STRIKING civil servants disrupted courts, social security, tax, and government officesacross Greater Manchester today.
Members of the Public and Commercial Services union across the region joined the national strike over job cuts, the largest of its kind in a decade.
About 200 workers took part in a demonstration outside Salford Social Security Office, at Baskerville House, which is threatened with closure.
Simon Hamilton, an income support officer there, said: "The mood is restrained but determined. We're asking for the ludicrous cuts announced by Gordon Brown to be reconsidered. Across the country the strike has been well attended and has caused chaos across government departments. It reflects the disgust felt by civil servants about the proposed cuts."
Across the country the strike forced the closure of museums and disrupted driving tests, job centres, benefit offices, and Customs.
The union reported solid support for the walkout and claimed that around 200,000 workers were taking part in the day of action to protest at controversial government plans to axe more than 100,000 jobs.
It also saw ministerial cars go unwashed.
Services
The union's general secretary, Mark Serwotka, toured picket lines across London in a special "strike bus", accompanied by a band.
He said: "By staying away from work today, tens of thousands of hard working civil servants have voted with their feet, sending a clear message that they will not tolerate the slash and burn approach of the government, which will decimate services."
The Science Museum, British Museum and the reading rooms of the British Library in London were among those closed by the strike.
A message on the Science Museum's website said: "Amongst other roles, members of PCS at the museum provide our security and also have a key role in evacuating the building in emergencies.
"Without these staff members we cannot guarantee the safety of visitors in the event of an emergency which is always our primary consideration. For this reason it is necessary to close the museum to the public on this day."
A defiant chancellor Gordon Brown said:"This action will not affect our determination to make savings at the centre to increase investment in vital services at the front line such as healthcare, education, transport and the fight against crime.
"Our decisions mean more police, more teachers, more doctors and more nurses.
"We will provide help with information, relocation and retraining to help staff move into frontline work within the public sector, but we will not be diverted from these necessary changes so that we can make this essential investment."
Comments
Login or Register to comment
The Chancellor is a disgrace. He represents a party which supposedly represents the working classes.
What he proposes will reduce public services to those who need them most.
What he proposes will put 100.000+ working class people, mainly low paid, on the scrapheap.
What he proposes is treachery to the working classes which may prove to be the cause of his own downfall, and that of the labour party, come election time.
I was one of those striking civil servants and i am proud to say it. The civil service is not full of bowler hat wearing people earning B#40,000 a year. The majority of us earn between B#10k to 20K of which there are more nearer the bottom end of this scale. We are hard working and loyal but this does not stand for anything as history shows. We are a political football being kicked about by the Govt, Tories and Lib Dems. It is time people realised if people want more hospitals, schools and police it is necessary to raise taxes and not save money by cutting hard working civils servants. Indeed the public should be supporting us as it us who administer their benefits, sort out their pensions, issue them with passports, look after their education, sort out their driving license, and much much more. Indeed we look after them from the cradle to the grave.