Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union, announced that members will not back down, with numerous actions planned for the month, including a “all-out” strike day on April 28.
The union’s executive committee agreed to the action on Monday, which means that there will be strike action in various parts of the civil service from today until the end of April, including passport workers who are walking out for five weeks until May 6.
Ofgem employees in Canary Wharf and Glasgow will also go on strike for six days beginning April 10 and ending April 17. Ministers, according to Mr Serwotka, must recognise that they are escalating their actions and must resolve the dispute by “putting money on the table.” The union believes that the strikes have already caused significant disruption, and that the new strikes, combined with another national day of action, will increase pressure on a government that refuses to listen.
Meanwhile, the National Education Union has advised its members to reject the government’s offer to settle their ongoing pay dispute. According to the NEU, ministers have offered teachers a £1,000 one-time cash payment for the current school year (2022/23), as well as a 4.3% consolidated pay increase for most teachers for the following year (2023/24), which the government claims is fully funded.
However, the union stated that in order to afford it, up to 58% of schools would have to make cuts next year. The NEU has opened a ballot for members to vote on the offer beginning today, but has branded it “insulting,” claiming that the government “simply does not value teachers.” Dr Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, joint general secretaries of the unions, added that it is now clear that they have an education secretary and a government that is ignoring the crisis in schools and colleges.
