48-hour strike by civil servants

Mar 19 2008 by Staff Reporter, South Wales Echo

JOBCENTRE civil servants across South Wales are on strike today.

Staff from Cardiff’s Department of Work and Pensions including workers from the Jobcentre, benefits offices, the Pension Service and Child Support Agency (CSA) began a 48-hour stoppage yesterday.

The dispute is over the one per cent per year average increase over the next three years being offered by the Government.

Unions officials say the increase has been imposed on DWP staff despite being rejected by a three to one majority of its members.

Talks between management and the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union have broken down and there is a possibility of more strike action in the future.

Among the strikers in Cardiff is PCS branch secretary Michael Price. He said: “Around 40,000 of our members will get no pay rise at all because they are at the maximum of their pay scale. The management’s reasoning for the below inflation offer is that there’s not enough money to go around.

“But they wasted £38m on bonuses for senior management and now we would like to see that money redistributed to staff.”

Mr Price said there had been an 85-90 per cent turn out of members in Cardiff.

He added: “We were expecting a big turnout because there had been a strong feeling of disapproval when we balloted members in December.

“Many members in Cardiff and the district will lose money because of this strike. They are prepared to lose out in the short term so they can get some action for the long term.

“Nobody likes going on strike but we feel it is the last resort.

“We’ve had support from the Assembly Member Leanne Wood and now we are asking for more help from politicians.

“We want this problem to be discussed in the National Assembly and Parliament.”

According to the PCS, more than half of DWP staff are paid less than £17,700 with some on just £12,500. They say there have also been 25,000 job cuts in the last three years with more planned by the Government.

A DWP Spokesperson said: “The three-year pay award provides a good deal.

“For those employees lower down the pay scales, during the next three years the minimum pay increase they will see is three per cent a year. Many of the lowest paid at the bottom of the pay scale will be getting, on average, more than five per cent a year.”

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