UK govt staff scrap strike planned on day new PM takes office

LONDON (Reuters) - Staff working at Britain's business and energy department building have scrapped a strike planned to coincide with the country's new prime minister taking office next week, the public service trade union said on Friday.

Cleaners, security guards, reception workers, mail room staff and others at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy suspended the strike on Sept. 5 and 6 over health and safety protocols, the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) said.

The union suspended the strike after a meeting with managers from ISS, the firm which employs the outsourced workers, who offered "significant" concessions, the PCS said.

"We hope we can reach a satisfactory agreement with ISS next week, but if not, we won't hesitate to take further strike action to ensure our members are kept safe at work," PCS General Secretary Mark Serwotka said.

If agreement cannot be reached with ISS, it will plan strike action on Sept. 13 and 14, the union said.

Britain's next leader will take power at a time of industrial unrest, with union workers striking across a wide range of sectors as surging inflation fuels demands for higher pay.

(Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar, Editing by Paul Sandle)