Local Picket Line in Civil Servants’ Strike

I joined the picket lines set up over the last two days by the PCS trade union at both the Hayes Job Centre and the HMRC offices in Uxbridge. I support the union in this national dispute and support my constituents in taking this industrial action. The Government has unilaterally imposed a significant cut in the compensation arrangements for civil servants who are made redundant. This tears up the contract on which the Government hired these workers. We know that the Government and opposition parties are all predicting large numbers of cuts in public sector jobs. This change in the compensation arrangements will mean that many civil servants who lose their jobs will now also lose large amounts of redundancy payments. I have laid an Early Day Motion before Parliament opposing this measure and gained the support of over 150 MPs. However the Government is refusing to hold a vote in Parliament on this issue and is now refusing further negotiations with PCS. I am calling on Government Ministers to return to the negotiating table to resolve this dispute. I interviewed PCS members on the picket line in Hillingdon.

submitted by John on 09 Mar 2010 at 16:01