Job cuts blamed for increasing attacks against staff

Friday, 9 September 2005 12:00 AM

A dramatic rise in violent attacks of staff in Jobcentres means they are fast becoming "like the Wild West", the civil servants union warns today.

The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) reports a 62 per cent increase in attacks across the UK, attributing this rise to recent job losses in the department.

More than 10,000 job cuts were made at the Department for Work and Pensions earlier in the year, with many more civil servants set for redundancy.

The PCS believes this significant reduction in the number of staff available has led to frustration and resulting violence from job seekers.

"Due to job cuts, some Jobcentres are now more like the Wild West as some of the most disadvantaged in society take their frustrations out on staff because they can't access the services they rely on," explained general secretary Mark Serwotka.

"It is no surprise that there has been an increase in serious incidents as the axe falls on jobs."

Employees have reported a growing number of verbal and physical attacks, describing how they were punched and threatened. Statistics showed that assaults on staff have increased over the last two years, from 203 to 329.

The government has attributed the figures to improved reporting methods and increased awareness of the problem, saying staff were well protected by CCTV and panic alarms.

But Mr Serwotka dismissed this explanation, arguing that "violence against dedicated staff is unacceptable".

The PCS has tabled a motion at next week's TUC congress urging the government to halt the programme of civil service cuts.

It argues that not only do they have an impact on individual employees, but they are leading to an increase in outsourcing and privatisation, which in turn increases the risk of a deteriorating service of the public.

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