250,000 strike in battle for rights

An estimated 270,000 members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union will walk out on Monday in the biggest outbreak of industrial unrest in the service since 1987.

The union is protesting over changes to the Civil Service compensation scheme which it says will "rob" its members of up to a third of their entitlements, worth thousands of pounds, when they leave their jobs.

The union said it expected huge support for the strike, warning that civil servants were angry at having their contracts "ripped up" by the government without agreement.

Staff at government departments will join the walkout, as well as workers in Parliament, museums and the Royal Courts of Justice.

PCS warned that the action will lead to the cancellation of driving tests and court cases, the closure of government departments and disruption to jobcentres, benefit and tax offices and the passport service.

General secretary Mark Serwotka said the union's membership had swelled since it announced the strikes last month and that this was an indication of the fury in the public sector.

"There is incredible anger among hard-working public servants who are seeing their terms ripped up," he said.

"The strike will show how vital these people are to the running of our society. Those on strike today deliver services that touch our everyday lives, from the cradle to the grave."

He added: "Under these imposed changes, they face losing up to a third of their entitlements and tens of thousands of pounds if they are forced out of their job.

"The government is tearing up the contracts of low-paid civil and public servants whilst it claims it can do nothing about bankers' bonuses because of contractual obligations."

But Cabinet Office Minister Tessa Jowell defended the proposed changes, saying: "The changes to the Civil Service compensation scheme were agreed with five of the six Civil Service unions after 18 months of negotiation and consultation," she said.

"These unions all agree with us that the resulting deal is fair for staff and taxpayers.

"It is very disappointing that the PCS has decided to take industrial action, especially given that less than one in five of their own members voted in favour of strike action and that, overall, this figure represents only around 10 per cent of the total Civil Service workforce."

And she claimed that the package "brings the Civil Service more into line with the rest of the public sector and still offers more generous terms than much of the private sector."

Mr Serwotka rejected the suggestion, saying: "The government needs to recognise that slashing entitlements and cutting jobs on the cheap will damage public services and reach an agreement that protects existing members' entitlements.

"Ministers should stop burying their heads in the sand and try to re-engage with us."

Rallies will be held across Britain over the next 48 hours and picket lines will be mounted outside government departments, courts, jobcentres and other offices.