20,000 strike again.

Byline: By Nick Whitten

More than 20,000 North East civil servants will strike on May 1, causing widespread disruption.

The members of the Public & Commercial Service union are taking action as part of a UK-wide row over job cuts, pay and privatisation.

The one-day strike is the second national Civil Service strike this year following action on January 31 to coincide with the deadline for self-assessment tax forms.

Union leaders are warning of further disruption because of worsening relations with the Government.

The action will hit the Civil Service offices at Longbenton in North Tyneside where about 12,000 people work. It will also affect services from driving test centres to magistrates' and crown courts.

The PCS, which represents 270,000 civil servants, says meetings between the two sides have been called off or ended in chaos.

Regional organiser Brian Morrison claimed that Government departments and agencies are now cutting more jobs than the 100,000 announced by Chancellor Gordon Brown three years ago.

The union warned today that the Ministry of Defence has two projects which could lead to thousands of fresh job losses.

He said: "The management's continued refusal to resolve the dispute has provoked more confrontation. Services are suffering in the race to slash jobs."

The Cabinet Office has called this strike unnecessary and said the Government valued the work of civil servants.

The Government said it was making good progress talking to other unions about the future of the Civil Service but it said it could not hold constructive talks with the PCS while it was taking industrial action.