A one-day strike by civil servants set to take place on 10 November has been called off.
The national executive committee of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) met this morning (Friday) and decided to suspend the walk-out and the overtime ban proposed to start on 11 November.
The PCS called the strike as part of a programme of national industrial action in protest at the government’s public sector pay cap. As many as 200,000 workers could have walked out, the PCS claimed.
But the government has now agreed to a 28-day extension to the limitation of the current mandate for initiating industrial action to 11 December.
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The PCS and civil service officials will now attempt to thrash out a deal that will resolve the current dispute.
Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary, said: “Our national industrial action has been suspended for 28 days. I welcome the dialogue and hope an agreement is possible.”