The Public and Commercial Services Union says over 1000 of its members in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) have voted for strike action in the second of two ballots, in protest against plans they say could impact the government’s 1.5 million new homes pledge.
The UK-wide workers voted in solidarity with colleagues in six offices faced with closure, who had already indicated their overwhelming support for industrial action in a March vote. Members claim the closures may affect their ability to rebuild local government, promote regional development and deliver on the commitment to build 1.5 million new homes.
As well as being angry over plans to close the MHCLG offices in Birmingham, Exeter, Newcastle, Sheffield, Truro and Warrington, the PCSU members are protesting against changes to ‘rigid office attendance policies’ and recruitment practices.
PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said of the vote:
“This second ballot win shows the strength of feeling and solidarity among our members working for MCHLG. Management forcing through changes to the way they work negatively impacts them all. Our hard-working members have shown they can deliver for the public while working flexibly, but the combination of office closures ending location-neutral recruitment and enforcing rigid office attendance policies removes this choice. Managers need to come to the table with meaningful alternative plans or face strike action.
The civil servants in the department run by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner say the changes ‘would undermine the department’s own commitment to ‘levelling up opportunity and prosperity and overcoming deep-seated geographical inequalities that have held us back for too long’.
Heathcote added:
“As the main face of the Employment Rights Bill, the Deputy Prime Minister must match her words with action and listen to her own workers.”
The MHCLG offices that voted for strike action in the second ballot are: London 2 Marsham Street, Belfast, Birkenhead, Cambridge Eastbrook House, Cardiff, Darlington, Edinburgh, Hastings, Hemel Hempstead, Leeds Wellington Place, Manchester Piccadilly Gate, Norwich, Nottingham, Plymouth, Temple Quay Bristol and Wolverhampton.
The date of any planned industrial action has not yet been announced.
