Suffolk Instructor's Strike Concerns

8 March 2010, 06:24 | Updated: 8 March 2010, 06:41

Suffolk learner drivers are being affected by strike action today.

More than 250,000 civil servants are walking out of work in a row over redundancy pay.

Job centres, benefit offices and driving tests are all affected.

Anyone with a driving test in Suffolk is being urged to turn up for their appointment today, as if it's cancelled The Driving Standards Agency will rebook it at no cost. One Suffolk instructor Heart's spoken to is concerned it could leave learner drivers even more worried before their test.

The walkout by members of the Public and Commercial Services union is the biggest outbreak of industrial unrest in the service since 1987, with further disruption planned in the run-up to the general election. The union is protesting over changes to the civil service compensation scheme, which it says will "rob'' civil servants of up to a third of their entitlements, worth thousands of pounds, when they leave their jobs.

Cabinet Office minister Tessa Jowell said: "This package brings the civil service more into line with the rest of the
public sector and still offers more generous terms than much of the private sector. It is very disappointing that the PCS has decided to take industrial action, especially given that less than one in five of their own members voted in favour
of strike action, and that, overall, this figure represents only around ten percent of the total civil service workforce.''