Civil servants to vote on strike action

Last Modified: 21 May 2008
Source: ITN

The Government is facing the threat of a fresh wave of strikes by public sector workers.

Around 280,000 civil servants are to be balloted for national strikes in protest at the low inflation pay deals. They may be joined by college lecturers and firefighters, who are involved in their own pay disrutes.

The Public and Commercial Services Union's general secretary Mark Serwotka, bitterly attacked the Prime Minister, saying Gordon Brown should "hang his head in shame" at the way civil servants are being treated.

He told his union's annual conference in Brighton that Labour came to power in 1997 under the slogan "things can only get better", but, for civil servants hit by job losses and pay cuts, things had got worse, he said.

The 1,000 delegates agreed to ballot civil servants across 200 Government departments and other agencies for a programme of rolling industrial action, including a national one-day strike as well as bans on overtime and other working to rule.

Delegates also pressed for industrial action to be co-ordinated with other public-sector unions following last month's walkout by hundreds of thousands of teachers, lecturers and civil servants, in what was the biggest stoppage over pay in the public sector for a decade.

The Government faces more pressure when it was announced that college lecturers in London are to strike on June 9 unless a 2.5 per cent pay offer is improved.

The University and College Union also warned that lecturers throughout England could intensify industrial action at the start of the autumn term.

The union's annual conference in Manchester next week will consider calls for joint campaigns with other public-sector unions over pay.

Lecturers are seeking a 6 per cent pay rise to compensate for a below inflation settlement last year and to bridge a pay gap with teachers.

Lunchtime protests will be held throughout England on June 4 ahead of pay talks the following day.

The Fire Brigades Union warned of possible industrial action this summer after claiming that their pay formula, agreed after their bitter strike of 2002/03 was "cracking at the edges".

General secretary Matt Wrack said firefighters did not want to go on strike, but he accused the Government of behaving disgracefully towards public-sector workers over pay.

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