Civil servants to strike over redundancy cuts

Posted 05/03/2010

Civil servants from across the UK are organising strike action that will take place on March 8th and 9th 2010 in a bid to protest against cuts in redundancy pay.

The government has said that it intends to introduce reforms that will see new caps placed on redundancy payouts from April this year, a move that will include professionals such as tax employees, border agency officials and driving test examiners.

Representatives from the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) argue that workers could lose as much as £20,000 under the new employment law, while general secretary Mark Serwotka said it is “more about crude politicking than making savings”.

Cabinet office minister Tessa Jowell has countered that the reforms would put civil servants’ redundancy pay in line with that of other employees and added that she is “disappointed” with the decision to strike.

PCS currently represents approximately 270,000 UK civil servants, making it the fifth-largest trade union in the country.