Some claimants of benefits, including Universal Credit, may be affected as staff at Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) offices go on strike over the Christmas period. The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union has warned around 200 of its members will be walking out as part of a dispute over pay and work conditions.
The civil servants at four DWP branches in the northwest are continuing their industrial action following initial strikes on Monday (December 19). After rejecting an offer on pay, the PCS has threatened more walkouts until December 31, reported the Independent.
It's part of a national campaign by the union for a 10% pay rise, while it is also seeking assurances on job security and redundancy terms. The PCS previously gave notice of strikes involving the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), the Rural Payments Agency and the National Highways.
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In a statement announcing the industrial action, the union said initial walkouts would be "targeted at areas that will have a significant impact on employers’ operations and the government." But the DWP has insisted benefits payments - including Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment, and Employment and Support Allowance - won't be affected by the walkouts.
A DWP spokesperson said: "Benefits, the state pension and child maintenance payments are paid automatically and people who rely on that support will continue to receive it." However, the union expects that benefit "conditionality" interviews, which would usually lead to sanctions, will be disrupted.
Ahead of the strike action, PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka claimed its members faced "ever-increasing depths of poverty." He said: "They shouldn’t have to rely on food banks to feed their children or be forced to make the choice of either working from home because the journey into work is too expensive or working in the cold under blankets because the cost of heating is too expensive."
The DWP spokesperson said: "We greatly value the work of our staff but the PCS union’s demands would cost the country an unaffordable £2.4 billion when the focus must be on bringing down inflation to ease the burden on households, protect the vulnerable and rebuild our economy."
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