PCS to launch national strike ballot

The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union is to launch a national strike ballot of 149,586 members in 171 government departments.

The ballot comes after government failed last month to meet the union’s demands over pay, pensions justice and job protection.

It will run from March 18 to May 13 and will include all members working across the UK in the civil service and its related areas, except for members in the Scottish Devolved Sector, who will not be included in the ballot because they have reached a two-year settlement with the employer on pay and jobs.

PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said: "We warned the government that our national campaign would continue if our demands were not met."

“We won pay rises last year of up to 5% for all our members, plus a one-off cost-of-living payment of £1,500.

“We told ministers we expected at least inflation-proof pay rises this year, but so far they have refused to commit to even that.

“Our members showed last year they were prepared to take sustained strike action – the government can expect more of the same this year if they don’t meet our demands and treat our hard-working members with the respect they deserve.”

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