Civil servants start 48-hour strike

Civil servants have started their 48-hour strike in protest at cuts to redundancy pay.Up to 270,000 civil servants are taking part in the action, called by the Public and Commercial Services union. Courts, ports, jobcentres, benefit offices, tax centres and emergency police call centres are all affected. It is the biggest bout of industrial action in the service since 1987. Members of the union had previously voted for the strike by the margin of 63 per cent to 37 per cent.
 

It’s untenable to have a normal retirement age in public-sector schemes that is significantly different from the state retirement age

Brian Bailey, Director of pensions, West Midlands Pension Fund and member of High Pay Commission