COUNCIL staff staged a protest outside Southampton Civic Centre as part of a nationwide demonstration against government plans to raise the retirement age for civil servants.
About 50 staff gathered as part of a day of action organised by the public sector union Unison.
The government wants to raise the retirement age for workers from 60 to 65 and force staff who want to take early retirement to work until 55.
Unison's national strike ballot of its 800,000 local government members is due to close on March 8. A strike would take place on March 23, unless an agreement between the government and the unions can be reached.
Barry Olson, deputy Unison branch secretary for Southampton, said: "These proposals are coming into effect from April this year. The government has rushed it through without sufficient consultation."
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