Civil servants across Northamptonshire are staging a 24-hour strike to coincide with Budget day in a row over pay, pensions and working conditions.
The strikes have meant the Northampton driving test centre has been closed for the day, meaning 44 driving tests in the town have been cancelled.
In Kettering, 17 out of the 31 scheduled car tests are expected to go ahead as planned.
A DSA spokesperson said: “We expect over 80 per cent of tests scheduled for today to go ahead as planned, but we are very sorry for any candidates whose tests have been cancelled.
“We are doing everything we can to make sure that as many tests as possible go ahead.
“We are rebooking any cancelled tests for the earliest possible date, at no extra charge to the candidate.”
Members of the The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) formed a picket line outside of Northampton Crown Court earlier this morning.
Martyn Collins, branch secretary for the Ministry of Justice in Northamptonshire, is one of those on strike.
He said: “We are fighting multiple attacks on lots of different fronts and lots of different levels.
“I think the Budget today will be proof that more and more cuts are going to be made.
“People will not be able to afford to live. It’s plainly wrong.
“We are asking the government to come back and talk to us but they will not listen. That’s why this event has had to happen.
“We are hoping this may change things and that the government may talk to us.”
The Northampton Magistrates’ Court office will be closed today due to strike action but cases will go ahead as planned.
It is as yet unclear as to whether Northamptonshire’s driving test centres have been affected.
The PCS said up to 250,000 of its members across the UK will join the walkout, which will also hit museums, galleries, jobcentres, tax offices, border patrols at ports and airports, and courts.
The union has also called a half-day strike on April 5 as part of a three month long campaign of action.
Unite members at the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) will also be on strike today over pay.
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