By JULIA RAVENSCROFT

ANGRY workers at the Crown Prosecution Service in Warrington went on a two-day strike this week, claiming that their pay rise is too low.

A group of 30 workers took turns to picket outside the Crosfield Street offices as part of a nationwide strike in response to the 4.5 per cent pay rise imposed by the CPS.

Peter Middleman, Public and Commercial Services Union branch officer, said that the pay rise would actually work out at 3.3 per cent for some staff, and that the offer had been rejected by 82 per cent of members in a democratic ballot.

He said that some members of the CPS who earn around £10,000 a year are looking at an annual rise of only £350.

There is also anger because CPS management has imposed the pay rise despite the union voting against the offer.

Union representative Linda Atkinson said: "We thought we were still in negotiations only to find the pay rise had been imposed and it was in our pay packet.

"We hope negotiations will begin again. We are not really militant people and we've never done this before."

Mr Middleman said: "Members have responded to management's dogmatic and provocative stance in these negotiations."

He has predicted that the strike, which began yesterday, Wednesday, would interrupt court proceedings as members of the CPS would not be carrying out the administration of court cases or assisting barristers in the crown court or solicitors in the magistrates' courts.

A spokeswoman for the CPS said: "The CPS is disappointed at the approach taken by the PCS to pay, given that our overall offer of 4.5 per cent is towards the top end of civil service pay awards this year.

"We believe that any industrial action now will prove detrimental to the changes we are trying to make to improve reward systems in the CPS.

"CPS management will take every opportunity to resolve this issue and minimise the potential for disruption that industrial action could cause."