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PCS Condemns Jobcentre Plus Job Cuts

28 June 2010

Following the recent budget, Jobcentre Plus has announced plans to cut 4,000 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) jobs by 31 March 2011. This comes on top of the 4,000 FTE jobs already cut since the start of 2010. Once part time jobs are factored into this, the total number of jobs at risk will be significantly higher.

Unjustified job cuts

PCS rejects the need to cut jobs in Jobcentre Plus. The higher workloads caused by the recession have not decreased to any significant degree and many expect unemployment to continue to rise sharply as a result of public spending cuts. Jobcentre Plus will be severely weakened by job cuts on this scale while many individual members face being forced onto that growing dole queue.

Future of FTA’s still uncertain

Management expect that these reductions can be met through a combination of normal staff turnover and the ending of some of the Fixed Term Appointment (FTA) contracts. However there is no detail where these cuts will fall and so the uncertainty that many members have about their future will continue. While it now seems likely that some FTA contracts will be further extended, it is not yet clear where this will be. PCS is stepping up its campaign to protect the jobs of our FTA members and continues to call for all FTA staff to be offered a permanent contract.

Work Harder

Jobcentre Plus state that their priority is to maintain customer service. PCS does not accept that staff should be expected to see their numbers slashed and then be told that they must all work harder still, with far less resources, to hit even higher targets. Already we have seen unachievable targets being imposed on members, like the new Average Call Handling targets in CCD, that fail to maintain customer service while increasing members’ stress and worsening morale. We are also determined to protect members’ working patterns if JCP decide to open offices over longer hours.

Office closures

In his letter to staff, Darra Singh has also signalled his intention to reduce the cost of the Jobcentre Plus estate. This is code for a further round of office closures. Jobcentre Plus made a huge mistake in closing hundreds of offices before the recession, only to find that they needed to open new ones to deal with the recession when inevitably it came. It seems these lessons have not been learnt and instead the same mistakes are being made again.

PCS to meet Chief Executive

PCS is meeting Darra Singh this week to discuss all these issues. We will ensure he is made fully aware of our members concerns. As well as arguing hard against further job cuts and office closures, PCS will make the case for well-funded public services as the best way to serve our customers and help the economy into recovery.

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