Ministers have been urged to reverse a decision to shut the doors on Stirling’s Jobcentre as part of a raft of DWP office closures.
The Stirling site, located on St Ninians Road, is one of 42 DWP offices set to be axed by June 2023 under the plans unveiled by the UK Government, with staff being offered the opportunity to work at an alternative location.
The PCS union, which represents public sector workers, says the plans will affect more than 500 jobs across Scotland, with an online meeting of all of its members set up on the issue for March 25.
The announcement has been slammed by Mid Scotland and Fife Green MSP Mark Ruskell, who called for a rethink of the proposals.
Mr Ruskell said: “These are just the latest in a long line of job losses from the UK Government, which has included significant closure of HMRC offices.
“Families in Stirling and across Scotland are already struggling to make ends meet. This will be devastating for my constituents and the UK Government’s timing could not be worse.
“I urge the ministers to practice what they preach. The talk is about ‘levelling up’ but in reality they are cutting jobs in some of Scotland’s hardest hit communities.
“They must consider the consequences their actions will have on the workforce and urgently reverse their decision.”
His comments were echoed in a statement by the union announcing their intention to fight the closures.
It said: “The government was quick to praise civil servants at the start of the pandemic, but ministers are even quicker to fire them now they have declared the pandemic over.
“Our members have worked tirelessly behind the scenes, keeping the country running, paying out benefits to almost two-and-a-half million families, helping them to put food on their table and keep a roof over their head.
“These are the workers rightly praised in 2020 by secretary of state for work and pensions Theresa Coffey as ‘exceptional’. In November 2021, prime minister Boris Johnson called DWP staff “miracle workers”.
“Now, as food and fuel prices rise faster than ever, they are being abandoned by Coffey and Johnson’s cronies and left to fend for themselves.”
In response, a UK Government spokesman said: “As part of plans to improve the services we deliver to claimants, help more people into employment and modernise public services, DWP is moving some back office staff to better, greener offices, which will not affect any public-facing roles.
“This is not a plan to reduce our headcount – where possible, our colleagues in offices due to close are being offered opportunities to be redeployed to a nearby site, or retrained into a new role in DWP or another government department.
“We are making every effort to fully support our staff through this process.”
