Security guards protecting Department for Work and Pensions staff at jobcentres will stage at least 14 days of strike action next month in a pay dispute with employer G4S Group.
Outsourced staff who are members of PCS – the civil service's biggest union – and the GMB union have escalated their long-running tussle with G4S over the summer, with walkouts of increased duration.
Four days of action by jobcentre security guards from both unions is due to commence today, and PCS has now told DWP its members will stage seven-day walkouts starting on 9 September and 23 September.
PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said security giant G4S needed to recognise that members were not prepared to accept the offer currently on the table.
"When will G4S get the message that our members will not sit back and accept a pay rise that is just 23p above the National Living Wage while G4S rakes in millions?" she asked.
"Our members risk their safety every day to protect jobcentre workers and visitors. G4S can afford to pay them a decent wage, so why don’t they?"
PCS and GMB are also seeking the reinstatement of differentials for supervisors on the DWP contract. They have observed that supervisors are currently paid just 1p an hour more than the colleagues they oversee.
A strike in the dispute held back in May stopped 70 jobcentres from being able to offer "business as usual" services, around 10% of the total number of jobcentres in England and Wales. Other DWP sites were also affected.
Prisoner-release fears
Last week, the GMB warned that the new government's plans to free up prison spaces by releasing some categories of offender after they serve just 40% of their sentence – down from the current 50% – could be a "perfect storm" for jobcentre security.
It said a survey taken before the Ministry of Justice's plans were announced last month found more than 80% of jobcentre security staff regularly faced abuse at work, including "being savaged in the neck by dogs, punched, attacked with screwdrivers and customers behaving ‘like wild animals’".
GMB national officer Eamon O’Hearn said that while jobcentre security guards routinely experienced abuse on the job, they feared the early-release scheme – which comes into effect from 10 September – could drastically increase the risks they face.
"With the increase in ex-cons being released early, we could see a perfect storm for chaos, abuse and disorder in jobcentres," he said.
"Unless these workers are offered a fair pay deal, that reflects the risks inherent in their work, they will have no option [but] to continue industrial action."
Last week, the PCS union also raised concerns about plans to cut 25 security-guard posts at jobcentres across the nation. It said the proposals could be the subject of further strike action.
PCS has around 400 members working for G4S on the DWP contract. GMB has around 1,500 members on the contract.
CSW sought a G4S response to the latest strike dates. It had not provided one at the time of publication.