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Link to this page: https://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/12029
Posted on 13 May 2011 at 10:37 GMT
Jobcentre Plus announces closure of one fifth of its benefit processing offices and call centres
It has been announced that 17 benefit processing sites and five contact centres will be shut, mostly within 12 months, with the loss of 2,400 jobs. Jobcentre Plus has already cut more than 10,000 staff since 2009 and this latest decision will mean more delays in processing claims.
This comes as ministers are reviewing the jobcentre network as a whole; the PCS union fears there is a risk they will decide to close more jobcentres, particularly in rural areas.
Delegates to the PCS union's Department for Work and Pensions group conference - to be held on Monday 16 and Tuesday 17 May, before PCS's annual conference which opens the following day - will debate an emergency motion to launch a campaign against the closures.
The first motion to be debated at PCS's national conference calls for a national strike ballot over cuts to jobs, pay and pensions and for the union to "work with other trade unions to coordinate the action for maximum impact".
From a PCS press release
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The coronavirus crisis has laid bare the class character of society in numerous ways. It is making clear to many that it is the working class that keeps society running, not the CEOs of major corporations.
The results of austerity have been graphically demonstrated as public services strain to cope with the crisis.
The government has now ripped up its 'austerity' mantra and turned to policies that not long ago were denounced as socialist. But after the corona crisis, it will try to make the working class pay for it, by trying to claw back what has been given.
- The Socialist Party's material is more vital than ever, so we can continue to report from workers who are fighting for better health and safety measures, against layoffs, for adequate staffing levels, etc.
- When the health crisis subsides, we must be ready for the stormy events ahead and the need to arm workers' movements with a socialist programme - one which puts the health and needs of humanity before the profits of a few.
2020