Civil servants working for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) will start indefinite industrial action today, the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union has announced.
PCS members in 21 offices around the UK, including London, will start action ‘short of a strike’ on 30 June. The union is protesting recently announced office closures, along with changes to attendance policies and the MHCLG recruitment strategy.
Union members are angry over the closure of offices in Birmingham, Exeter, Newcastle, Sheffield, Truro and Warrington, as well as the imposition of what PCS says are ‘rigid office attendance policies’ and the withdrawal of location-neutral recruitment.
PCS president Martin Cavanagh said:
“From removing staff from an office before the lease expires to spuriously challenging lawful notices of industrial action, the employer seems intent to avoid proper consultation, disregard fair process and alienate its staff.
“Closing local offices while rigidly enforcing mandatory office attendance doesn’t make sense. The way out of this dispute is to negotiate, not frustrate.”
The offices taking part in industrial action are London – 2 Marsham Street, Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol – Temple Quay, Cambridge Eastbrook House, Cardiff, Darlington, Edinburgh, Hastings, Hemel Hempstead, Leeds Wellington Place, Liverpool, Manchester Piccadilly Gate, Newcastle, Norwich, Nottingham, Plymouth, Sheffield, Truro, Warrington and Wolverhampton.
