Civil Service braces itself for further strike action

The
Civil Service could be hit by further strikes as staff at the Department for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) consider industrial action over pay
disparities.

The
Public and Commercial Services (PCS) Union is set to ballot 5,000 members on
strike action to resolve a pay row between officials from the newly-created
Defra.

The
argument centres around 600 staff that joined the new agency from another
department and now earn up to £4,000 more than existing employees.

The
ministry was disrupted by strike action last year which eventually led to an
offer of a 10 per cent rise, or a minimum of £2,000 to the lesser paid workers.

However,
PCS claims Defra has not eliminated the pay gap and is preparing its members
for a ballot.

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www.pcs.org.uk

By Ross Wigham