Public and Commercial Services Union
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Anger as the government treats its staff with contempt
Responding to yesterday's announcement that the government intends to change the law to cut civil service redundancy terms, PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said:
“PCS successfully proved that it was unlawful to impose cuts to rights that staff have earned through their service, so the government’s complaint that this has held up negotiations is just a smokescreen to allow it to force on civil servants worse conditions than anywhere else in the public sector.
“Following the High Court ruling we wrote to the Cabinet Office offering further negotiations to agree a fair and legal deal, so Francis Maude's announcement today betrays a breathtaking arrogance and a contempt for his own workforce. We will be exploring the legal implications of what the announcement says.
“This is not just about our members’ rights at work, it is about their ability to serve the public. There would be no plan to save money on redundancy pay without a plan - the detail of which has not been revealed to the public or the unions - to make job cuts on an unprecedented scale.
“If this so called “fair and progressive” coalition government get away with this, it would lay waste to communities across the UK where people rely on the services that our members and other public servants provide.
“We have always said we are prepared to negotiate a new scheme that protects existing civil servants’ rights. We are also ready to talk about the alternative to cuts, including the billions of pounds in uncollected tax and public sector investment to drive the economy.
“But if ministers are determined to make low-paid public servants pay for a crisis caused by bankers and traders, we will use all the means at our disposal to fight back.”
