Members of the civil service’s biggest union who work at the Department for Education are being asked to support strike action over plans to shut six offices.
PCS said DfE’s plans to close offices in Croydon, Exeter, Leeds, Newcastle, Peterborough and Watford had already put dozens of staff at risk of redundancy and could mean hundreds more need to relocate if they are to keep their jobs.
The union said DfE’s estimates indicated that 359 staff would be directly impacted by the closures, with 97 officials already formally placed “at risk” as a result of the proposals.
PCS accused DfE of refusing to “properly explore alternatives” that could protect jobs and reduce the impact on staff. It said the department had not agreed to consider enhanced homeworking or more flexible hybrid working arrangements than the current 60% office-attendance rules that could allow staff to remain in their roles without relocating or facing redundancy.
The union is calling on DfE management to halt the office closure plans, currently expected to be implemented between now and January next year, offer “meaningful flexibility” to protect jobs, and guarantee that no staff will be made compulsorily redundant.
Its strike ballot, which launched yesterday, follows a consultative ballot of members at DfE that ran in February and March this year.
PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said members affected by the closure plans were being presented with “impossible choices” – dramatically longer commutes, relocating their families, or losing their jobs.
“No responsible employer should be placing workers in that position when alternatives exist,” she said.
“These closures will have a devastating impact on hundreds of dedicated public servants who have spent years delivering vital services for children, families and schools across the country.
“The department’s refusal to consider sensible flexible working arrangements that could save jobs is deeply disappointing, and our members have made it clear that this is unacceptable.”
PCS’s strike ballot runs until 21 July.