Courts, benefits offices and job centres in Oxfordshire could be forced to shut down this week as workers at the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) go on strike.
About 200 local members of the Public and Commercial Service union (PCS) plan to picket the Crown Court in Oxford, along with job centres and benefits offices throughout the county, tomorrow and Thursday.
The union has called for industrial action in protest against a pay settlement it says was imposed on its members by the department -- which is headed by Oxford East MP Andrew Smith, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.
A union spokesman predicted two days of "severe disruption". He said total closure was the union's objective but depended on the members' response on those days.
The union claims the pay offer amounts to 2.6 per cent while the department says more than half the staff concerned have received five per cent. Starting salary for civil servants in the department is £10,300 a year, and PCS says that at least half its members earn less than £13,700, with many workers in benefits offices themselves claiming benefits.
A statement from the DWP said: "Despite union suggestions, the department does not have any more money to spend on salaries."
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