Shropshire tax workers on strike over jobs row
Monday 12th December 2011, 1:03PM GMT.
Hundreds of tax workers across Shropshire went on strike today as part of a national walk-out over jobs and privatisation of services and a ‘punitive’ sickness absence system.
About 500 members of the Public and Commercial Services union in the county were due to strike this afternoon over plans to hand ‘sensitive data’ to private companies, which they fear will lead to job cuts.
Staff from the HM Revenue and Customs centre in Frankwell in Shrewsbury were taking part in the action.
PCS officials said proposals would see private staff handling inquiries about tax credits and having access to sensitive data about claimants.
In a separate dispute, all the union’s members in HMRC’s offices across the UK were due to walk out today in opposition to a new sickness absence system, which the PCS said threatened staff with disciplinary action instead of supporting them back to work.
The latest action over the new “attendance management” policy follows a series of short walkouts over two days in June, which closed some tax inquiry centres.
PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: “Our members have very serious concerns about this creeping privatisation into HM Revenue and Customs and, as well as the threat to their jobs, they do not think such sensitive data should be handed over to private firms.
“This is also happening at a time when senior managers are trying to bring in an unnecessarily punitive and counter-productive sick policy that seeks to penalise people for being ill, rather than support them.”
Steve Battlemuch, midlands regional organiser for the PCS, said: “There are two different elements to the strike action as there is a real fear that the private sector could come in and take the jobs from those working in the public sector. It’s like selling off the country’s silverware and it is a real worry.
“What we are doing today is setting down a marker to the Government.”
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Anything to do with goverment. such as benifits tax etc should never be aloud to be dealt with by the private sector.
What they should be doing is cutting big pensions and payouts. like the private sector…
if this is good enough for one entitty, it should be good enough for all working people…
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Yes, if only we could trust HMRC with our data without them mucking up your tax, losing all the data on a USB stick in a pub or mailing it all through the post unencrypted….
The private sector will not only take better care of this information, but if there is a breach someone will be held accountable and punished for it…
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Andy,
Do try and keep up.
HMRC’s tax systems were privatised in 1994 and 1996. They’ve been wholly in the hands of a variety of private sector companies ever since.
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Does this mean that any tax returns get an extra days grace?
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“unnecessarily punitive and counter-productive sick policy”
I take it this means gone are the days of ‘having’ to take so many sick days as your ‘quota’, usually 10 I was told by a close friend who worked at hmrc, and receiving these ‘sick’ days without so much as a query or question to the genuiness of the absence.
Well diddums, the real world has arrived again to bite the backside of the cossetted Public Sector ‘office worker’
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Utter drivel.
The suggestion that staff are ‘obliged’ to take sick leave in any way is just tabloid nonsense. If your friend told you this then I suspect they were winding you up just to see how gullible you are – it’s a bit like the old urban myth that homeless people used to get extra benefit to pay for food for their pet dogs! Why on earth do people believe this rubbish?
Like any other group of employees, self-certification is required for up to the first 7 days of sick leave and thereafter a doctor’s note is required.
My recollection of working in the Revenue was one of taking no sick leave for many years, and working many hours of unpaid overtime – no gripes about that – I enjoyed the work and, like most public servants had a strong public service ethic.
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As Peter says, PSW’s post is nonsense based on prejudice and ignorance, certainly nothing within the realm of fact.
HMRC staff can be issued with a warning after taking 5 days or 3 occasions (three one day absences within a 12 month period would count).
These warnings (essentially disciplinary measures, which can lead to dismissal) can be imposed without sensible and sensitive interpretation of the guidlines or a proper understanding of the nature of the illness.
Serious illness or injuries that lead to hospitilisaton – even if evidence and backed up by medical notes from GPs and specialists – do not necessarily exempt workers from these discilplinary measures.
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Ha. Shows how much you know. Long gone are those days. Its now 4 day or 3 periods before action is taken against a person off sick no 10. The govenment is using any way possible get rid of staff and this is one of the cheapest.
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One of the nastiest bits of legislation introduced by the outgoing Tory government in 97 allows dismissal for sickness. I’m happy to research it if anyone is interested.
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Let em strike useless the lot of em anyway.
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I don’t think they are useless. They have been very efficient at chasing me for non PAYE tax. That’s right and proper.
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I don’t work for HMRC, but know from recent experience that it is now in a complete and utter shambles – which considering its importance to good government should be a matter of deep concern to us all. The bureaucrats and bean counters have got to it over the last decade and rendered it almost completely unfit for purpose. What next? Privatization of HM Forces? Ships, planes and tanks manned by private security companies? The demands of equality, diversity and positive discrimination compromised the security of HMRC documents and details a long time and it’s so disorganized now that it’s hard to see how it could possibly be made any worse.
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Privatising public services means only one thing people: things will be done purely for profit. If there is no profit in it, you won’t get it. Offices closed, call centres closed, staff sacked, post will pile up, you will not get replies to your letters or complaints, your tax codes will go uncorrected and too much tax will be deducted from you.
Not a country I want to live in.
You are already paying for these public services. Do not allow them to be plundered.
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typical slackers in the public sector
has anyone ever actually tried to get through to the inland revenue call centre? it takes hours and its not good
privatisation will actually improve the service as well as reducing costs and creating jobs in the productive / private (tax creating) sector of the economy
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Typical stupid comment. You really think the people working there are to blame for being under resourced?
Imagine your private sector bosses run into financial trouble next month and have to cut half the workforce. The rest of you now have to cover twice as much work. Unless you are currently a slacker, that will not be possible without everything taking more time. You as a person are still efficient, but the two jobs you are effectively working are now being done less efficiently. Is that your fault? Of course not. So why is it the fault of the people in the call centre when there are not enough of them.
