PCS: Judicial review of ciil service redundancy cuts set.

Monday, 22 March 2010 12:00 AM

Legal action brought by the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) over cuts to the redundancy terms for civil and public servants will start on 22 April, the union announced today.

The judicial review, to be heard on 22 and 23 April, comes as a quarter of a million civil and public servants gear up for a third day of strike action on budget day. The imposed changes will see staff robbed of up to a third of their entitlements and result in loyal civil and public servants losing tens of thousands of pounds if they are forced out of their job.

PCS is arguing that the Cabinet Office were wrong to make detrimental changes to the civil service compensation scheme without agreement. The union believes that under the 1972 Superannuation Act the government needed to implement the cuts to the redundancy scheme with the agreement of civil service trade unions representing the majority of staff.

If the judicial review is successful it would make the new arrangements illegal and invalid.

Civilian staff working for the Met Police and Houses of Parliament security staff are amongst some of the people who will be going on strike on budget day, 24 March, which will also hit courts, driving tests, jobcentres and Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.

Commenting, Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary, said: "Legal action is another tool in our campaign against these cuts, which will rob loyal civil and public servants of their entitlements if they are forced out of a job. Our members cannot stand by and allow jobs to be cut on the cheap and the services they provide damaged as a result. We will be arguing, because the changes rob people of their entitlements, that in law, the government needed to get the agreement of all civil service trade unions. The government need to recognise the depth of anger and reach an agreement over the changes."

ENDS

Notes to editors:

· For further information, interviews and comment please contact Alex Flynn PCS national press officer on 020 7801 2820 or 07833 978216.

PCS, the Public and Commercial Services Union is the union representing civil and public servants in central government. It has more than 300,000 members in over 200 departments and agencies. It also represents workers in parts of government transferred to the private sector. PCS is the UK's sixth largest union and is affiliated to the TUC. The general secretary is Mark Serwotka and the president is Janice Godrich.

Alex Flynn
National Press Officer
Public and Commercial Services Union
160 Falcon Rd
London SW11 2LN

Direct line: 020 7801 2747
Mobile: 07833 978 216
Fax: 020 7924 1847

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