Threat to job centres as civil service strike looms
UP to 1,500 workers on Teesside are set to strike in a row over pay, threatening job centres and the pension service, it was revealed today.
The results of a national ballot show 67.1% of workers at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) - the Government’s biggest department - voted to strike.
Leaders of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCSU) will meet today to discuss what form industrial action will take, including the prospect of a two-day stoppage in protest at plans to impose a three-year pay offer.
The union claimed about 40% of workers at the DWP will not receive a pay rise next year, while the offer averages just 1% a year for three years.
Fran Heathcoate, DWP group organiser based in Newcastle, said: “No decision on the prospect of strike action will be taken until today’s meeting goes ahead. But with a ballot result like that, it is likely we will move fairly quickly towards a strike.”
About 12,000 people work for the DWP across the North-east - with 1,500 based on Teesside.
A strike would affect child support services and benefit processing, as well as the Government’s rent and debt management services.
The PCSU has written to Work and Pensions Secretary Peter Hain, urging him to intervene in the dispute to avert strikes.
Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the PCSU, said: “It is completely unacceptable that the department should seek to impose pay cuts in real terms on hard-working staff who have borne the brunt of massive job cuts.
“The anger of staff is illustrated by this strong vote in favour of strike action over an offer that will see the lowest paid receive only 24p above the minimum wage if it is imposed.
“We urge the department to step back from provoking industrial action and re-enter talks on a pay deal that recognises the important role staff play in delivering essential services.”
Union members at the department have staged a series of strikes already this year in disputes over pay and job cuts.
The PCSU has balloted 270,000 workers in more than 200 Government departments and agencies because of “worsening” pay rates and compulsory redundancies.
Last month, more than 400 workers at the HM Revenue and Customs in Fountain Court, Grange Road, Middlesbrough, learned their office would be axed due to Government cuts, which will see staff travelling to a merged office in Stockton.
