More than 1,100 DWP staff at risk of losing jobs as government closes offices

The closure of Section for Do the job and Pensions (DWP) places of work is putting far more than 1,100 work opportunities at hazard and hundreds much more could facial area redundancy, the PCS union mentioned.

Confirming to parliament that a range of offices across the region will be closing, Work and Pensions minister David Rutley stated on Thursday there will be about 12,000 staff members who will be shifting to distinct internet sites.

He claimed about 1,300 colleagues will not be in a position to be moved as there are no other ideal web sites nearby so will drop their work.

The General public and Business Solutions (PCS) union reported 13 processing web sites are closing by June 2023 and a lot more career losses are feared more than the closure and relocation of 29 much more websites.

Those who are getting rid of their positions are back-office environment personnel and it “would not impression on solutions for the reason that the companies we are speaking about are largely telephony and electronic”, Mr Rutley explained.

He mentioned “this does not affect front-of-residence Jobcentre Plus” and reported latest calculations have located the DWP has way too substantially real estate for the selection of people necessary.

SNP function and employment spokesman Chris Stephens requested Mr Rutley to verify if 3,000 work were being at chance of redundancy.

He claimed the DWP is targeting places of work in “large economic deprivation parts” which is “counter-intuitive to the so-identified as levelling-up agenda”.

Mr Rutley claimed the closures will “help shipping and delivery of federal government priorities for finding people again into employment, supply very long-expression personal savings for the tax payer and fulfill governing administration commitments to modernise services”.

He included: “The department has made a system which in excess of the subsequent 10 yrs will reshape and make improvements to how, where by and what it provides payments to claimants.”

The minister, conversing just right after 10.30am, claimed the governing administration has been in talks with the Public and Industrial Expert services (PCS) union for months and the announcement experienced been embargoed, so it was “really disappointing” they did not respect that.

Tale continues

Team were becoming knowledgeable they had been dropping their jobs or are at risk of redundancy from 10.30am these days, he added.

“Evidently our workers ought to be leading priority at this time and I hope that colleagues will realize that I am not capable to go into all the information this early morning as we are at present briefing influenced colleagues as we speak,” he said.

Mr Rutley claimed the DWP is writing to MPs whose constituencies are affected immediately after 1pm today and will publish a composed assertion to parliament on Friday morning notifying MPs of the prepared closures.

Labour’s shadow secretary for do the job and pensions, Jonathan Ashworth, said: “In closing DWP offices and reducing positions in areas which include Stoke, Burnley, Bishop Auckland, Doncaster, Southampton and Kirkcaldy, Therese Coffey has uncovered the Tories’ rhetoric on levelling up to be totally hollow.

“Ministers are right now slicing top quality general public sector work from communities who require them in the center of a devastating value of living disaster.”

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka stated: “The authorities was rapid to clap civil servants at the start off of the pandemic – they are even faster to scrap them now they’ve declared the pandemic over.

“Our members have worked tirelessly powering the scenes, holding the country jogging, paying out advantages to just about two-and-a-50 percent million people, assisting them to set food stuff on their desk and continue to keep a roof in excess of their head.

“But now, as food items and gas prices increase more rapidly than at any time, they’re getting deserted by the authorities and remaining to fend for by themselves.”

The PCS claimed the workplaces closing with no alternate website being presented to employees are in: Aberdeen, Barrow in Furness, Bishop Auckland, Blackburn, Bury St Edmunds, Chippenham, Exeter, Gravesend, Kirkcaldy, Milton Keynes, Peterborough, Southampton, and Hanley in Stoke-on-Trent.