12 March 2004
Benefit offices, jobcentres and other agencies of the Department for Work and Pensions could effectively shut down for a full week over Easter unless there is a breakthrough in the dispute over civil service pay.
Leaders of the Public and Commercial Services union, which represents 90,000 DWP staff, this week called their second 48-hour strike in two months, scheduled for April 13–14, citing employers' 'refusal to engage constructively' with the union over a 'below-inflation pay deal imposed on many civil servants this year'.
That would leave some benefit offices, jobcentres and the Child Support Agency disrupted or closed from April 8 to April 15 because of the bank holiday weekend, causing a backlog that could delay vital payments. More than 86,000 PCS members walked out for two days in February and are undertaking a work-to-rule campaign.
Yet PCS leader Mark Serwotka said he remained 'ready and willing' to call off the strikes and hold talks with Whitehall employers, 'through Acas if necessary'. He added: 'We don't want the inevitable disruption that strikes have on the public, but members are increasingly frustrated by a management who are digging in.'
The Department for Work and Pensions this week showed no sign of backing down over the pay deal, despite indicating that it could yet enter into discussions. Employers claimed this year's offer was 'comfortably above' inflation for most staff – at around 5%.
A spokeswoman for the department said: 'We are disappointed that the PCS are considering more strike action. 'In February a vast number of staff took the decision not to strike. In the event of further action, we hope that staff will continue to take this approach.'
But union members said they would continue to fight for an improved deal.
They claimed the unfair nature of the settlement had been exacerbated by the recent 9% pay rise agreed for senior civil servants.
Opposition rallies to immigration whistleblower
Opposition MPs have attacked the suspension of a civil servant who brought to light improper changes in the way some immigration applications are handled.
Steve Moxon, who works in the immigration service at Sheffield, was suspended after he went to a national newspaper with evidence that thousands of applications from nationals of European Union accession countries who wish to set up a business in the UK were being rubber-stamped without checks, contrary to government policy.
He said he acted after immigration minister Beverley Hughes ignored e-mails in which he raised his concerns. Moxon said he had granted residency to people 'who should never in a million years have been allowed into this country'.
Hughes told Parliament: 'Without any authorisation from any minister, or from senior managers or the director general, guidance was issued locally to staff, to the effect that in straightforward cases… the application should be granted without further enquiries being made.' She said the e-mails had been lost in her office.
Moxon was suspended on March 8. A Home Office spokesman said: 'He has been suspended pending a full investigation. Suspension is not necessarily a disciplinary measure and is without prejudice to the outcome.'
Former Conservative minister John Redwood said Moxon should be congratulated rather than suspended and asked for an assurance 'that disciplinary action will not be taken against him'.
Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman David Heath said: 'There must be serious questions asked when the civil servant who has raised this issue has been suspended while others who have operated this policy are not brought to book.'
Local court closures slammed by LibDems
The government has presided over the 'dishonest' closure of more than 100 magistrates' courts across England and Wales, Liberal Democrats say.
According to figures obtained from the Department for Constitutional Affairs, 115 magistrates' courts have been closed since 1997. The two areas hardest hit were Devon and Humberside, with eight and seven closures respectively, all of which took place in 2001. Wales was also badly affected, losing ten magistrates' courts since 1997.
The party's constitutional affairs spokesman David Heath said: 'It is dishonest for the government to start talking about the need for community justice when it failed to prevent the closure of so many court houses. The magistrates' court is not just a symbol – it is the community's guarantee that crimes committed locally will be dealt with locally.'
Courts minister Chris Leslie said responsibility for magistrates' courts fell to individual Magistrates' Courts Committees, which are not required to inform the department of closure unless they are subject to appeal from the local paying authority.
PFmar2004
