Jobcentre staff to vote on strike call

Thousands of Jobcentre staff will today start voting on whether to go on strike in protest at “intolerable” working conditions they claim have led to high levels of stress and sickness.

The Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) is balloting up to 7,000 of its members at Jobcentre Plus offices across the country, arguing that managers have “an obsession” with hitting targets at the expense of providing a good quality public service.

The ballot widens a dispute which led to two days of strike action in January by more than 2,000 workers in the seven newest contact centres who the union say have been forcibly moved from processing benefit claims to handling enquiries by phone.

The PCS is also considering a ballot of all its members for national industrial action over cuts to jobs and pensions. Officials said the “oppressive” working conditions are resulting in high levels of stress and sickness, leading to staff leaving at an “alarming” rate. Since April 2010, more than 2,700 staff have left, over 20 per cent of the total call centre workforce of 12,800, said the PCS.