Ed Miliband’s first week hit by civil servant strikes | Politics | News

The former net zero chief, who was rejected as chancellor by Andy Burnham, has been appointed as Foreign Office boss instead.

Thousands of staff are now expected to be made redundant across the department, prompting threats of industrial action from a powerful union.

Around 15 to 25 per cent of Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) staff will face crisis in the next four years.

Union bosses at the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), which dominates Whitehall staff representation, voted for members to strike last month.

They did so after the Mandarins refused to rule out compulsory redundancies across the Civil Service as spending cuts led to a reduction in staff numbers.

Frustrated workers held their first day of strike action on Wednesday this week and announced two more strikes next month.

The barons also ordered their members to work to remain in power throughout August unless their demands were met.

Working to manage is a form of industrial action where staff adhere strictly to contract terms and aims to disrupt day-to-day operations.

PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said: “Strike action is always a last resort, but FCDO management has left our members no choice.

“It is unacceptable for a government department to proceed with a major restructuring while refusing to give workers the basic assurance that they will not be forced out of their jobs.

“Our members deserve transparency, fairness and respect. Instead they have been met with uncertainty and a refusal to provide the information needed to properly review these plans.

“The department can do the right thing and end this dispute today – eliminate compulsory redundancies and engage meaningfully with PCS.”

A spokesman for the FCDO said the department was undergoing a “strategic transformation” to help it serve “in an increasingly complex and unstable world”.