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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Civil servants walk out over cuts | Civil servants walk out over cuts |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| About 30,000 Scottish civil servants have participated in a major one-day strike over job cuts and pay, according to union officials. | About 30,000 Scottish civil servants have participated in a major one-day strike over job cuts and pay, according to union officials. |
| The Public and Commercial Service (PCS) union said that about 90% of civil servants were taking part in the 24-hour strike on Wednesday. | |
| Many court cases were cancelled while museums and galleries closed. | Many court cases were cancelled while museums and galleries closed. |
| Officials said the strike was in response to the decision to cut 100,000 civil service jobs in the UK. | Officials said the strike was in response to the decision to cut 100,000 civil service jobs in the UK. |
| A Scottish Executive spokesman said a total of 1,424 civil servants at the executive and related agencies went on strike. | |
| Eddie Reilly, PCS Scottish secretary, said: "Our members have clearly shown from their response, their determination to sustain a prolonged campaign of industrial action in order to oppose compulsory redundancies, defeat below-inflation pay offers and protect the services they deliver to the people of the country from the cradle to the grave. | Eddie Reilly, PCS Scottish secretary, said: "Our members have clearly shown from their response, their determination to sustain a prolonged campaign of industrial action in order to oppose compulsory redundancies, defeat below-inflation pay offers and protect the services they deliver to the people of the country from the cradle to the grave. |
| Fair pay | Fair pay |
| "Chancellor Gordon Brown is in the last chance saloon. He might be looking for a new job, but our union and our members are standing up to fight for their jobs and for fair pay." | "Chancellor Gordon Brown is in the last chance saloon. He might be looking for a new job, but our union and our members are standing up to fight for their jobs and for fair pay." |
| As a result of the strike, there were no sheriff or jury trials at Glasgow Sheriff Court but it was open for other court business. | As a result of the strike, there were no sheriff or jury trials at Glasgow Sheriff Court but it was open for other court business. |
| In Aberdeen, the high court was closed and the sheriff court was only handling limited business. | |
| Staff at the local pensions office and other regional government offices were also affected by the stoppage. | |
| The union said that the "vast majority" of staff had not turned up at the huge tax return processing centre in East Kilbride. | |
| It was a bidding war with the Tories to see who could sack the most people, a disgrace Carolyn Leckie Scottish Socialist Party MSP | It was a bidding war with the Tories to see who could sack the most people, a disgrace Carolyn Leckie Scottish Socialist Party MSP |
| Scottish Socialist MSP Carolyn Leckie joined pickets outside the tax office in East Kilbride. | |
| She said: "Gordon Brown announced 100,000 job cuts in parliament without any talks with staff or unions. | |
| "It was a bidding war with the Tories to see who could sack the most people, a disgrace." | "It was a bidding war with the Tories to see who could sack the most people, a disgrace." |
| Several government departments said they had managed to keep offices open during the strike action. | Several government departments said they had managed to keep offices open during the strike action. |
| The Inland Revenue said all of its Scottish branches had opened for business "as normal". | The Inland Revenue said all of its Scottish branches had opened for business "as normal". |
| Officials at the Department for Work and Pensions, which runs several hundred job centres across Scotland, also said that all of its centres had opened for business. | Officials at the Department for Work and Pensions, which runs several hundred job centres across Scotland, also said that all of its centres had opened for business. |
| Hundreds of civil servants took part in a rally and march in Glasgow. |