PCS action at Jobcentre Plus call centres

PCS held a one day strike at Jobcentre Plus call centres at five locations across the midlands today (Monday)
The dispute is about working conditions and customer service issues. A picket at Coventry today said, "this dispute is not about pay or holidays, it's about how management treat the staff, and how we have to treat the public. As far as management are concerned we have to met targets - but the targets don't mean anything and can lead to our clients getting a poor service at a time when they already stressed and worried".
Pickets were out in Derby, Nottignham, Lincoln, Telford and Coventry (pictured).

Job Centre call centre staff name strike date

Andrew Lloyd, PCS Regional Secretary for the Midlands

Thousands of Jobcentre Plus call centre staff will strike on 18 April after bosses refused to improve working conditions and customer service.

In a ballot of the union’s 7,000 members in JCP’s 37 call centres across the country, 70% of those who took part voted for strike action. The turnout was 43%.
Following this strong result, the union agreed not to call any industrial action to allow negotiations to continue. But senior managers have shown little willingness to resolve the dispute.
The action will follow a well-supported two-day strike in January by more than 2,000 workers in JCP’s seven newest contact centres who have been forcibly moved from processing benefit claims to handling enquiries by phone.
The union wants to improve the levels of customer service in call centres; end the target driven culture, particularly by changing the way unrealistic ‘average call times’ are used; and introduce proper flexible working arrangements.
For further information and details of where the midlands call centres are located visit: http://www.tuc.org.uk/industrial/tuc-19473-f0.cfm?regional=6

Further information from PCS Regional Secretary, Andrew Lloyd, Tel: 0121 643 4342