ALLOA Sheriff Court and the town’s job centre were disrupted as thousands of civil servants took industrial action in Scotland on Thursday 10 July.

Members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) staged the 24-hour strike over pay cuts.

The union claims that UK government’s pay and pension policies have cut up to 20 per cent in real-term earnings over the past four years.

According to the PCS, 95 per cent of its 28,000 members in Scotland had walked out and joined members in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in the action.

Following the industrial action, the union has now launched a ‘summer of scrutiny’ of the independence referendum. It has outlined 20 key policy demands it is making to all political parties based around opposition to austerity cuts, fair pay and repealing of anti-trade union laws.

Lynn Henderson, PCS Scottish secretary, said, “The fantastic response from Scottish members to our national strike day on pay only highlights the strength of the resolve of public sector workers that austerity isn’t working, and that we all need a pay rise.

“Like other working people, PCS members are committed to our services, our future and our Scotland.

“The challenge for our politicians that seek to provide us with alternative visions of a future Scotland’s future is how much of an alternative from the austerity dogma their respective visions are.”