Hundreds of civil servants have been told their jobs are at risk as the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) launches a voluntary redundancy scheme.
The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union says that the DWP told staff on Tuesday, November 8, that it is looking to cut 424 jobs across 13 sites in England and Scotland. In the North East, the Seaham office at Lighthouse View is one of those affected by the decision, with seven jobs at risk.
The PCS union has condemned plans and said that the announcement was made after the union’s national strike ballot over pay, pensions, jobs and redundancy terms closed at noon on Monday. The result of the ballot is expected to be announced on Thursday.
READ MORE: Spiking in Newcastle - how police are tackling the issue after reports of women being injected
PCS general secretary, Mark Serwotka, said: “To delay this announcement until our strike ballot has closed is the epitome of cynicism and callousness. The Government may have binned its headline plans to scrap 91,000 jobs; it’s now trying to impose them by stealth.
“We’ll continue to fight these unnecessary office closures at a time when our public services are already over-stretched and we need more civil servants, not less. We’ll also fight for better redundancy terms for our members as the DWP has refused to commit to the terms of the 2016 scheme – a cynical move that could cost our members thousands of pounds."
The DWP would not confirm the number of staff affected by the cuts and said that the redundancies are not part of a plan to reduce headcount. It said its priority was for people to remain in the department where they can and if an alternative role is found for a member of staff, voluntary redundancy may not be an option.
A DWP spokesman said: "This is not a plan to reduce our headcount – where possible, colleagues in offices due to close are being offered opportunities to be redeployed to a nearby site or retrained into a new role in DWP or another Government department.
“We are making every effort to fully support our staff through this process, including offering some affected staff the option of considering voluntary redundancy if they wish, but our priority is for staff to remain in the department where they can.”
READ NEXT:
- Tapas Revolution to open Metrocentre restaurant - and this is how shoppers can try its food for free this weekend
- Young chef, 24, to transform Italian restaurant on Newcastle's Quayside as he reveals heartwarming new name
- Newcastle foodbank's 'sobering' reality as it hands out 2,000 food parcels in just one month to struggling Geordies
Barbour's new Christmas advert sees South Shields brand team up with Paddington Bear
