WORKERS seeking a “fair” wage have been on strike at Chester Jobcentre after being offered a below-inflation pay rise.
More than 1,000 Department for Work and Pensions employees at Jobcentres, benefits offices, the Pensions Service and the Child Support Agency across Cheshire joined colleagues across the country in taking part in the action on Monday and Tuesday.
The workers, who are members of the Public and Commercial Services Union, are angry at the imposition of a three-year pay offer, which they say averages one per cent a year over the three years and involves the lowest-paid receiving increases which take their wage to only 24p above the minimum hourly wage.
The starting salary for an administrative assistant in the Department for Work and Pensions is £12,500.
Cheshire branch secretary Helen Flanagan said: “Our members are furious. The top 300 public servants received on average a 12.8% pay rise, with the Cabinet Secretary taking home £264,400 each year plus £34,600 of benefits in kind.”
