Around 100,000 civil servants to go on strike in February
11 January 2023, 17:19 | Updated: 11 January 2023, 19:34
Around 100,000 civil servants are set go on strike on February 1 in a dispute over jobs, pay and conditions, the Public and Commercial Services union has announced.
The strike applies to all members in employers where the turnout passed the 50 per cent threshold required by law for strike action, covering 124 government departments and other bodies.
The union said the industrial action will represent the largest civil service strike for years and signals a "significant escalation" of industrial action.
PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: "During the last month, when thousands of PCS members across a range of departments took sustained industrial action, the government said it had no money.
"But it managed to find millions of pounds to spend on managers and military personnel in a failed attempt to cover the vital work our members do.
"We warned the government our dispute would escalate if they did not listen - and we're as good as our word. We will not stand by as hardline Tory MPs like Richard Drax tell our hard-working members they should be grateful to have jobs."
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The industrial action is set to coincide with the Trade Union Congress' (TUC) "protect the right to strike" day, which was announced after the government announced its plans to introduce legislation on minimum service levels during industrial action.
Another 33,000 PCS members working in five more departments, including HM Revenue & Customs, are next week re-balloting to join the union's national strike action.
Last month, industrial action conducted by members of the PCS saw more than 1,000 union members, including passport control workers, strike from 23-26 and 28-31 December.
It comes after another day of strikes by ambulance staff across country.
The NHS is already bracing itself for more strikes after health unions pulled out of the health body's independent pay review process.
Nurses, meanwhile, will strike for two days next week.
In a separate dispute, staff from the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) have staged a series of strikes across the country's rail network in recent months.
