Telford Jobcentre staff join strike

MORE THAN 250 Jobcentre Plus staff in Shropshire joined thousands of workers across the country today for a 24-hour strike in an escalating row over working conditions.

About a dozen of the 255 workers on strike from the Telford call centre took to the picket line at 7am today in a row over conditions and targets set for staff, which includes limited toilet breaks.

The Public and Commercial Services union said picket lines were mounted outside more than 30 call centres across the country.

A spokesman for PCS said there were 255 members at the centre at New Town House in Telford Town Centre on strike, out of the centre's 340-strong workforce.

The union said workers, many of whom had never taken industrial action before, were receiving "massive" support from members of the public.

Callers to the centres were being told to ring back tomorrow.

Paul Devine, West Midlands regional secretary for PCS at the Department of Work and Pensions, was on the picket line in Telford this morning.

He said: "This dispute is about staff having to meet targets on new claims. Staff are expected to spend no more than 16 minutes on someone claiming incapacity benefit.

"If staff run over this, the call handling times are deemed to be inefficient.

"If some people have to claim for the first time, it is not unreasonable to think that staff might have to spend a little more time with them. Every time the staff log off to go to the toilet, that's recorded. They are allowed no more than 12 minutes for toilet breaks a day.

"This strike is very much about flexibility for the staff and better service."

In a ballot of the union's 7,000 members in the call centres, 70 per cent of those who took part voted for strike action, with a turnout of 43 per cent.

A spokesman for the Department for Work and Pensions said: "We are disappointed that despite three-quarters of staff across the centres having not voted to go on strike, the PCS have decided to take industrial action."

By Jason Lavan