02 May 2008
Members of the Public and Commercial Services union will consider escalating their action against the government's public sector pay cap at their annual conference later this month.
Around 100,000 PCS members at the Department for Work and Pensions, Department for Transport and the Maritime and Coastguard Service staged a
one-day strike on April 24, joined by up to 250,000 members of the National Union of Teachers and 27,500 further education lecturers.
PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka described the strike as 'a marvellous success' with co-ordination between the unions proving 'that together we are greater than the sum of our parts'.
A spokesman said the PCS conference, which begins on May 21, would discuss a motion proposed by its executive calling for a strike ballot across all the union's 280,000 civil service members 'over the pay cap, which affects everyone'.
The PCS also released a survey on April 30, showing that 87% of candidates in the local government and London Assembly election – and 85% of Labour candidates – supported its aim that 'pay should increase in line with inflation and be negotiated nationally'.
NUT acting general secretary Christine Blower said the teachers' union was debating its next move after last week's walkout, which closed hundreds of schools.
Local government unions are also consulting members on a 2.45% pay offer – on a par with that for teachers. Unison, which is recommending rejection, signalled that substantial industrial action could be on the cards, telling members: 'We think that to have any chance of boosting the offer, our members will have to strike for two days to begin with, with more strikes to follow.'
Junior doctors are also set to join the battle, angered by the loss of free accommodation for first year medics, which is seen as an effective 20% pay cut.
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