Civil service workers

SOME 110 civil service workers in the PCS union at Stratford social security office in east London were set to begin a ballot for indefinite strike action on Wednesday of this week.

The dispute has been sparked by the victimisation of Charlie McDonald, the PCS east London Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) branch secretary.

Charlie McDonald works at the Stratford office. He is accused of assaulting a manager on the picket line during the DWP national strike earlier this year, and of being abusive to scabs who crossed the picket line.

Sue Catten, an east London PCS branch official, says, “Management should know that if they don’t back off then they will face strikes not only at Stratford but across three east London boroughs.”