Approximately 20,000 members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) working for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Identity and Passports Service (IPS) are taking part in a one day national strike today over the imposition of a below inflation pay rise.
As part of the next steps of its national civil service dispute over jobs, pay and conditions, today will also see a further 20,000 members starting a month of action short of a strike in the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Department of Health (DoH), Land Registry and Learning Skills Council (LSC).
The remaining 230,000 PCS members are supporting their colleagues in a day of action short of a strike, with people refusing to do paid or unpaid overtime and taking proper rest and lunch breaks.
The strike follows the Chancellor repeating his determination in last week’s budget to drive down public sector pay by capping it to below inflation.
The result has been government departments, agencies and non departmental public bodies (NDPBs) driving down the pay of some of the lowest paid in the public sector by imposing and tabling pay offers more than a percentage point below the cost of living.
Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary, said: ‘Hardworking staff have become increasingly angry about the way their senior managers have imposed what amounts to a real terms pay cut.
‘Battered by massive job cuts and privatisation, dedicated staff across the civil service have become increasingly angry about the government using their pay as an anti-inflationary measure.
‘Tens of thousands of civil and public servants earn just above the minimum wage and a quarter earn less than £15,400.
‘It is high time the government and civil service management started respecting its own workforce and started negotiating with the unions to avoid further industrial action.’
• Ground handling staff at British Airways, whose jobs are under threat of out-sourcing in the airline’s current review of regional operations, lobbied MPs on Wednesday.
Brendan Gold, the TGWU national secretary for civil air transport, said the review coincided with the sale of the BA Connect operation to FlyBe.
Gold said: ‘The T&G is convinced there is a future for BA in the UK regions but we believe we are dealing with a fait accompli and not a consultation.’
