‘YOU are the finest workers in the UK. You deserve fair pay, job security and not threats,’ PCS General Secretary Mark Serwotka told strikers at a rally outside the British Museum in London yesterday.
The strikers were in a confident mood on the second day of their week-long strike until Sunday 19th February.
‘The 2% offer throughout the civil service that the government has made is not enough for anyone. We have 30,000 members who are just on the Living Wage.
‘You’re not the only ones on strike today. The DVLA are out in Swansea and they are out in Carlisle from the Food Agency. At the weekend we’ve got Border Force on strike. After that we’ve got three more months of targetted action planned.
‘We’re all out again on 15th March. If 15th March doesn’t win we’ll be talking to other unions to make strikes get bigger and bigger.’
Aslef rail drivers union General Secretary Mick Whelan told the rally: ‘We’ve got a government that’s anti-worker. We’re in solidarity with you. When PCS wins we all win. When the nurses win we all win.’
The BM PCS Branch Treasurer Valentina Prunas told News Line: ‘We believe in the strike. All the unions should take action because this is about the public sector. We are like the NHS, a public service. NHS workers deserve a pay rise, as do teachers and firefighters. I’d support a general strike to win. A strike is the only way to make our voice heard.’
Aslef Vice President Andy Hudd, told News Line: ‘I’m here to bring solidarity to the PCS strikers. The government are clearly anti-worker so we have to support workers in dispute across the country.’
PCS President Fran Heathcote said: ‘All we are asking is for is the employers to negotiate with us and to get our members a cost-of-living pay rise. They made an offer a few months ago of 4%. With inflation at 11% this is a real-terms pay cut. People need to be able to make ends meet.
‘The money is available, but like many others our members are not seen as a priority. The TUC needs to coordinate all unions that want to take action together.’
