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05/11/2004
Thousands of civil servants go on 24-hour walkout
Up to 200,000 civil servants across 160 government departments and agencies have staged a 24-hour today in protest at government plans to axe 100,000 civil and public servants, the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) has claimed.
The union said that offices, museums – including the British Museum, the Science Museum and the British Library reading rooms – courts, jobcentres, customs and tax offices were affected by closures.
Customs and immigration officials had also set up picket lines at major ports and airports across the UK.
The union also claimed that 90% of Northern Ireland's Inland Revenue, and just eight out of 140 staff in the Department for Work and Pensions Call centre in Liverpool were in work today.
Civil servants are also protesting at what they see as moves to force unfavourable pension and sick absence arrangements on them.
Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary, said: "By staying away from work today, thousands of hard working civil servants have voted with their feet, sending a clear message that they won't tolerate such arbitrary cuts, which will only serve to damage essential services.
"The course on which the government are embarking will damage the very services they have sought to improve, impacting on some of Gordon Brown's very own initiatives such as Sure Start, the New Deal and Tax Credits. Initiatives aimed at helping some of the most vulnerable in society.
Government plans to cut jobs were more about "outflanking the Tories", he added.
Lib Dem spokesperson Paul Holmes said that the strike demonstrated how the government had "mishandled this issue".
“The 100,000 job cuts appear to be a random figure, plucked out of the air for election purposes, rather than the result of analysing what is needed for civil service provision," he said.
Fewer staff in key agencies would simply equate to inadequate service provision – a situation which would chiefly effect the neediest members of society, Mr Holmes said.
“Labour and Tories seem to have entered a bidding war over who can sack the most civil servants,” he added.
(gmcg)
The union said that offices, museums – including the British Museum, the Science Museum and the British Library reading rooms – courts, jobcentres, customs and tax offices were affected by closures.
Customs and immigration officials had also set up picket lines at major ports and airports across the UK.
The union also claimed that 90% of Northern Ireland's Inland Revenue, and just eight out of 140 staff in the Department for Work and Pensions Call centre in Liverpool were in work today.
Civil servants are also protesting at what they see as moves to force unfavourable pension and sick absence arrangements on them.
Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary, said: "By staying away from work today, thousands of hard working civil servants have voted with their feet, sending a clear message that they won't tolerate such arbitrary cuts, which will only serve to damage essential services.
"The course on which the government are embarking will damage the very services they have sought to improve, impacting on some of Gordon Brown's very own initiatives such as Sure Start, the New Deal and Tax Credits. Initiatives aimed at helping some of the most vulnerable in society.
Government plans to cut jobs were more about "outflanking the Tories", he added.
Lib Dem spokesperson Paul Holmes said that the strike demonstrated how the government had "mishandled this issue".
“The 100,000 job cuts appear to be a random figure, plucked out of the air for election purposes, rather than the result of analysing what is needed for civil service provision," he said.
Fewer staff in key agencies would simply equate to inadequate service provision – a situation which would chiefly effect the neediest members of society, Mr Holmes said.
“Labour and Tories seem to have entered a bidding war over who can sack the most civil servants,” he added.
(gmcg)
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Northern Ireland WeatherThis Evening and Tonight:Any showers dying out this evening. Then the rest of the night will be dry with variable amounts of cloud. Low cloud and fog developing in the early hours. Minimum temperature 10 °C.
