Striking to save jobs and fund the alternative

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PCS Comment

20 June 2012

More than 50,000 tax office workers will be on strike next Monday (25 June) in protest at thousands of job cuts, privatisation and changes to working practices.

On Tuesday they will start an overtime ban.

PCS members in the revenue and customs group have been angered by the axing of 30,000 jobs over the past 10 years. Another 10,000 posts are earmarked for the chop.

Union members voted for the action in a ballot which closed on 1 June.

The strikers are demanding:

No further job cuts in revenue and customs
An end to private sector involvement in the department
No compulsory redundancies or transfers beyond reasonable travel
The scrapping of a new performance review system.

The public accounts committee has said that because of the cuts the department has lost the ability to collect £1.1billion in tax.

The extra cuts will make things worse – when the government should be collecting all the tax they could get their hands on.

Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary, said: “The fight to save jobs in revenue and customs is right at the heart of our union’s fight for the alternative to austerity.

“We will never be able to tackle tax avoidance and evasion if ministers continue to refuse to give staff the resources they need to chase the tens of billions of pounds that are denied our public finances every year.”

How you can support Monday’s strike:

Visit a picket line at a tax office near you
Email messages of support to R&CCampaigns@pcs.org.uk or tweet them to @pcsrcgroup
Have a whip round for the hardship fund and send cheques (payable to R&C group hardship fund) to Jeanette Brook, group treasurer, PCS HQ ID1, 160 Falcon Road, SW11 2LN.

PCS in Revenue and Customs

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