Officials in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office have voted for strike action in a ballot held by the PCS union over the department’s restructuring programme.
The union said the ballot, which launched on 18 May and closed on 22 June, achieved a 53% turnout with 78% voting for strike action and 97% backing action short of a strike.
The ballot followed a previous effort which fell 19 votes short of securing the 50% turnout required for industrial action to be legal.
The dispute centres around the controversial FCDO 2030 restructure plan, which comes against the backdrop of 17% administrative funding cuts imposed on the department in last year’s comprehensive Spending Review.
By some estimates, around 2,000 jobs are expected to be lost. A voluntary exit scheme for FCDO staff was also launched last year.
PCS said its members are demanding:
- All stage 3 posts be reserved for internal applicants only
- A binding no compulsory redundancy agreement
- A review of matching decisions across the department
- Urgent discussions on inconsistencies between directorates
- Assurance that equality impacts and potential discriminatory outcomes have been fully assessed and mitigated
PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said: "This is a clear and overwhelming message from FCDO staff. Every member who took part in this ballot and helped deliver such a strong result should feel proud of their determination to defend jobs, challenge unfairness and stand up for their colleagues.
"They will not stand by while jobs are cut, compulsory redundancies remain on the table and serious concerns about the fairness of this restructure go unanswered. There is still time for the department to listen to its workforce, pause this flawed process and engage meaningfully with PCS.”
The FCDO has been approached for comment.