More than half of HM Revenue & Customs staff polled have voted for industrial action in a dispute over jobs and privatisation, which is expected to affect a range of services from tax advice to call centre support.
The Public and Commercial Services union, which represents 55,000 HMRC members, said in a statement that an additional four out of five of its members had backed industrial action short of a strike.
HMRC said that only 33.3% turned out for the vote, but added that it was “disappointed” with the decision to strike and would do everything it could to maintain services during industrial action. "We are seeking dialogue with the PCS to address their concerns and will work to minimise any disruption to customers if PCS call a strike," it said.
The union is fighting plans to cut a further 10,000 jobs from the department by 2014/15. Since 2005, 30,000 posts have been cut and the union says that this means there are not enough people to collect all of the taxes that are due.
The PCS cited analysis by Richard Murphy, which shows that more than £120 billion is lost to the public finances every year through evaded, avoided and uncollected tax. It is also opposing a pilot project that is using private companies to handle tax credit inquiries in two centres in Cumbria and West Lothian.
PCS general secretary, Mark Serwotka, said: "When reducing the budget deficit is supposedly the government’s number one priority, it makes absolutely no economic sense to cut ever more staff from the very department responsible for collecting the taxes that fund all our other public services. The Government should be investing to improve services, tackle the tax dodgers and get our economy back on its feet.”
Union reps at HMRC will meet in the coming weeks to decide what action to take. The PCS union is considering whether its members should join doctors in industrial action on 21 June.
One Response
Fire them
Will we notice the difference? Last time I came through Heathrow, there were two people checking passports and 10 people watching them work from the gantries. Clearly public service reforms have some way to go. HMRC seem immune to the idea of customer service. If Tesco behaved in this way, they would be out of business.