Charlie McDonald, PCSU DWP East London branch secretary

Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) members working in jobcentres and dole offices in London have voted for a series of strikes. The first strike is due to take place on 16th November.

This is in response to a savage job cuts programme being implemented by the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, across the Civil Service. 100,000 jobs are to be cut. On top of this, work is being moved out of London to the regions. PCS members are particularly concerned about the impact this will have on unemployment in black and minority ethnic communities.

Union members' concerns are twofold. Firstly we are worried about increasing workloads. There is the same amount of work to do now as there was 4 years ago in London but there are 4,000 fewer staff to do it. There are around 10,000 Department for Work and Pensions staff working in London.

Secondly we are concerned about the level of service being provided. In the boroughs of Hackney, Tower Hamlets and Newham, new claimants of Income Support are waiting, on average, four weeks before they get a payment. The Sylvester Road office processes all Income Support and Job Seekers Allowance claims for people living in east London. It is nigh on impossible to get through on the telephone because of antiquated IT systems. All funds for training courses for the unemployed have been withdrawn due to cutbacks.

Union members want to see managers recruit extra staff so that we can provide an acceptable level of service, ensuring that payments are made on time and that full support is given to unemployed workers who want to go back to work. We want to defend welfare provision.

Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have a completely different vision. They want to hand the welfare state over to their friends in big business. In the past two weeks leaked documents have revealed that secretary of state David Blunkett has commissioned a feasibility study into privatising Jobcentre Plus.

PCS believes we need strike action to defend jobs. But we also believe that we need to develop a political campaign uniting workers with service users. We should be talking about the sort of social security system that we need, one that offers help and support for those who cannot work not instead of the current system which punishes you for being out of work.

What can you do? Come down to our picket lines on 16th November. Picket lines will be mounted at all Jobcentres and Social Security offices in the borough. Write to your MP or Councillor asking them to support the Union’s campaign for better services.