Sturgeon's officials vote for strike action in nationwide pay dispute

Of the 2,834 members of core Scottish Government staff balloted, 64% responded, and 82% of those backed strikes. 

The Public and Commercial Services union (PCS), which has 10,000 members in Scotland, announced 126 separate areas had passed the legal threshold for industrial action.

The union warned that unless it received “substantial proposals” from ministers, it would announce a programme of “sustained industrial action” on November 18.

As well as the Scottish Government, the operations potentially affected include the Scottish Parliament, Scottish Prison Service, Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service, and the Scottish Courts & Tribunals Service.

Staff in Scotland’s new devolved benefits service, Social Security Scotland, and its tax-collection service, Revenue Scotland, have also backed strike action.

Scotland’s charity watchdog, its national galleries and museums, Scottish Enterprise, VisitScotland, and Transport Scotland also backed strikes. 

Across the UK, the Cabinet Office and the UK departments for work and pensions, business, health, education, environment, transport, and levelling up are affected.

Driving test examiners, border force officials and jobcentre staff are also poised to walk out.

In August, PCS Scotland said it had spent months in talks with the Scottish Government but still faced a “massive real terms pay cut” because of soaring inflation.

The PCS asked for a cost of living-related pay rise of 10 per cent, a living wage of £15 an hour, more annual leave, and a “significant reduction” in the working week for the same pay.

The Scottish Government’s pay policy for 2022/23 is for a minimum wage of £10.50 an hour and stepped increases in salary worth about 3 per cent at most to the lowest paid.

Those earning £25,000 and below get a £775 cash uplift, those earning between £25,000 and £40,000 get a £700 bump, and those earning over £40,000 get £500 more.

PCS General secretary Mark Serwotka said: “The government must look at the huge vote for strike action across swathes of the Civil Service and realise it can no longer treat its workers with contempt.

“Our members have spoken and if the government fails to listen to them, we’ll have no option than to launch a prolonged programme of industrial action reaching into every corner of public life.

“Civil servants have willingly and diligently played a vital role in keeping the country running during the pandemic but enough is enough.

“The stress of working in the civil service, under the pressure of the cost-of-living crisis, job cuts and office closures means they’ve reached the end of their tethers.

“We are calling on the government to respond positively to our members’ demands. They have to give our members a 10% pay rise, job security, pensions justice and protected redundancy terms.”

The most senior civil servants In Government are usually members of the separate FDA.

The full list of operations voting for strike action:

• ACAS 
• British Museum 
• Cabinet Office 
• Charity Commission 
• Maritime & Coastguard Agency 
• Scottish Public Services Ombudsman 
• Natural Resources Wales 
• Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service 
• Independent Office for Police Conduct 
• Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) 
• Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) 
• Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) 
• Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) 
• Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) 
• Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) 
• Audit Wales 
• Department for Education 
• Natural England 
• Competition Service 
• Gambling Commission 
• Historic England 
• Health & Safety Executive (HSE) 
• Historic Environment Scotland 
• Home Office 
• Insolvency Service 
• HM Land Registry 
• Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) 
• Creative Scotland 
• National Galleries of Scotland 
• National Museums of Scotland 
• National Audit Office 
• National Lottery Heritage Fund 
• Department for Transport 
• National Library of Wales 
• National Museums Liverpool 
• Gangmasters & Labour Abuse Authority 
• Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) 
• Ofgem 
• Competition & Markets Authority 
• Office for National Statistics & UKSA 
• OFWAT 
• Ofsted 
• UK Intellectual Property Office 
• Vehicle Certification Agency 
• Planning Inspectorate 
• National Archives 
• Registers of Scotland 
• Transport Focus 
• Sports Grounds Safety Authority 
• Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 
• Equality & Human Rights Commission 
• Scottish Enterprise 
• NatureScot 
• Scottish Government 
• Serious Fraud Office 
• Skills Development Scotland 
• The Council of the RFCAs 
• Sport England 
• Scotland’s Commission for Children & Young People 
• RFCA West Midlands 
• Scottish Courts & Tribunals Service 
• Legal Aid Agency 
• UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) 
• Visit Scotland 
• Government Legal Department 
• Parole Board for England & Wales 
• Animal & Plant Health Agency (APHA) 
• Wallace Collection 
• Senedd Cymru (Welsh Parliament) 
• Scottish Human Rights Commission 
• Scottish Prison Service 
• Scottish Parliament 
• Student Loans Company 
• Architecture & Design Scotland 
• Higher Education Funding Council for Wales 
• National Highways 
• Westminster Foundation for Democracy 
• Independent Living Fund Scotland 
• Rural Payments Agency 
• Defence, Science & Technology Laboratory 
• Electoral Commission 
• Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) 
• Security Industry Authority 
• UK Space Agency 
• Marine Management Organisation 
• Youth Justice Board  
• Local Government Boundary Commission for England 
• Northern Ireland Office 
• Prisons & Probation Ombudsman 
• Wales Office 
• Courts and Tribunals Judiciary 
• Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority 
• Children’s Commissioner for England 
• Food Standards Scotland 
• Crown Estate Scotland 
• Risk Management Authority 
• Local Democracy & Boundary Commission for Wales 
• UK Debt Management Office 
• Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) 
• Social Security Scotland  
• Scottish Housing Regulator 
• Revenue Scotland 
• Department of International Trade 
• Bord na Gaidhlig 
• Forestry Commission England 
• Scottish Forestry 
• Leasehold Advisory Service 
• Forestry and Land Scotland 
• UKSV (Cabinet Office) 
• Disclosure and Barring Service 
• Veterinary Medicines Directorate 
• Institute for Apprenticeships 
• Office for Students (OfS) 
• Transport Scotland 
• Accountant in Bankruptcy 
• Disclosure Scotland 
• Education Scotland 
• Office for the Scottish Charity Regulator  
• Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) 
• National Records of Scotland 
• South of Scotland Enterprise 
• Trade Remedies Authority 
• UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) 
• Office for Health Improvement & Disparities (OHID) 
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