- Driving examiners and rural payment officers in many places are set to strike.
- However, while all such industrial action is occurring within the UK, it is not taking place in every region.
- There are no current plans for equivalent industrial action in Northern Ireland.
On 29 November, the BBC reported that driving examiners and rural payments officers represented by the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union are planning to strike. The report said:
“Driving examiners and rural payment officers at more than 250 sites across the UK are to go on strike in a series of walkouts by civil servants. Members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union will hold rolling strikes from 13 December to 16 January.”
This is strictly correct – although the description “across the UK” could be misleading. In particular, no strikes are currently planned for Northern Ireland.
The BBC report largely covers the same ground as a PCS press release, also published on 9 November.
FactCheckNI asked the PCS if there are any plans for strikes in Northern Ireland. They said none are scheduled as part of the current round of industrial action, although this might change in future.
