JobCentre hit as workers strike

Members of the Public And Commercial Services Union walked out on a 48-hour stoppage yesterday in a long-running row over pay.

The strikes continue today and bosses are warning claimants and job seekers to expect long queues.

Kim Francome, the manager of the JobCentre, in Clarence Street, said that it was offering a limited service on less than half its usual workforce.

"We will see people signing on for the first time but most people don't have to come in and see us," she said.

"There are no Job Points but we are still running an inquiry service."

People looking for jobs are advised to wait until tomorrow when normal service is expected to resume.

The Social Security office, in Princes Street, is also working at half strength.

Manager Rod Mortimer said that it would be open for emergency benefit queries. The Public And Commercial Services Union has threatened to take the Department For Work And Pensions to court for imposing a new pay performance system.

Workers are unhappy with a 2.6 per cent pay offer.

"They have not met any of our requests so we are continuing our strikes," said Sarah Hornsey, the PCS representative at Swindon JobCentre.

She said the strikes would not stop until their demands for fair pay were met.

A spokeswoman for the Department For Work And Pensions said it regretted that the PCS union had called its members out on strike.

It said its pay offer was worth more than five percent on average and up to nine per cent for junior front-line staff.

"The 2003 pay round is over and there is no point striking about it," she said.

The industrial action follows a two-day strike in February, when about 90 per cent of workers at Swindon's JobCentre and 75 per cent at the social security office failed to show up for work, according to the PCS.

Today's strikes are part of a nationwide dispute over pay which has also seen workers from the Prison Service and the Office For National Statistics walk out in separate actions.