POLICE staff have demonstrated in a city square against cuts to their jobs.

The Unison trade union is appealing for councillors in Glasgow to end the threat of compulsory redundancies for police support workers across Strathclyde.

With a national police service due to replace eight forces, job fears have risen among support staff.

Unison has criticised the police plan to end a voluntary severance scheme on December 31 this year, which it believes will result in forced redundancies.

The new Scottish police force is due to begin in April 2013, leaving three months between the end of the agreement and the start of the new service, during which the union says cuts could be forced on workers.

Staff showed their opposition to the redundancy threat outside a Strathclyde Police Authority meeting at Glasgow City Chambers in George Square.

Stevie Diamond, chairman of Unison Strathclyde Police and Fire branch, said all staff have an "increasingly unclear future". He added: "We know that more job losses are in the pipeline as the Police Service of Scotland takes shape."