HMRC workers on strike over pay and job cuts
200,000 PCS members expected to strike today over pension, privatisation, pay and job losses
THOUSANDS of HMRC workers across the UK have joined fellow civil servants in a day of strike action to protest over poor pay, job cuts, privatisation and the rapid erosion of pension rights.
Some 200,000 members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) are expected to take part in the 24-hour walk-out which began at midnight on Tuesday.
The PCS has slammed HMRC for its programme to close offices, including all 281 walk-in tax enquiry centres, and future plans to privatise debt collection and post handling services.
The PCS said staff numbers at HMRC have been cut from 104,000 in 2005 to an estimated 60,000 by 2015, while 87,000 wider civil service jobs have been lost.
The action follows a four-hour strike by NHS staff on Monday, with midwives joining the strike for the first time in their history.
