You may be aware that there's a strike on today, by the PCS Union. Amid great fanfare they have declared that "up to 280,000 workers" may go on strike. This is obviously a potentially disruptive event that will prove costly to ordinary taxpayers, so it's worth briefly considering the politics and circumstances of the strike.
The actual specific reason for the strike is remarkable - they are protesting against a reduction of the civil service standard redundancy payment from three years' pay to two.