16 October 2008
By Tash Shifrin
A ballot of civil servants was expected to show a vote in favour of strike action as union bosses contrasted low public sector pay rises with the government's £500bn bail-out of the banks.
The result of the strike ballot of 270,000 members of the Public and Commercial Services union was due to be released on October 16, with the union's executive meeting next week to decide on a programme of action. The PCS is expected to begin with national civil service-wide strikes and then roll action across different sectors.
Figures published on October 14 showed that the consumer price index – the government's preferred inflation measure – had risen to 5.2% in September, which added to the unrest among public sector workers.
PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka told a meeting of the Left Economic Advisory Panel at the House of Commons on October 13: 'The government pay freeze will not only exacerbate poverty, it will hold down saving and retail spending... It's not only the banks that need refinancing. It is time to recognise that those at the base of society will be the ones that have to pull us out of crisis.'
A spokesman for the union said that it was 'in close contact' with the National Union of Teachers, which has begun its own national strike ballot. The unions are expected to co-ordinate their action.
Unison general secretary Dave Prentis also urged a pay boost for public sector workers as the union prepares its 2008/09 local government pay claim, due to be submitted in November. This year's pay award has been referred to arbitration service Acas by the unions.
Prentis said: 'The government has taken bold action to rescue the banks – they should now support the army of public sector workers who play a vital role in our local communities and drop the unfair squeeze on their pay.'
PFoct2008
