‘The likely date for the first coordinated action is 30th June, when 750,000 members of the PCS, NUT, ATL and UCU unions could all be striking together,’ a PCS civil servants press officer told News Line yesterday.
A TUC delegation was also holding talks in the Cabinet Office with Tory-LibDem Coalition ministers Maude and Alexander yesterday, as 250,000 civil servants started voting on strike action against government attacks on jobs, pay and pensions.
The PCS strike will involve coordinated action with teachers, lecturers and other workers.
The PCS press office told News Line: ‘We’re in talks with the government over its proposals for public sector pensions and today’s is the third or fourth meeting.
‘But we are also planning for coordinated industrial action and that is why we have opened the ballot this week.
‘A series of meetings is planned and the government is due to make its proposals next month.
‘Although the government has made it clear it intends to proceed with these attacks, we’re not just going to abandon negotiations on the assumption that they are not going to get anywhere.
‘As well as the teaching unions that are currently balloting for action over pensions, Unite is also giving its full support.
‘Although it is not balloting at this stage, the Unite leader, Len McCluskey, stated at our conference that Unite would be balloting later in the year and Unison is also on record as stating that they will be balloting for action.’
An NUT spokesman told News Line: ‘We’re part of the tuc delegation meeting at the Cabinet Office today.
‘We are currently having a ballot to decide whether we will be taking discontinuous strike action, which may well start on 30th June.
‘Certainly, ATL and NAHT, UCU are also balloting.’
A UCU spokesman said: ‘On 30th June we will be taking action, but at this moment we’re not sure about further action.
‘In the terms of coordinated action we look at it on a case by case basis.
‘Basically the government are bringing in detrimental changes to the TPS (Teachers Pensions Scheme) and that is why we are taking action.’
A Unison spokeswoman said: ‘Unison is involved in negotiating on pensions at the moment, along with other public sector unions.
‘We think it will come to strike action but we are negotiating to see how far we can get before talks break down.
‘The government has said it wants talks on pensions concluded by the end of June so we should have some idea by then of where we are going.’