Trade unions expect hundreds of thousands of civil servants across the UK to stay away from work today in a one-day strike over government plans to cut more than 100,000 public sector jobs. The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) claims that 160 government departments and agencies will take part in what will be the biggest strike action in more than a decade. Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary, said: “Hundreds of thousands of members are today taking a stand against arbitrary cuts which will decimate services we all rely on from the cradle to the grave. “The people on strike today are not faceless bureaucrats or your bowler-hatted Sir Humphrey’s, but people who collect the taxes to build hospitals and schools, get the unemployed in to work and protect our shores from illegal contraband,” he said. Several other unions have pledged their support for the strike, including the Fire Brigades Union and the RMT rail union. “Our colleagues in the PCS are fighting not only for their members’ jobs but also in defence of essential public services,” said RMT general secretary Bob Crow. For a full interview with PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka, see next week’s issue of Personnel Today magazine.
