Civil service strike moves closer
Wednesday, 3 February 2010 10:45 AM
By politics.co.uk staff
A dispute over the civil service compensation scheme (CSCS) will see members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union balloted on industrial action tomorrow.
After the PCS' national executive committee agreed last week civil service bosses had not moved far enough they agreed to begin the ballot process on a two-day walkout on February 4th.
Up to 270,000 PCS members, mainly immigration, customs and job centre staff, could go on strike.
"The NEC stressed that it will continue to seek negotiations with ministers and senior government officials to find an acceptable settlement and urged all members to vote 'Yes' in the ballot," the PCS said in a statement on its website.
The CSCS covers redundancy and early retirement payment for civil servants. Current proposals will see its long-term guarantees removed from January 1st 2010 and replaced with limited protection for existing staff.
The PCS and other civil service unions have been negotiating with the Cabinet Office since autumn last year.
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