How stupid do you have to be to blame the actual staff rather than the organisation?
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Whenever I’ve had to deal with HMRC over the years, I’ve found them to be efficient, friendly, knowledgeable and – best of all – able to resolve my query there and then over the phone.
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The “Inland Revenue” hasn’t existed for nearly 7 years, so no wonder you can’t get hold of them.
Slacker? How about we swap jobs for a day and then decide who’s the slacker?
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The desire to trash the public sector is strange. Perhaps, in jest, we over-exaggerate how good our jobs are or were. I’ve worked in both the private and the public sectors (now self employed). For sure, my private sector job was very well paid and a doddle, but not of any social importance.
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Does sensitive data mean my data and everyone else’s?
If it is there’s no way that private data should be handed over to anyone else. It’s OUR data, not theirs to hand to anyone willy nilly.
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typical public sector workers, under worked, over paid and on strike
its time for legislation to restrict their striking – get back to work or you’re fired i say – plenty more people looking for jobs now
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Nonsense. You assume that any job seeker has the relevant qualifications. Maybe I’m a little raw about these types of claims. The life of a three month old family member has just been saved by a team of highly skilled public sector workers. So, would you want those of them who were on strike the day before the baby was rushed to hospital to be fired?
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“PCS officials said proposals would see private staff handling inquiries about tax credits and having access to sensitive data about claimants.”
The sort of data that HMRC regularly loses track of?
Google “HMRC data loss”.
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Can’t believe some of the ridiculous comments on here such as Guy about how the waiting time to get through to call centres is so terrible in the public sector and that private organisations would be better. Are you joking??? Companies like Sky, NPower, BT and many banks are awful when it comes to answering the phones!
And someone else claiming that private sector companies will take much better care of our personal data?? Yeah right, they’ll take such careful care of it they’ll add you to loads of mailing lists so you get masses of junk calls and post.
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What on earth is wrong with being warned for poor attendance? The HMRC sick absence warning scheme allows for:
- a number of progressive warnings
- manager discretion
- discounting of absences relating to disability or maternity
- proper meetings, with union/colleague attendance
- plenty of opportunity to improve.
If one can’t keep one’s half of the employment bargain, one should ultimately be dismissed. Is K. de Gama and the usual ‘public sector workers can do no wrong’ brigade really of the view that people who regularly do not attend work should be allowed to carry on doing so?!
Irrespective of sector, the work-shy should move over and free up employment opportunities for the millions out there who really want to work, and who will not constantly whinge about pensions, pay increases, allegedly draconian employment practices, et cetera.
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Very true. As a self employed person, I doubt if I have had three sickies in nearly 30 years, let alone in a year and probably haven’t had five sick days in all that time. Oh and of course the self employed don’t suffer from stress do we????
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Doesn’t that have more to do with you not getting paid, than you having any superior work ethic?
Presumably you opted to take self-employment through some motivation.
If you don’t take time out when you’re ill, that’s your call.
Public/Private sector, Self employment, we all have a choice. Do the training, get the job and reap the rewards that you desire. Don’t begrudge others making their own choices.
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The point I’m trying to make is that “normal” people don’t get sick that often. It is, however easy to imagine that you are sick if you know that your employer or school will let you off for a few days just because you have an upset tummy, feel a bit stressed or tired or a bit of a sniffle, which people who have to justify their employment, wouldn’t let get them down.
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Actually Wenlock Un, maybe you have found the answer to getting the country back on it’s feet again. Let’s make all the public sector employees self employed and cut out all the worry about public sector pensions, time off on long sickies, workshy workers and too many people doing the same job.
If they had to bill the Local Authorities etc. for work completed then we would have a fairer system and they could all take out private pensions, plus give them the opportunity to do work elsewhere.
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There’s nothing wrong with being warned for poor attendance tax payer, and I don’t think many would disagree with your comment about the work shy irrespective of sector moving over either.
The problem with threads concerning anything remotely public sector is that it brings out the types of baseless rubbish we see in comments 3, 4, 7 and 10 above. Often submitted by contributors who have no idea what they’re talking about, or others who claim to have contacts in the council/HMRC/DWP/whatever – well we can all say that now can’t we? after all, who is to know otherwise?
As for alleged “usual public sector can do wrong brigade” to which you refer, do we not have a right to defend ourselves against the usual public sector is responsible for everything that has gone wrong in this country brigade?
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I am a HMRC employee, and I’m quite ok with the changes to the attendance system. Yes, there are key dates and trigger points for adminstrative action, but there is a good amount of management discretion allowed for those people that genuinely need it, and it properly tackles those people prone to duvet days.
I don’t support PCS (they are pretty useless to be honest) but do support the right of colleagues to strike in situations similar to this. I think the right to take industrial action is an important one for all workers (not just civil servants). There are sound reasons for HMRC outsourcing some of its functions, but not front line staff who deal with citizen’s tax affairs.
HMRC has come in for some fair criticism of late, but it has also come in for some unfair stick from the public. HMRC is never going to be popular – no one likes paying tax, but it has a very important role in helping the government to balance its books through difficult times. The increase in compliance work will bring in £billions of extra money to the treasury by tackling fraud and avoidance.
HMRC’s staff have suffered quite a lot in recent years through repeated reorganisation, reduction, pay freezes and pension cuts. It’s wrong for people to assume that HMRC staff are overpaid. Admin staff can earn more in the private sector. And even the most senior staff are paid significantly less than they would be if they held a similar role in, for example, a bank or IT company. I earn about £10k p/a less than the accepted rate for the skills and qualifications I have in my particular profession. So why don’t I leave and get one of those jobs? Simple, I take a certain amount of pride in serving the UK and tens of thousands of my colleagues feel the same. Give us some credit for the work we do.
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Ah yes the good old “Duvet days”…what are they exactly?
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