Thousands
of civil servants are being balloted to strike over differences in pay at the
new Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
The Public
and Commercial Services Union sent out ballot papers this week to more than
3,000 members at the department calling for a one-day strike on 20th August.
Civil
servants from the former Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food are
unhappy that they earn £4,500 less than their counterparts from the former
Department for Environment, Transport and the Regions who have been transferred
to work with them.
Officials
working for MAFF also receive one week less in holiday than the six weeks
offered at the former DETR.
The
difference in pay is due to the current practice of protecting the salaries of
staff when they transfer between different departments.
The union
is now asking for a basic increase of £2,000 or 10 per cent for all former MAFF
staff.
www.pcs.org.uk
Karen Higginbottom
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