100,000 Civil Servants Vote For Strike Action In Dispute Over Pay, Pensions And Jobs
Members of the PCS union have voted in favour of industrial action and could go on strike later this year in a dispute over pay (Alamy)
2 min read
Around 100,000 civil servants from the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) have voted to go on strike in a dispute over pay, pensions and jobs.
In a statement the union said the legal threshold for industrial action had been reached in 126 separate areas, including at the Home Office and the Department for Work and Pensions.
The PCS initially asked more than 150,000 members at 214 departments across the country whether to walk-out in the ongoing row with government.
Announcing the results of the ballots, they said the legal turnout threshold of 50% has been achieved in many areas, which could see Border Force officials, JobCentre employees and driving test examiners walk out.
The union is warning that unless it receives "substantial proposals" it will announce a programme of "sustained industrial action" on 18 November.
General secretary Mark Serwotka said: "The government must look at the huge vote for strike action across swathes of the Civil Service and realise it can no longer treat its workers with contempt.
"Our members have spoken and if the government fails to listen to them, we'll have no option than to launch a prolonged programme of industrial action reaching into every corner of public life.”
He added: “Civil servants have willingly and diligently played a vital role in keeping the country running during the pandemic but enough is enough.
"The stress of working in the civil service, under the pressure of the cost-of-living crisis, job cuts and office closures means they've reached the end of their tethers.
"We are calling on the government to respond positively to our members' demands. They have to give our members a 10% pay rise, job security, pensions justice and protected redundancy terms."
The PCS said the average vote in favour of industrial action across the areas balloted was 86.2%, the highest percentage vote in the union’s history.
They said as a result they are “now in a position to call significant industrial action in support of our claim for a 10% pay rise, pensions justice, job security and no cuts to redundancy terms”.
The union’s national executive committee has now sent a letter to the Cabinet Office demanding meaningful negotiations.
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