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'It's hearing it out loud that hurt'

14 January 2010

Confirmation that 130 under-threat tax offices will close has hit Revenue and Customs members hard, reports Stockton branch executive rep Alexandra Allport.

Wednesday was a long day. A day in which 130 HMRC offices learned they were to close, involving more than 3,000 people – 1,715 of whom were told the department no longer required their services.

I moved to Teesside two years ago from a non-strategic office in the south of England, so I have seen the damage done to our department from both ends of the country.

I have been through the one-to-one process and seen friends go through grievances and appeals before management finally accepted they couldn't move because they were outside reasonable daily travel (RDT), or had health problems or caring responsibilities.

Some were friends I had worked with for almost 19 years. Hard-working people who came in every morning and did a good job for a department they and I were once proud to work for.

Friends who helped our office win a Charter Mark and gain Investors in People accreditation. Friends who worked in an office hailed by our then area director as a shining example of teamwork and efficiency, meeting every target and taking other areas work as well.

Workforce change came for us in November 2006. We objected and wrote reports pointing out our shining record and achievements. We went through every process we could but it made no difference – we were to be closed.

We sat in an office that slowly withered and died as people took early severance and retirement, moved business streams and were transferred out to the nearest site – 25 miles away –  until, finally, I left for Middlesbrough.

My former colleagues had their announcement yesterday at the same time as everyone else. This is how some reacted:

"I’ve done my crying and am now angry. Again. It's very bad for one's health working here."

"They tried to pass this off as a good thing because it would give people ‘lots of opportunities’. Yes, opportunities to learn about how to claim benefits."

"Most people are shell shocked although they knew it was coming. It’s just hearing it out loud that hurt."

"I am over 50; I have a mortgage. I have to take the compulsory early retirement which is rubbish. I will not be able to make ends meet."

No guarantees, little comfort

Where I work now, many of the offices are in rural or isolated parts of the country with little or no job prospects. Management briefings have stated that if people wish to remain in the civil service they will give help and support to find other positions.

But there are no guarantees and very little comfort. All those with pre-surplus status have been looking for these opportunities since this whole mess started and – unless you count the push to Jobcentre Plus due to the current economic climate – very few of them have managed to find jobs with other government departments because they are in the same position as we are.

Looking at the priority movers/job journal site on the intranet you won't find many jobs unless you happen to be an higher officer or above or within RDT of a contact centre. But anyone reading the contact centre directorate site will know it is in fact looking to reduce its staff.

The others are usually widely outside our expertise – experimental biologist anyone? Mechanic with the Ministry of Defence? Fishery assistant?

There are certainly not 1,715 jobs being advertised at the moment so if everyone decides to reject the department's offer of voluntary redundancy on compulsory terms then they are in very big trouble indeed.

Indeed the PCS briefing states: "Members should not be intimidated or coerced in any way into accepting a voluntary redundancy package if that is not what they want.

"HMRC is fully aware that if a single PCS member, in HMRC or in any other part of the civil service, is compelled to leave the department or forced to move office beyond RDT, then PCS will, as a matter of policy, consider immediate industrial action".

And that's civil service-wide action, not just HMRC.

In this fight together

This issue affects us all – including those not currently threatened with the chop.

Our face to face colleagues are currently under review to see if opening hours can be reduced. If, as is likely, these reviews come out to state that certain offices will be open only one or two days a week then you can bet staffing will be reduced, possibly to a roving team doing our whole area in one week.

Compliance is another area of work being centralised so could be moved out of Middlesbrough. Those who can't move would, in all probability, be made pre-surplus all leading to the same situation we have now. Stranded staff, working in a location they want to close.

In short, not one of us is safe. If HMRC decides it wants to continue 'rationalising' its estate, if it continues with this misguided belief that big is beautiful and centralisation is the answer, and that self-assessment can all be done online, then not one of us can be content that our jobs are secure.

Remember, the 1,715 people being offered redundancy are being offered it on the current terms. The powers that be want to get that new scheme in as soon as possible so that future offers can be made on vastly reduced terms.

We must stand shoulder to shoulder on this. If we value our employment, our terms and conditions, our flexi-time, then we must support our union.

Visit the HMRC group pages of this website for more about our campaign against office closures.

 

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