UK: Civil servants to strike in April

Thousands of civil servants in the United Kingdom are set to take strike action starting in April. The strike action comes amidst waves of strikes staged by several key sectors in the country.

The British Public and Commercial Services union said Friday last week that over 3000 civil servants across four government agencies would take part in a strike on April 11 over pay, pension, and job security. The agencies affected would be the Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Forestry Commission, Rural Payments Agency, and the Marine Management Organization.

“They demand the government holds meaningful talks with us and puts some money on the table to give them a decent pay rise,” said PCS General Secretary Mark Serwotka.

On Saturday, the Unite union representing over 3,000 bus drivers for National Express ended their strike action after its members voted to accept the 16.2 percent pay increase. Unite said the pay deal at National Express West Midlands also included a guarantee of the implementation of the new terms and conditions that were agreed upon last year.

“This is an important win for Unite members. By standing together our members at National Express secured an above-inflation pay offer,” said Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham.

The spokesperson for National Express West Midlands said the company was pleased that the pay offer was accepted and apologized to customers for the disruption in the services as a result of the strikes.

The UK has had surges of strike action across the country in recent months as thousands of workers in key sectors such as education, healthcare, transportation, and the public sector have demanded higher wages in order to keep up with inflation and the rising cost of living.

On the same day, the British Communication Workers’ Union announced that its members who are part of the post office are being asked to vote on a pay proposal of a nine percent pay increase after “an extremely lengthy dispute” with employers. This post office dispute is separate from the unresolved dispute with Royal Mail Group workers.

Thousands of post office workers have held eight strikes and taken other industrial actions in their demand for higher wages since last year.