheap.   

Over 20 rallies in towns and cities across the UK will be taking place today, including rallies in Glasgow and Dundee.  There will be picket lines today and tomorrow at workplaces across Scotland, including Edinburgh Castle, museums, libraries and galleries, the Scottish government, and the coastguards.   

Commenting, Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary, said: “Loyal civil and public servants won’t stand by and allow the government to cut jobs on the cheap. Those on strike today deliver services that touch our everyday lives from the cradle to the grave. Under these imposed changes, they face losing up to a third of their entitlements and tens of thousands of pounds if they are forced out of their job. The government is tearing up the contracts of low paid civil and public servants whilst it claims it can do nothing about bankers’ bonuses because of contractual obligations. The government need to recognise that slashing entitlements and cutting jobs on the cheap will damage public services and reach an agreement that protects existing members’ entitlements.”

Scottish Secretary Lynn Henderson added "PCS members in every part of Scotland have joined the national 48 hour strike action this morning to demonstrate the strength of our opposition to this attack on accrued redundancy rights.  The civil service compensation scheme affects members working for UK and Scottish Government departments, NDPBs and agencies alike. While our battle is with the UK government, Scottish ministers must also break their silence.  We stand with workers across the public sector who will not accept job cuts on the cheap whether they come from Gordon Brown, David Cameron or Alex Salmond.”

 

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