Union ballots over Budget strike action

The result of a strike ballot among hundreds of thousands of civil servants will be revealed today, raising the threat of a walkout around the Budget.

The Public and Commercial Service Union (PCS) has asked 250,000 of its members if they want to launch a campaign of industrial action in a worsening row over jobs, pay, pensions and terms and conditions.

Officials expect a vote in favour of action and will meet later in the week to decide their next move, which could be to call stoppages at around the time of Chancellor George Osborne’s Budget on 20 March.

Options will include one-day walkouts, or action spread over a period of time, which would hit different government departments on different days.