All over Tayside, staff at the Department of Work and Pensions, JobCentres, DVLA, sheriff courts, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, and the procurator fiscal’s offices were said to be adhering to the strike call.

Pickets were out in force at Dundee’s two JobCentre offices in Gellatly Street and Wellgate Centre, with PCS Tayside branch secretary Ali Arnott claiming at least 70% support from staff at the contact centre at Lindsay House.

At Dundee Sheriff Court, the sheriff clerk’s office was closed to the public, although senior staff were clerking the courtrooms, with no disruption to the court proceedings.

At the rally in City Square, PCS National Executive member Danny Williamson said, “We are having reports of 90% support across Dundee and Tayside, which mirrors the whole country. It is an absolutely magnificent effort by the workforce. We are told it is the best action in Scotland the NEC has ever seen. It’s been a fantastic show of strength.”

Mr Williamson told his audience there was no need for compulsory redundancies and said the workforce could easily be protected from that situation.

“Today’s show of unity will strengthen our position and put massive pressure on ministers and the cabinet office.”

* Despite the claims of 90% support in Dundee, Tayside and throughout the country for the strike, only a few dozen people attended the rally at the City Square today.

Dundee East MSP Stewart Hosie addressed the sparse crowd, drawing warm applause when he said it was “callous beyond belief that the Government is prepared to allow job losses in Dundee at this point in time”.

He said, “With the announcement of over 1100 job losses in Dundee, the one thing the Government can do is provide Civil Service jobs.”

Mr Hosie said he was supporting the day of action because of the “arbitrary and shambolic” way the Government had announced the cuts and job losses.