INDUSTRIAL ACTION AND CIVIL SERVICE COMPENSATION SCHEME

That this House notes the decision of PCS, the Public and Commercial Services Union, to take industrial action over unilateral changes to the Civil Service Compensation Scheme, starting with a national two-day strike across the whole of the Civil Service; further notes that this action is not just in response to the changes which radically reduce the accrued rights of long service civil servants, including a possible reduction of up to 50 per cent. in some redundancy payments, but also because of the belief that these changes are the precursor to massive job cuts; expresses concern at the detrimental consequences and the effect on general economic well-being that widespread job losses in the Civil Service would have; and calls on the Government and Her Majesty's Opposition to consider alternative methods to public sector job losses for cutting the public deficit, and to do so in consultation with the trade unions.