Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Civil ServiceLatest NewsEmployee relationsPublic sectorIndustrial action / strikes

100,000 civil servants to strike on 1 February

by Adam McCulloch 12 Jan 2023
by Adam McCulloch 12 Jan 2023 Photo: Shutterstock
Photo: Shutterstock

About 100,000 civil servants will strike on 1 February in a dispute over pay, jobs and conditions, the Public and Commercial Services union has announced.

The action will coincide with the TUC’s “protect the right to strike day” announced on 10 January in response to new government legislation. It follows the largest mandate for strike action in the union’s history after a ballot last November.

The civil servants strike will involve members in 124 government departments and follows walkouts last month involving Border Force staff, driving examiners and National Highways workers.

The PCS union is calling for a 10% pay rise, protections to pensions and protections from job cuts.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka suggested there might be coordinated strike action with other unions on the same day, telling Sky News: “I think as long as the government retains its position of refusing to put money on the table, we will see more and more cooperation and coordination between unions. I don’t believe we will be the only union on strike on 1 February.”

Strikes

Unions clash with Shapps over Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill

Minimum-service strike laws would allow dismissals

Handling industrial action

Serwotka accused the government of “treating its own workforce worse than anyone else in the economy”. He added: “We’ve been given a 2% pay rise. We’ve been told tens of thousands of jobs are going to be slashed, our conditions are going to be cut. And we represent people who deliver public services from cradle to grave.”

The government has said the union’s pay demands would cost an “unaffordable” £2.4bn.

But the PCS boss said: “That’s the way of the government trying to avoid a sensible argument. We believe that if you get less than the rate of inflation, you’re actually poorer for going to work at the end of the year than you were at the start of the year and that can’t be right.”

He added: “Even if it’s true that it was to cost £2.4bn, that is a tiny fraction the Conservative government was prepared to borrow to give tax cuts to the richest in this country. So the government knows it can afford it.

“It knows if they gave us a pay rise, our members will spend it in their local economy, boosting manufacturing and the hospitality sector at a time of recession, unlike the rich who avoid paying taxes and put their money in the Cayman Islands. So it makes sense for the economy and it makes sense to ensure that civil servants are working but are in poverty.”

Serwotka said he was meeting Cabinet Office minister and paymaster general Jeremy Quin today (12 January) and said “if he puts some money on the table there is a chance this dispute can be resolved”.

The PCS and fellow civil service unions Prospect and FDA were invited to talks by Quin earlier this week.

The FDA is balloting its members over a strike in the civil service fast stream and Prospect is planning to ballot members over industrial action if there is no movement from the government.

The leaders demanded that its discussions with ministers were “meaningful”. In a joint letter to Quin this week, Dave Penman, the FDA general secretary, and Mike Clancy, the general secretary of Prospect, said: “We must be clear, however, that if you are serious about trying to resolve these issues we would expect that, at that meeting, government will have something meaningful to present to the unions rather than simply once again being in listening mode.”

Serwotka added that if there was no movement on the government’s offer then “he’ll see public services from benefits to driving tests, from passports to driving licences, from ports to airports affected by industrial action on February 1.”

The PCS said a further 33,000 members working in five more departments, including HMRC, were next week re-balloting to join the union’s national strike action.

Conservative MP and former cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg, who last year accused civil servants of “skiving off” responded to news of the strike by tweeting “If they are not in the office will anyone notice?”.

Latest HR job opportunities on Personnel Today


Browse more human resources jobs

 

Adam McCulloch
Adam McCulloch

Adam McCulloch is a freelance writer and production editor who has worked in sectors including travel (The Guardian), aviation (Flight International), agriculture (Farmers' Weekly), music (Jazzwise), theatre (The Stage) and social work (Community Care). He also works for a national newspaper and is the author of KentWalksNearLondon

previous post
Disability claimants could continue to receive benefits in work
next post
Cybersecurity is an HR issue, not just a matter for IT

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

You may also like

University unions reject latest pay offer

27 Jan 2023

Who is on strike and when?

26 Jan 2023

ILO denies it backs minimum service strikes bill

18 Jan 2023

Train drivers strike in February announced

17 Jan 2023

Teachers to strike for four days in February...

17 Jan 2023

UK universities face 18 days of strikes

13 Jan 2023

NASUWT ballot fails to meet threshold for teachers...

12 Jan 2023

Strikes Bill: when the unthinkable becomes policy

12 Jan 2023

Employment law in 2023: What can HR expect?

11 Jan 2023

Unions clash with Shapps over Strikes (Minimum Service...

10 Jan 2023

  • The Workplace Today Guide: Why it pays to support your staff’s financial health PROMOTED | The cost of living crisis has hit...Read more
  • abrdn pensions master trust: an enhanced member experience PROMOTED | For most people, their pension will be the largest source of income in retirement...Read more
  • How can HR equip leaders to support a wounded workforce? PROMOTED | The World Health Organisation (WHO) has released new guidelines for employers...Read more
  • How HR manages absence and hybrid working (survey) WEBINAR | HR professionals are slowly realising...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2023

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2023 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+