By Mark Smulian | 15 October 2014
Civil service members of the Public and Commercial Services union are to strike today over pay.
The union described strike action as ‘a last resort’, but said prices had risen by 16% since 2010, during which time its members had seen a two-year pay freeze followed by increases of only 1%.
The PCS has put in a pay claim for a 5% or £1,200 increase for all civil service and related staff.
In a statement on the action, a Cabinet Office spokesperson said that early indications are that most public sector staff are turning up for work as usual.
'We have well-rehearsed contingency plans in place. and we expect most job centres to open their doors,' he added.
'In the Civil Service we estimate that fewer than 80,000 members of the PCS union will not be working – less than a fifth of the workforce.'
In a week of coordinated industrial action in the public sector, eight health trade unions went on strike for four hours on Monday morning and are working to rule for the remainder of this week.
This is over the government’s refusal to award all NHS workers a 1% pay increase based on the cost of living.
Instead, only those not receiving increases through progression would get the rise.
Council staff were also due to have taken industrial action this week, but suspended this after receiving an improved pay proposal from the Local Government Association.
Unions plan protest rallies over public sector pay in London and Glasgow on Saturday.
