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Strikes continue in the public sector today, with more than 130,000 members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) walking out in a dispute over pay, pensions and job security. The union is asking for a 10% pay rise for civil servants and public sector works, as well as no cuts to jobs or terms and conditions. The main demand, however, is that ministers sit and negotiate with civil service unions, which has not happened so far.
The PCS union members on strike today are:
- Civil servants
- Passport Office workers in Belfast, Durham, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Newport, Peterborough and Southport
- 1,500 driving examiners and test centre administrators
Fran Heathcote, president of the PCS union, told Times Radio this morning: "[Members have] been sort of rubbished... at every opportunity, from Jacob Rees-Mogg leaving post-it notes on desks... to some of the actions around Priti Patel, Suella Braverman, and Dominic Raab."
The PCS has had no opportunity for negotiations, she added: "The fact that they won't get into talks to discuss resolving what are quite modest demands... tells our members, civil servants, that in fact they aren't valued by this government."
She said the PCS is asking for a 10% pay rise, but "what would be a really good starting point is if the government got into talks with us - we haven't had one single negotiation".