Almost 400 Ofgem workers are beginning a five-day strike from today (11 April) as part of a dispute over pay, pensions, job security and redundancy terms.
The Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) has confirmed 387 of its members working in the energy regulator’s delivery and schemes directorate will walk out on 11, 12, 13, 14 and 17 April and will also be among the 133,000 PCS members striking on 28 April.
Ofgem staff previously took strike action on 1 February and 15 March.
“Our two national strikes and the success of the previous targeted strike action shows that we can really make an impact and demonstrates to the government that it needs to take our demands seriously.
“We are determined to keep the pressure on until the government improves its offer to members,” the PCS union said in a statement.
An Ofgem spokesperson said: “This industrial action involves our delivery and schemes directorate and was called by the PCS union.
“As with any industrial action, we have business continuity plans in place to prioritise work and continue the provision of services to support energy consumers.
“Where it may take longer than usual to respond to enquiries, we apologise in advance for any inconvenience caused.”
Elsewhere in the sector Environment Agency staff are also beginning strike action this week after negotiations over pay and working conditions broke down.
Thousands of workers will take part in the industrial action including incident response teams for water pollution, flooding and coastal defences as well as fly-tipping from 14 to 17 April.