PCS strike in DWP and DEFRA Shared Services
PCS members in Shared Services in DWP and DEFRA will be out on strike next Friday 25th October in an important fight against privatisation.
Workers in UK SBS Ltd, the Shared Service Centre for BIS (Department for Business Innovation and Skills) will be demonstrating their support too as they are due to transfer in 2015.
This is in response to the failure to secure an acceptable agreement with the Cabinet Office over the proposed transfer of staff to the private sector – a new company, SSCL (Shared Services Connected Ltd) that will operate shared services functions for DWP, DEFRA and in 2015, BIS.
It is planned that other government departments’ work (and therefore jobs) will transfer in the longer term.
SSCL will be formed by a joint venture between government and a private company, Steria. With a 75% ownership Steria will be very much in the driving seat.
The transfer date is currently planned to be 1st November. It’s clear that the government wants to plough ahead with this transfer with no regard for the fact that there will be significant job losses, off-shoring of PCS members’ jobs and workers’ personal data, and office closures.
The addresses of the sites are:
DEFRA
- York: Foss House – Block B, Peasholme Green, York YO1 7PX
- Alnwick – Lion House, Willowburn Industrial Estate, Great North Rd, Alnwick NE66 2PF
DWP
- Newcastle: Benton Park View, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE98 1ZZ
- Blackpoool: Norcross Lane, Blackpool FY5 3TA
- Sheffield: Kings Court, 80 Hanover Way, Sheffield S3 7UF
- Cardiff: Companies House, Crown Way, Cardiff CF14 3UZ
This version of this article was first posted on the Socialist Party website on 21 October 2013 and may vary slightly from the version subsequently printed in The Socialist.
