About 100,000 UK civil servants they will go on strike next February 1st as negotiations on their working and salary conditions deteriorated. As announced by the Public and Commercial Services union, which brings together the union, it will be the biggest work stoppage that takes place in this country in years.
“Over the past month, when thousands of PCS (Public and Commercial Services Union, in Spanish) members from various departments went on strike, the government indicated it had no money, but managed to find millions of pounds in managers and military personnel in a failed attempt to cover up the vital work of our members,” lamented PCS General Secretary Mark Serwotka.
The union leader has also indicated that they had already notified the Executive that the tension would “escalate” if they did not “listen” to their demands. Serwotka meets this Thursday with Jeremy Quinn, minister of the Cabinet Office and has indicated that “if he puts money on the table, there is a possibility that this dispute will be resolved.” If this is not the case, public services such as driving tests or port and airport personnel will be affected by this strike.
The news comes on the same day that some 20,000 members of the two main unions of the Ambulance service in England and Wales go on strike of 24 hours in demand of salary improvement and in protest by the lack of personnel.
Many employees from different sectors – railways, nurses, ambulance staff and others – have recently gone on strike to demand wage increases to cope with the sharp increase in the cost of living in the UK.
In this context, the British Government introduced a bill in Parliament this Monday that gives it the power to set certain levels of minimum services in the event of forceful measures in essential services, such as Health.
Source: Lasexta
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
