Mass shutdown as 400,000 workers strike

Published on Thursday 24 April 2008 22:26

THE UK government was urged to review its pay policy yesterday as up to 400,000 teachers, lecturers, and civil and public servants went on strike, disrupting thousands of schools, colleges, job centres and government departments.

Members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) walked out of government offices in a dispute which also closed benefit offices and driving-test centres, and left the coastguard with only emergency cover.

In Scotland, about 10,000 civil servants went on strike, with another 90,000 from the rest of the UK.

Mark Serwotka, the general-secretary of the PCS, said: "Over 100,000 civil and public servants are coming together with other public-sector workers in protest at the policy to cap public-sector pay to below inflation.

"This action illustrates the depth of anger over the government's insistence to cut the living standards of hard-working civil and public servants, some of whom earn just above the minimum wage.

"The government must review its discredited policy of using public-sector workers as an anti-inflationary tool."

Union leaders warned that unrest in the civil service would intensify unless the government changed its policy of pegging pay rises to 2 per cent a year in each of the next three years.

At Holyrood yesterday, Scottish coastguards urged MSPs to back a petition calling for fairer pay.

Unions say that inflation is running at 4 per cent, not the 2.1 per cent claimed by the government, and public- sector pay needs to rise by the same rate to prevent wage cuts.

Tens of thousands of children had a day off school in England and Wales as the walkout by members of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) – the first for 21 years – led to closures.

One in three schools south of the Border was closed or partially shut.

Teachers picketed some schools, while thousands joined other striking workers at more than 50 rallies across the country in a protest a pay award of 2.45 per cent.

Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, said that the strike was "unfortunate", but was urged by the NUT to halt the "downward spiral" in pay.