WORKERS at four northern offices of the Department for Work and Pensions walked out on strike today, joining rolling national industrial action by civil servants over pay, pensions and job cuts.

Civil servants’ union PCS launched strikes in Doncaster in South Yorkshire and at three department offices in Merseyside: Toxteth, Duke Street and Liverpool city centre.

Over 1,000 jobs are at risk at the four offices, with the strikes set to continue until December 31.

In Doncaster, where about 100 workers are on strike, activists with Doncaster Trade Union Council mobilised to support pickets.

The department plans to partially close Doncaster’s Cross Gate House office and transfer workers to Sheffield.

The Doncaster office’s PCS branch secretary Matthew Meechan told the Morning Star: “Our members are angry and upset over pay, pensions, jobs. 

“Doncaster jobs are being moved to Sheffield, which is a difficult journey for a lot of our members. 

“There issues with healthcare, childcare and looking after elderly relatives. 

“The infrastructure is poor. Now they are at risk of redundancy.

“It will take half a million pounds out of the local economy.”

Strike action by civil servants began on Monday last week and is being staged, region by region, by workers in different agencies. 

Staff at the Rural Payments Agency, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency and Border Force in Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff and Glasgow airports have all walked out.

PCS said the initial phase of strike action is being targeted at areas that will have a significant impact on employers’ operations and the government.

The union’s general secretary Mark Serwotka said: “The first week of our strikes has already caused disruption to farmers awaiting payments, learner drivers waiting to pass their tests and those using our roads — and it’s only going to get worse unless the government puts some money on the table.”

He said the workers “keep the country running, and deserve much more than the 2 per cent pay rise they’ve been offered.”

Civil servants want a 10 per cent pay increase and a minimum wage of £15 an hour.

A department statement said: “We greatly value the work of our staff but the PCS union’s demands would cost the country an unaffordable £2.4 billion when the focus must be on bringing down inflation to ease the burden on households, protect the vulnerable and rebuild our economy.”