Civil service strike is suspended - News in brief - Evening Standard
       

Civil service strike is suspended

A planned strike by over 200,000 civil servants has been suspended pending fresh talks over a long-running row over pay.

Members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union were due to walk out for 24 hours on Monday, threatening disruption to jobcentres, benefit offices, driving test centres and coastguard sites.

The union was planning to follow the stoppage with a rolling programme of strikes to hit different Whitehall departments and agencies.

But on Friday the union said that the strike had been suspended for 28 days pending fresh talks aimed at resolving a series of disputes over pay.

The union's national executive decided to suspend the industrial action so that talks could be held with Civil Service officials.

General secretary Mark Serwotka said: "Our national industrial action has been suspended for 28 days. I welcome the dialogue and hope an agreement is possible."

A spokesman for the Cabinet Office said: "We welcome this reasonable decision in tough economic times and remain committed to an ongoing dialogue."

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