HMRC workers begin strike action over pay

HMRC staff in Newcastle and East Kilbride are set to go on strike for a total of 18 days from today (10 May) until 2 June over pay, pensions, job security and redundancy terms. 

The striking staff, who are members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union, are those working in Personal Taxation Operations on Employer Services in East Kilbride and Benton Park View in Newcastle.

The union said the action will cause disruption to customer services teams where there has already been a “significant” loss of experience, following HMRC’s major office closure programme. 

It added that the strike will affect the Employer Helpline (EHL) and Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) helpline as well as HMRC’s webchat services. Additionally, there will be a “severe impact” on the Student Loans Unit. 

PCS noted that EHL and CIS customer-facing roles are “highly technical”, but EHL’s basic training, which used to be a four-month course, has now been cut to six weeks, while “staff retention is poor and teams are overstretched”.

It warned that HMRC will “struggle to mitigate against the impact of the action” given the specialist nature of the work, adding that the impact of strike action will “fall heavily” on agents, accountants and professional services companies as well as small businesses.  

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: “In HMRC alone, almost one in three staff are now on the National Minimum Wage. In DWP one in five staff are having to claim in-work benefits. These people are the government’s own workforce, who are suffering the consequence of year after consecutive year of meagre pay rises leaving tens of thousands of them in financial crisis.

“We will not accept being left behind. We will not accept being treated like the poor relation. PCS members are determined to keep the pressure on until the government improves its offer to us.”

Workers will be on strike from 10-12, 15-19, 22-26, 29-31 May and on 1 and 2 June.