LONDON - The Public and Commercial Services Union has said that around 80,000 workers struck work in protest against the Government's move to cut 30,000 jobs from the Department for Work and Pensions. The PCS said that the strike is all set to continue on Friday as well.
But the DWP clarified that around 40,000 workers did not turn up for their jobs forcing the closure of 53 Jobcentres around country, "Claims that the department has been brought to a standstill are totally incorrect. We know that our contingency plans have worked very well," said a DWP spokeswoman.
In Scotland eight Jobcentres were closed as a result of this industrial action. These were located in Cumnock, Castle Douglas, Dingwall, Forres, Invergordon and in Edinburgh. PCS Scottish chairman Sam Hall said that these proposed job cuts that are to be put into place by 2008, would adversely affect vital services, "We're prepared to sit down with them and discuss that programme but not to allow them to go ahead in the manner where they are arbitrarily axing jobs and closing offices," he said.
"It denies access to the very services that the most vulnerable members of our society are in need of." The Union said that an average of 1,000 workers were being pushed out of a job every month and that there were huge delays in processing benefit claims as a result of this.
"Our members are not just striking to protect jobs, they are stopping for 48 hours to prevent the savage butchery of services which are absolutely critical to the most vulnerable in our society," said Eddie Reilly, a Secretary at PCS Scotland.
"At a time when [Prime Minister] Tony Blair is seeking to redefine the welfare state, the people of Scotland have to ask the question - in whose interest is he acting?"
These job cuts were first announced by Chancellor Gordon Brown as a part of the exercise to trim the Civil Services to make it more efficient.
Posted
on : Sat, 28 Jan 2006 02:10 GMT | Pensions News
By : Mark Richardson
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