Stockwell Job Centre walks out to defend jobs

The Public and Commercial Services union took two days of strike action last week. I attended the picket line at Stockwell Job Centre, where the strike seemed fairly strong: only 14 scabs crossed the picket line out of a workforce of 70, i.e. 80% solid.
The Labour government has unilaterally ripped up the decades-old redundancy pay agreement and seeks to impose far worse terms on those it sacks in the future. The union says long-standing staff would lose between a third and half of their entitlement.

As the pickets told me, this reveals the bosses’ intention of sacking thousands of workers, closing or reducing much needed services, and privatising much of the rest. The vulture companies which bid for government contracts have been lobbying New Labour for years to reduce the costs of making state employees redundant, as this is the biggest financial barrier to them profiting from privatisation. This seems to be Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling’s parting gift to the millionaires.

I spoke to Jackie Dutton, the Works and Pensions PCS branch secretary. She confirmed that the Job Centre staff are currently working incredibly hard because the department cut staff just before the massive hike in unemployment.

Worse, they are now going to shut Camberwell Job Centre, which will put further pressure on Brixton and Peckham offices. Apparently, the government sold off the Job Centre offices to make a few quid some years ago and now the lease is up. Tesco has offered a huge sum to open up an “Express” supermarket, so the jobless will have to get a bus to queue up and sign on. That’s how government policy is made these days: by estate agents and Tesco’s!

I also enquired of the pickets whether in their experience it was true that claimants were having their money stopped for the smallest of bureaucratic reasons, like being a few hours late for an appointment or forgetting to bring their record of job searches. One of the pickets, Gordon, explained that this was true. The frontline workers had no leaway and had to play it by the book.

What a shame. Surely the PCS should urge its members to treat unemployed workers like their class brothers and sisters and help them to their entitled money (meagre as it is) and into decent jobs, not minimum wage slave labour. I have heard that in some parts the local PCS branch is supporting unemployed workers’ groups. I will see if I can use my campaign to achieve something similar here.

The strike will recommence on Budget Day, Wednesday 24 March. If the PCS doesn’t win after that, it should take further and more extensive action. Let’s link up all the current disputes and say – we will not pay for their crisis!


Published and promoted by Vauxhall ANTICAPITALISTS – WORKERS POWER on behalf of Jeremy Drinkall both at Unit 256, 99-103 Lomond Grove, London SE5 7HN