Shared Services members to take strike action in defence of jobs

Shared Services members to take strike action in defence of jobs

  

A one-day strike has been called for all members in DWP and DEFRA Shared Services, including around 250 based in Sheffield, for Friday 25 October. This is in response to the failure to secure an acceptable agreement with Cabinet Office over the proposed transfer of staff to the new company (Shared Services Connected Ltd) that will operate shared services functions for DWP and a number of other Government Departments. SSCL will be formed by a joint venture between Government and a private company, Steria, though with 75% ownership Steria will be very much in the driving seat.
 

A date of 1 November - significantly earlier than originally planned - has been set for the transfer, despite the fact that a number of aspects concerning members' terms and conditions will not be finalised. Meaningful consultation was promised, though it is clear that this cannot happen in the time available. Key demands around employment status and job security have not been met: Staff are expected to lose Civil Service status and information provided by Cabinet Office and Steria confirms that work will be moved abroad post-transfer, with site closures and job losses to follow.

This change directly affects not just those who are in scope of transfer, but everyone who works in Departments that will use SSCL to deliver services. The transfer of work to the new company will mean that the personal details of all employees - including information on health, disability, bank account etc - will be handed over to a private company, potentially operating outside the UK. I'm sure members would prefer this information stayed within the confines of their employer.

Around 1200 members are affected in total, the 250 or so based in Sheffield are at Kings Court on Hanover Way.

How you can support Shared Services:

·       There will be a picket at Kings Court on the day between about 7.30 and 10.00. Please join us if you can.

·       Complete the e-action to send a letter to your MP at http://action.pcs.org.uk/page/speakout/save-our-shared-services

·       Send messages of support to Martin Hickman at rothrighttowork@live.co.uk

Sheffield lobby of Nick Clegg’s constituency office

     Members who are on strike and other members in the Sheffield area are asked to meet at Nick Clegg’s constituency office at a time which will be finalised locally. We have arranged for members to lobby him and we are calling on all members in the Sheffield area to join the protest. Contact the Yorkshire and the Humber regional office for final details.

Nick Clegg’s constituency office is at:
Sheffield Hallam constituency office
85 Nethergreen Rd,
Sheffield, S11 7EH
Other lobbies of MPs will be organised through regions. Please contact your region for details.





MEDIA RELEASE
21 October 2013
For immediate use


Strike over plans to move Yorkshire work overseas
Civil servants in Yorkshire facing privatisation and their work going overseas will strike on Friday (25) ahead of the transfer, the Public and Commercial Services union announces.

The union has opposed the sell-off to French multinational Steria of a range of several government departments' support functions, including human resources and finance, due to be finalised on 1 November.

The company and the Cabinet Office have confirmed the move will mean some of the work – including sensitive payroll and procurement details – will be offshored.

Included in the 1,200 UK staff affected are 250 from the Department for Work and Pensions in Sheffield, 170 Defra employees in York and almost 80 Environment Agency workers in Leeds.

Like their colleagues, they want to remain in the civil service and say their work should stay in this country.
The offshore plan, which formed part of the bidding process, flies in the face of a previous ministerial commitment that existing employment would not go overseas and that contractors would be urged to invest in the UK.

The privatisation of what is called shared services is being led by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and DWP, and includes other smaller departments and agencies with more expected to join at a later date.

Friday's strike also affects offices in Blackpool, Cardiff and Newcastle.
PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: "From day one, ministers have pushed for this work to go overseas, putting jobs at risk and threatening the security of sensitive financial information.

"We will not stand by and watch while yet another piece of the civil service is parcelled up and handed to a private company to make a profit"

ENDS

Extract from Commons debate over off-shoring November 28th 2011

Mrs Mary Glindon (North Tyneside) (Lab): Last July, during Department for Work and Pensions questions, the Minister said that in his view,

“British-based staff are the best contact centre staff”.—[Official Report, 18 July 2011; Vol. 531, c. 604.]

Will he therefore acknowledge the role played by MPs, workers and the Public and Commercial Services Union in persuading Hewlett Packard to drop its plans to offshore more than 200 DWP jobs, and will he commit to ensuring that his Government’s procurement policies do not permit contractors to jeopardise UK jobs and sensitive public data in this way in future?
 
Chris Grayling: The hon. Lady is right. I personally intervened as Minister to say that that offshoring should not take place. It is important that we do not see Government-controlled employment move offshore. We have a job to try to maximise employment in this country, and I pay tribute to all those involved in that work force for drawing our attention to the issue and the challenge. It is by far the best option to see people investing in the UK. It is particularly gratifying to see the contact centre industry around the UK increasingly reopening centres, recognising that British workers are far better at delivering good customer service than their counterparts in other parts of the world.