By Abimbola Ogunnaike
One of the major British trade unions, the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) has announced that at least 100,000 of its members are to go on another strike on April 28 in a longstanding dispute over pay and work conditions with the government.
The PCS made the announcement on Monday, 27 March 2023, adding that the industrial action is meant to mount pressure on the British government to rectify the workers’ pay, pensions, redundancy conditions, and job security terms.
According to the union, 133,000 civil and public servants will take part in the April 28 strike, as workers in the Passport Office continue their ongoing strike into early May.
The union’s General Secretary, Mark Serwotka said, “Our members are not backing down in this dispute… Ministers need to take notice that we’re escalating our action, and they need to resolve the dispute by putting money on the table.” The new industrial action comes after earlier this month thousands of civil servants across several government departments staged a series of walkouts in demand of better pay rises to cope with a cost-of-living crisis that has been hitting the country hard. They were joined by waves of other employees, including railway workers, doctors, and teachers.
“We know our strikes have already caused serious disruption. The new strikes and another national day of action will pile the pressure on a government that refuses to listen,” Serwokta added.
In January, the PCS had organized another similar strike, which began on February 1. Around 100,000 British civil servants joined that walkout.
During the past months, the UK has been grappling with its biggest strike wave for decades, with airport baggage handlers, border staff, driving instructors, bus drivers, and postal workers walking off their jobs to demand higher pay.
The wave of paralyzing strikes came after the workers’ demands for a pay increase were rejected by the government, as the government has offered civil servants a two to three per cent pay raise. The government says it cannot afford high increases that match the soaring inflation, and even if it could, such monetary increases would further fuel inflation.
Source: Press TV
