CIVIL servants at a major employer in Newport will go on strike next week as part of an ongoing dispute over pay, job losses, and redundancy terms.

Members of the Prospect union working at the Intellectual Property Office will walk out on Wednesday, March 15.

There will be a picket line at Concept House by Pont Ebbw roundabout from 7am until midday.

As well as striking, members of the Prospect union will take continuous action short of a strike from March 16 – which will include only working contracted hours and an overtime ban.

The Intellectual Property Office is an important employer in Newport and is the official UK government body responsible for intellectual property (IP) rights including patents, designs, trademarks and copyright.

Prospect represents around 155,000 members of specialist, technical, professional, managerial and scientific staff in the Civil Service.

Members of the union working at a number of different public sector employers will be taking action across the country, in what is the largest industrial action taken by the union in more than a decade.

Mike Clancy, general secretary of Prospect, said: “Our members in the Intellectual Property Office and the rest of the public sector have seen their incomes decline by up to 26 per cent over the past 13 years and their work taken for granted. They have had enough.

“Bills are rocketing and pay is falling ever further behind the private sector, leaving our members with no option but to take industrial action.

“We will continue our campaign until the government comes up with a meaningful offer. If it doesn’t do so soon, we may be left with no Civil Service to protect.”