By David Williams
8 March 2010
Civil service workers have begun a 48-hour strike today in protest over proposed cuts to their redundancy terms.
Organisers from the Public and Commercial Services union estimate that as many as 270,000 public sector employees could be involved.
They claim that under new terms being proposed by the Cabinet Office, staff will lose up to a third of their entitlements – potentially worth tens of thousands of pounds – if they are made redundant.
The government says the changes would save £500m over the next three years if implemented.
‘Loyal civil and public servants won’t stand by and allow the government to cut jobs on the cheap,’ said PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka. He accused the government of tearing up contracts for low-paid workers while doing nothing to curb bankers’ bonuses, and added: ‘[They] need to recognise that slashing entitlements and cutting jobs will damage public services.’
Among those going on strike today are parliament security workers, who have not gone on strike for 25 years, Jobcentre Plus staff, tax officials and civilians working for the Metropolitan Police.
PCS is organising around 20 rallies across the UK, including a march in central London, in fear that the government is preparing the ground for substantial job cuts after the general election.
An additional 1,000 PCS workers will also be striking today and tomorrow in a separate dispute over pay freezes and job losses at Hewlett Packard. Many of those walking out work on public contracts for Whitehall departments, including the Ministry of Defence and the Department for Work and Pensions.
8 March 2010
Civil service workers have begun a 48-hour strike today in protest over proposed cuts to their redundancy terms.
Organisers from the Public and Commercial Services union estimate that as many as 270,000 public sector employees could be involved.
They claim that under new terms being proposed by the Cabinet Office, staff will lose up to a third of their entitlements – potentially worth tens of thousands of pounds – if they are made redundant.
The government says the changes would save £500m over the next three years if implemented.
‘Loyal civil and public servants won’t stand by and allow the government to cut jobs on the cheap,’ said PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka. He accused the government of tearing up contracts for low-paid workers while doing nothing to curb bankers’ bonuses, and added: ‘[They] need to recognise that slashing entitlements and cutting jobs will damage public services.’
Among those going on strike today are parliament security workers, who have not gone on strike for 25 years, Jobcentre Plus staff, tax officials and civilians working for the Metropolitan Police.
PCS is organising around 20 rallies across the UK, including a march in central London, in fear that the government is preparing the ground for substantial job cuts after the general election.
An additional 1,000 PCS workers will also be striking today and tomorrow in a separate dispute over pay freezes and job losses at Hewlett Packard. Many of those walking out work on public contracts for Whitehall departments, including the Ministry of Defence and the Department for Work and Pensions.
