Outrage over civil service job cuts plan

The government announced last month that it will be cutting 91,000 civil service jobs. The announcement that staffing levels will be returned to pre-2016 levels came out of the blue and has outraged unions such as PCS and the FDA.

PCS is submitting an emergency motion to its annual conference proposing a campaign to defend members’ jobs, which would including taking industrial action. Its general secretary, Mark Serwotka, said: “The civil service needs more staff, not less. We will defend every single job, not just on behalf of our hard working members, but on behalf of every member of the public who relies on the services they provide every day.”

PCS is demanding that the government fully consults with the union about its plans, and says it will fight hard against any compulsory redundancies and/or any attempts to privatise or outsource jobs. It believes further investment is needed, not cuts.

Dave Penman, the general secretary of the FDA, objected to the arbitrary nature of the job cuts planned. He said: “Part of what civil servants do is to think of how we do things more efficiently, and they have already committed to 5% cuts in their budgets as part of the spending review. That kind of ongoing efficiency is what the civil service does all the time.”