Staff working for government agency My Civil Service Pension (MyCSP) have gone on strike today in protest at government plans to transform it into a ground-breaking public service mutual.

In April MyCSP, which employs a total of 400 staff administering the pensions of 1.5 million existing and retired civil servants, was singled out by Francis Maude, Cabinet Office minister, as the first major ‘spin-out' of a central government service.