Civil service strike leader Mark Serwotka has threatened "intense" industrial action if the government does not start meaningful negotiations on job cuts.

In the biggest walkout in 10 years 200,000 public servants paralysed much of government and services from benefit offices to museums on Friday.

The Public and Commercial Services union called the strike in an attempt to stop the government cutting 100,000 jobs as recommended by Gershon Report.

Gershon said new technology allowed for a radical reduction in the number of staff, while a separate decentralisation policy will see tens of thousands of staff moved from London to the regions.

The government has said it will not be deterred from its plans by the strike.

"The civil service unions should be in absolutely no doubt we are going ahead with these reductions," Gordon Brown has insisted.

"We are going ahead with the reductions, they are both necessary and going to happen."

Pressure

As he toured the London picket lines in an open top bus, Serwotka told ePolitix.com that he would also be targeting MPs with slim majorities in a bid to increase the pressure on the government.

"I've been touring round London and I've seen how museums, galleries, courts, benefit offices have been closed by the people on strike," he said.

"That sends a very powerful message to the government and I hope it will make them think again.

"Do they really want to go into a general election which will be fought on public services when they are seeking to put 100,000 public servants on the dole?"

Strategy

Setting out his strategy in the coming months, Serwotka said: "We will be mounting a very big political campaign in the run up to the election pointing out that many MPs have majorities that are smaller than the number of civil servants working in their constituencies and that it is in their interests to support them.

"If the government do not back down on making compulsory redundancies then the industrial action will become more intense.

"There are lots of ways the pressure can be put on but what I am really hoping is that the government, who have already started talking to us since we've been campaigning, will speed up the process."

The union boss stressed he did not want to cause problems for the public but wanted to demonstrate to them how important civil servants were to delivering vital services in a bid to win their backing Serwotka was scathing about the leadership of all three major parties - who all promise to cut jobs in the sector.

"Disgracefully a lot of politicians make out this about Whitehall mandarins, waste and inefficiency when the reality is that our members are very low paid and they work in stressful conditions," he added.

"When we tell people these cuts will mean that their social security office will have to close, for example, then people realise what the effect will be and are supportive and we want to harness that support to put pressure on the politicians."