MEMBERS of the PCS civil service union yesterday voted overwhelmingly in favour of national strike action in a consultative ballot against job cuts, pay cuts and privatisation.
At the same time, around 1,800 PCS members walked out of government offices in Runcorn, Sheffield, Darlington and London against the compulsory privatisation of support staff jobs at Caxton House in Westminster.
A statement by the PCS said: ‘68 per cent of members voting in the national consultative ballot voted for national strike action as part of the union’s campaign, which has already seen two strongly supported national one-day strikes this year. . . .
‘The union’s National Executive Committee will meet tomorrow, 1st November, to consider the ballot result and to receive a report on the discussions currently taking place with Cabinet Office officials.’
PCS General Secretary Mark Serwotka added: ‘Civil service management and the government must be in no doubt of the determination of their own workforce to take action if necessary, to achieve a fair settlement over jobs, pay and conditions and must now find added urgency in reaching an agreement with the union.’
Meanwhile, PCS pickets at Caxton House yesterday lunchtime persuaded many people to turn away when they heard the union’s case against today’s compulsory transfer of mailroom and security staff to the private sector, following the government’s decision to split the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) into two departments.
The union warned that the Caxton House transfers were just ‘the tip of an iceberg’.
‘Every other member of staff, bar the ten support staff, is transferring into the new Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) or the new Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills,’ said a union statement.
Members of the union in both departments voted to take action in defence of their colleagues.
Sheila Coote, one of those threatened with compulsory transfer, told News Line: ‘As from today it’s the end of our lives as civil servants.
‘At the end of the day I don’t think what they’ve done is legal.’
Security guard Ivan Kopchenko said: ‘My colleague has been off sick for three months, asking medical people to let him officially retire on medical grounds.
‘What I’ve heard is that they want to transfer him under TUPE to the private company. Who knows what will happen to him then?’
PCS members from other offices came to show their support during the lunch hour.
Andrew Lloyd, full-time officer of the PCS, said: ‘All these 10 staff facing compulsory outsourcing could have been retained in-house and offered other alternative jobs within the DCSF.’
