A public services union has called an emergency meeting amid potential job losses at a Liverpool job centre.
PCS Union confirmed its members will meet tonight at Toxteth Town Hall as it seeks to stave off staff cuts as a result of the relocation of the job centre on High Park Street. Letters seen by the ECHO last month from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), show that the centre and St John’s Market venue will close in March next year, with staff to be moved to a single location on Duke Street.
It is thought around 200 jobs would be impacted as a result. The letters were sent by Employment Minister Mims Davies to Liverpool Riverside MP Kim Johnson who expressed her concerns on the “significant long-term impact” on jobs in the area.
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Martin Cavanagh, PCS Union DWP group president, called on the community to come together to protect the “much needed community resource”. He said: “This is a reckless and irresponsible decision to close a vital community resource especially at a time of huge economic uncertainty.
“The impact on staff who deliver this important service and the local people who rely on it is massive and it will also badly impact local businesses too, it must be stopped. Cuts have consequences.
“We shall fight for every job in the civil service. Not just on behalf of our members, but on behalf of every member of the public who relies on the services they provide.
“We urge people from across the local community to join us today to discuss how we can come together to protect this much needed community resource." In her April letter, employment minister Ms Davies said the closure of Toxteth and St John’s Market job centres allowed the government to take “advantage of the opportunities offered by lease breaks” and move to better accommodation.
Liverpool Riverside MP Ms Johnson told ECHO she was shocked by the proposals and was disappointed that “future cuts haven’t been ruled out”. She added: “As it stands, the impact on the communities that will lose this vital service in their neighbourhoods will be immense.”
A DWP spokesperson said: “We are making use of a lease break to move Liverpool Toxteth Hyde Park House JCP staff and services to a better office just over a mile away to improve services for claimants and have a better working environment for staff – no jobs losses are expected as a result.” The meeting will be held at Toxteth Town Hall, 5 High Park Street, Liverpool L8 8DX at 5.30pm.
