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23/01/2007
Civil servants set to strike
Thousands of civil servants are set to strike on January 31, following a vote in favour of taking industrial action.
More than 61% of members of the Public and Commercial Services Union voted in favour of industrial action in an ongoing dispute over job security, pay and outsourcing and privatisation.
The strike will affect the processing of millions of tax return forms, as it coincides with the deadline for self-assessment tax returns.
Millions of forms are often posted at the last minute, in order to avoid a £100 fine.
The PCS said that the strike will also affect over 200 government departments and agencies, including jobcentres, benefit offices, the Ministry of Defence and courts service.
The strike will also be followed by a two-week overtime ban.
Mark Serwotka, PCS General Secretary, said: "This overwhelming vote in favour of industrial action illustrates the depth of anger amongst the government's own workforce against crude job cuts and below inflation pay offers. Patience has worn thin with services suffering as a result of job cuts, billions being spent on private sector consultants and some of the lowest paid facing a pay cut in real terms.
"If the government are going to avoid ongoing industrial action, starting with disruption to the self assessment deadline then they need to give assurances over jobs, services and privatisation as well as making serious headway in tackling pay inequalities and low pay in the civil service and related bodies. I call on the management of the civil service to get around the table with us again and discuss our concerns."
Cabinet Office Minister Pat McFadden said that there was no need for strike action. He said: "The government values the civil service highly. If PCS members have concerns about job losses or pay, there is an established industrial relations process to discuss these issues.
"The PCS are the only civil service union to have balloted for strike action. We will do everything we can to avoid compulsory redundancies but cannot give guarantees it will never happen throughout the efficiency savings (Gershon) process."
(KMcA)
More than 61% of members of the Public and Commercial Services Union voted in favour of industrial action in an ongoing dispute over job security, pay and outsourcing and privatisation.
The strike will affect the processing of millions of tax return forms, as it coincides with the deadline for self-assessment tax returns.
Millions of forms are often posted at the last minute, in order to avoid a £100 fine.
The PCS said that the strike will also affect over 200 government departments and agencies, including jobcentres, benefit offices, the Ministry of Defence and courts service.
The strike will also be followed by a two-week overtime ban.
Mark Serwotka, PCS General Secretary, said: "This overwhelming vote in favour of industrial action illustrates the depth of anger amongst the government's own workforce against crude job cuts and below inflation pay offers. Patience has worn thin with services suffering as a result of job cuts, billions being spent on private sector consultants and some of the lowest paid facing a pay cut in real terms.
"If the government are going to avoid ongoing industrial action, starting with disruption to the self assessment deadline then they need to give assurances over jobs, services and privatisation as well as making serious headway in tackling pay inequalities and low pay in the civil service and related bodies. I call on the management of the civil service to get around the table with us again and discuss our concerns."
Cabinet Office Minister Pat McFadden said that there was no need for strike action. He said: "The government values the civil service highly. If PCS members have concerns about job losses or pay, there is an established industrial relations process to discuss these issues.
"The PCS are the only civil service union to have balloted for strike action. We will do everything we can to avoid compulsory redundancies but cannot give guarantees it will never happen throughout the efficiency savings (Gershon) process."
(KMcA)
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