The Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) has warned thatthe budget day strikes are just the tip of the iceberg and “thestart of a rolling program of walkouts and disruptive action to putpressure on a government."
Striking civil servants marched on number 10 Downing Street voicingtheir outrage at government cuts to pensions and wage packets,while the PCS held a rally in Westminster during Chancellor GeorgeOsborne’s speech.
"Civil and public servants are working harder than ever toprovide the services we all rely on but, instead of rewarding them,the government is imposing cuts to their pay, raiding theirpensions and trying to rip up their basic working conditions,”said General Secretary of the PCS Mark Serwotka.
The British government criticized the civil servant strike ascounterproductive. Minister for the Cabinet Office Francis Maudedecried the walk-out as
“futile” and described its impact as
“minimal.” "The public will have been inconveniencedto a very small extent by the strike today," he said topress.
He claimed that only 95,000 staff members took part in the masswalk-out, while the PCS disputes this, putting the total figure ataround 250,000.
PCS members who work in customs offices, immigration and jobcenters are demanding a 5 per cent pay rise.
Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne unveiled the UK’s2013 budget on Wednesday, prompting the nation’s growth forecast tobe downgraded by more than half over the next year.
