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PCS Scotland in the media

Scotsman, 31 January: Taxpayers won’t be penalised for missing self-assessment deadline   

SCOTTISH taxpayers will not be fined for missing today’s deadline for self-assessment returns as thousands of tax office workers strike over privatisation plans.

Members of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) across the UK are protesting against the use of two private companies in call centres in Bathgate, West Lothian, and Lillyhall in Cumbria.

…A year-long trial period is due to begin next month for companies Sitel and Teleperformance in the two centres at a time of huge cuts to public sector personnel.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: “Our members in tax offices want to do a good job and provide the best possible advice and help to taxpayers, but there are fewer of them working in fewer offices as a result of misguided and damaging cuts.

“Instead of making even more cuts and throwing public money at private companies, ministers should be investing in their staff and tackling the billions in tax avoided and evaded by the super-rich.”    
 

The Guardian, 31 January: HMRC delays tax return deadline as civil servants stage one-day strike

Thousands of tax office workers will stage a 24-hour strike on Tuesday in a row over privatisation, leading to a delay in the deadline for filing tax returns. 

Members of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) across the UK will mount picket lines in protest at plans to trial the use of private firms at two centres.

....The industrial action is in opposition to the appointment of two private companies, Sitel and Teleperformance, to run call-handling trials in HMRC tax credit contact centres in Lillyhall in Cumbria and Bathgate in Scotland.

The year-long trials are due to start next month. The union is warning they risk paving the way for privatisation in the department and come at a time when tens of thousands of civil service jobs are being cut.

The PCS general secretary, Mark Serwotka, said: "Our members in tax offices want to do a good job and provide the best possible advice and help to taxpayers, but there are fewer of them working in fewer offices as a result of misguided and damaging cuts.

"Instead of making even more cuts and throwing public money at private companies, ministers should be investing in their staff and tackling the billions in tax avoided and evaded by the super-rich."
 

The Independent, 27 January: People who miss next Tuesday's tax self-assessment deadline because of a strike by tax office staff will not be fined.

HM Revenue and Customs said it would not be issuing penalties to anyone who filed their tax return on 1 or 2 February.

Equally, those who have tax to pay will not face any interest on payments made on 1 or 2 February.

....Up to 20,000 members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) working in call centres and inquiry offices went on strike last week in a dispute about the appointment of private companies to run call-handling trials in two contact centres, and will walk out for 24 hours next Tuesday.

A union spokesman said: "If the minister genuinely had taxpayers' interests at heart, he would call off the trials and invest in his own staff and the essential services they provide, instead of making cuts and letting in the private sector."

The action is in protest at the appointment of two private companies, Sitel and Teleperformance, to run call-handling trials in HMRC tax credit contact centres in Lillyhall in Cumbria and Bathgate in Scotland. The year-long trials are due to start next month.

Lennox Herald, 26 January: Tragedy could lead to hope for Clyde coastguard future


AN axed life-saving coastguard team, which patrols West Dunbartonshire and Helensburgh, could be given a reprieve following the recent cruise liner tragedy.

…But the tragedy has given hope to the possibility of reversing the decision to close Clyde coastguard which covers the west of Scotland.

Last November, the UK government decided to shut the centre – the busiest in the country – with cover, from 2015, coming from Northern Ireland in a shake-up of the service.

In light of the tragedy in Italy, Inverclyde MP Iain McKenzie last week asked the prime minister if he thought it was the correct decision to shut the Clyde coastguard station in Greenock.

David Cameron said: “First, the case in Italy is clearly a tragic one, and our hearts should go out to the people who have lost loved ones.

“We need to wait and see what the exact cause of the accident was before we jump to conclusions about any changes to regulations or other things.

“However, if changes need to be made, of course we will make them.”

The Public and Commercial Services Union, which represents coastguard staff, confirmed it had not given up the fight to save the station and welcomed the prime minister’s response.

West Dunbartonshire MP Gemma Doyle said: “I’m glad that Ian McKenzie MP raised the issue of the coastguard closure with the prime minister in parliament this week.

“We have been campaigning on this issue for many months now, to retain the coastguard station here on the Clyde.

“The government had effectively closed the door to reconsidering their decision but the prime minister has raised hopes with these comments.

“I will be following up this issue with him and I hope that the government will recognise the importance of keeping a coastguard station on the Clyde and reverse their decision.”

Hundreds of years of experience among 31 members of staff could be lost from the Clyde if the closure goes ahead as planned. From then, 24-hour coastguard cover in Scotland will only be provided by stations in Aberdeen, Stornoway and Shetland.   

Morning Star, 15 January: Thousands of tax officers to walk out 

Over 20,000 tax officers are set to walk out tomorrow against plans to bring in private companies to do their work.

PCS union members will hold "lightning strikes" at key times during the day to highlight their anger over the appointment of two private companies Sitel and Teleperformance to run call-handling trials in HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) tax credit contact centres in Lillyhall in Cumbria and Bathgate in Scotland.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: "When jobs in HMRC and the Civil Service are being cut in their tens of thousands, it is entirely wrong to start handing contracts to private companies.

"Instead of privatising ever more of our public services, the government should be investing in its own staff to ensure they are equipped and trained to provide the essential services they are proud to deliver." 

The Herald, 12 January 2012: Revealed Scotland’s TOP 50 women of influence

From sport to music to politics and fashion, here is our list of the inspirational figures who will shape our nation in 2012.

….And at number 35, Lynn Henderson

As the Scottish Secretary for the Public and Commercial Services union, one of the largest trade unions in the UK, Henderson has a key political role and leads more than 33,000 workers in the campaign against pension cuts.

Most likely to say: “All for one and one for all.”

Sunday Herald, 8 January: Revealed: crisis of confidence rocking MoD to the core

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is suffering a severe and deteriorating crisis of confidence among its staff because of cutbacks and bad management, according to an internal survey leaked to the Sunday Herald.

Most MoD civil servants no longer believe their managers can steer them through difficult times, feel more negative about almost every aspect of working for the MoD than they did a year ago, and their morale is much worse than the rest of the civil service.

The revelations have prompted a fierce reaction from trade unions and a former MoD official, who confirm that the workforce is deeply demoralised, upset and angry. According to one union, the words most often used to describe MoD management are "incompetent, short-sighted, inept, poor, uncaring and self-interested".

The leaked survey was conducted by the US opinion research company, ORC International, as part of an annual questionnaire of the entire civil service. It received responses from nearly 33,000 staff, 44% of the MoD's workforce.

…. The MoD's overall aim is to cut 32,000 jobs, according to the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), which represents 18,000 MoD civil servants, 2000 of whom work in Scotland.

"No account has been taken of the effects this will have on existing staff," said Ian Fraser from PCS.

"No wonder staff are demoralised, fed up and do not believe a word the MoD says about being interested in their views."

The leaked survey showed that only 18% of staff believed MoD managers "will take action on the results from this survey", six points less than in 2010.

One recent example of why morale is so low occurred during the fierce storms on December 8. Although private-sector staff at the Faslane naval base on the Clyde were sent home early, some MoD civil servants were told to remain at their posts.

This made MoD staff "very angry", Fraser said. "We intend to challenge the MoD and ask why the safety of their staff was not as important as it was for the other employers at Faslane. Situations like this only demoralise further."