Union warns of court disruption

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Magistrate courts across England and Wales could be disrupted during the Christmas period because of industrial action over pay, a union claims.

A work to rule by members of the Public and Commercial Services Union is under way and could prevent sittings over the next two Saturdays plus bank holidays.

The union said many staff had been offered a cost of living rise of less than 2%, while inflation is at 3.9%.

General secretary Mark Serwotka said: "It is completely unacceptable".

Up to 16,000 union members are refusing to work outside of their normal weekday hours.

'Facing the axe'

Mr Serwotka added: "The disruption caused by this action could have been avoided by the Department of Constitutional Affairs rewarding the staff who keep the justice system running with a decent pay offer.

"With tens of thousands of hardworking staff across the civil service facing the axe and below-inflation pay offers, it is time for the government to step in and swiftly address the growing problem of pay and job cuts."

The industrial action is indefinite and could spread to other courts across England and Wales. The union warned cases could be cancelled because of the action.

In a statement the Department for Constitutional Affairs said that robust contingency plans will be in place to deal with any disruption, and taking industrial action helped no one.