Strike could halt justice system

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Scotland's justice system could grind to a halt when staff strike in a row over pay, a union has said.

The Scottish Courts Service, Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) will all be hit by industrial action on 23 September.

Sportscotland and the National Museums of Scotland will also be affected by the Public and Commercial Service (PCS) union strike.

It will be held the day before a walkout by local government staff.

Thousands of PCS union members working in the Scottish Government and Registers of Scotland took part in two strikes earlier in the summer as part of an ongoing campaign against a 2% pay cap introduced by Scottish ministers.

Overtime ban

A statement released by the union said the pay cap represents a real terms pay cut for its members, as it works out at less than 60p a day over the next three years for staff earning less than £16,500.

It warned that the action "could see the Scottish justice system grinding to a halt, museums closed and sports administration disrupted."

The strike will be followed by an immediate two-week overtime ban among members taking part in the walkout, as well as the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency.

The union is also to begin balloting 270,000 members across the UK on the UK Government's pay policy.

Eddie Reilly, PCS Scottish secretary, said that unless the Scottish Government started to resolve the disputes, they would be "locking themselves into three years of industrial unrest with their own Scottish workforce."

Local authority workers from the Unite, GMB and Unison unions are to hold a 24-hour stoppage on 24 September.