PRC-UTE
21st September 2004, 20:56
BBC
Civil service staff stage walkout
Staff at employment and benefit offices in Fife have staged an unofficial
walkout in protest at civil service job cuts, it has been reported.
The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) said the action was staged
after car park meetings over news that an office in Kirkcaldy will be
closed.
Up to 60 workers are employed by the service in Fife but it is not known how
many are involved in Thursday's strike.
The closure of five Scottish offices was announced earlier in the day.
They are the Coatbridge jobcentre, the Job Centre Plus contact site in
Provan, Glasgow, and social security offices in Hamilton and Perth.
A total of 37 social security offices and jobcentres are being shut across
the UK.
It is not yet clear how many Scottish jobs will be lost but the PCS said up
to 2,000 jobs were under threat.
"This is the first phase in the decimation of services to the vulnerable,"
said PCS official Mark Serwotka.
"Workers will be angry, worried and extremely concerned about their future."
He said the union would be seeking an urgent meeting with Work and Pensions
Secretary Alan Johnson.
Mr Serwotka added that it was more important than ever that civil servants
voted to support a one-day strike on 5 November in protest at job losses.
However a spokeswoman for the Department for Work and Pensions stressed that
no-one had been told that they would lose their jobs and that every effort
would be made to maintain employment for as many staff as possible.
Civil service staff stage walkout
Staff at employment and benefit offices in Fife have staged an unofficial
walkout in protest at civil service job cuts, it has been reported.
The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) said the action was staged
after car park meetings over news that an office in Kirkcaldy will be
closed.
Up to 60 workers are employed by the service in Fife but it is not known how
many are involved in Thursday's strike.
The closure of five Scottish offices was announced earlier in the day.
They are the Coatbridge jobcentre, the Job Centre Plus contact site in
Provan, Glasgow, and social security offices in Hamilton and Perth.
A total of 37 social security offices and jobcentres are being shut across
the UK.
It is not yet clear how many Scottish jobs will be lost but the PCS said up
to 2,000 jobs were under threat.
"This is the first phase in the decimation of services to the vulnerable,"
said PCS official Mark Serwotka.
"Workers will be angry, worried and extremely concerned about their future."
He said the union would be seeking an urgent meeting with Work and Pensions
Secretary Alan Johnson.
Mr Serwotka added that it was more important than ever that civil servants
voted to support a one-day strike on 5 November in protest at job losses.
However a spokeswoman for the Department for Work and Pensions stressed that
no-one had been told that they would lose their jobs and that every effort
would be made to maintain employment for as many staff as possible.