Further industrial action is to be taken early next year at job centres across Liverpool with two additional sites to join walkouts.
Earlier this month, the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) Union confirmed staff from three city locations would join colleagues from Doncaster in walking out on certain dates between December 19-31. Workers at Toxteth, Liverpool Duke Street and Liverpool City job centre - based in St John’s Market began their industrial action on Monday.
The union has now confirmed that staff from Everton and Innovation Park will be asked to join the additional strikes which are set to take place between January 3-7. In a statement on its website, the PCS Union said the walkouts would "come in what is traditionally one of DWP’s busiest weeks for Jobcentre activity."
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Toxteth, Duke Street and the Liverpool City sites were the first, alongside Doncaster, to stage action nationally. A ballot was held across the PCS Union regarding pay, pensions, jobs and cuts to the Civil Service Compensation Scheme in November and with members across the civil service opting to walk out.
Among Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) staff, 87.6% of members voted for strike action on a 50.4% turnout, above the required legal threshold of 50%. The union said its initial phase of strike action is being targeted at areas that will have “a significant impact on employers’ operations and the government.”
The walk out at Toxteth job centre comes amid an ongoing battle by staff and the community to keep the site open. In three months, it is expected almost 200 jobs will be moved as the DWP relocates staff from Toxteth and St John’s Market job centres to a city centre location.
Mark Serwotka, general secretary of PCS Union visited the Toxteth centre in September while in the city to attend the Labour Party conference. An online petition was launched by the union, who said they “vehemently” opposed the closure at Toxteth.
At his visit to meet members and staff, Mr Serwotka said: “Toxteth jobcentre is a vital service and our members are united with the local community in their determination to protect it. Removing the jobcentre and the support it provides lays bare the DWP’s complete disregard for the welfare of its staff and the public that rely on it.
"Enough is enough: our members and the people of Toxteth demand better.” An emergency meeting was called at Toxteth Town Hall by PCS Union officials in a bid to fight the closure earlier this year.
Kim Johnson, Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside, used a debate on the business of the house in Parliament to call on the Government to debate alternative options. Responding to the industrial action earlier this month, a DWP spokesperson said: “We greatly value the work of our staff but the PCS Union’s demands would cost the country an unaffordable £2.4 billion when the focus must be on bringing down inflation to ease the burden on households, protect the vulnerable and rebuild our economy.
"Benefits, the state pension and child maintenance payments are paid automatically and people who rely on that support will continue to receive it.”
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