Parties pledge to ignore civil service picket

THOUSANDS of civil servants will stage a second day of strikes in Scotland today, walking out in a dispute over proposed cuts to redundancy pay.

Members of the PCS union will picket the Scottish Parliament, courts and job centres across the country, as part of UK-wide action.

Earlier this month, the work of the Scottish Parliament was disrupted by the first strike, with committees suspended despite claims the clerking staff could have coped with the disruption.

That led to accusations that Labour and SNP members had stayed away from parliament for fear of being seen to cross a picket line.

Ahead of today's action Tory chief whip David McLetchie called on MSPs to turn up for work.

"MSPs have a duty to serve their constituents and all the people of Scotland," he said. "That duty must not be compromised by a refusal to cross a picket line."

The SNP and Labour said they did not expect absences among their parliamentarians.