MORE than 500 civil servants walked out of Government offices at
Meadowbank House in Edinburgh yesterday in protest at a decision to
force staff to compete for their own jobs against private sector bids.
It was announced yesterday to the union side at the Land Register
Department that Ministers decided on Friday to proceed with the first
competitive tendering exercise, which will cover 337 jobs in
reprographics, typing, and messenger services.
The National Union of Civil and Public Servants and the Civil and
Public Servants' Association called a meeting in the office car park and
members voted overwhelmingly not to return to work in the afternoon in
protest at the decision, which they said contradicted assurances given
on consultation.
Ms Sanjit Kaur, who chairs the NUCPS branch at the Land Register, said
consultants Touche Ross had been given the go-ahead to prepare the
specifications for the tendering process, with these 337 jobs only phase
one. ''Our experience is that very few in-house bids win, and when they
do they inevitably result in a worsening of pay and conditions for those
involved,'' she said.
Of the 1200 staff at the department 1000 are in the trade unions and
more than half of those attended the meeting. Ms Kaur pointed up at the
windows to those in personnel and finance who had not come out and
accused them of being short-sighted, as their turn would come next.
She said: ''Over one-third of Scottish Office departments identified
for competitive tendering were from here, so this is the fastest moving
department. We are at the sharp end.''
The CPSA's branch secretary, Mr Rab Devine, said Ministers had rubber
stamped the proposals (first leaked through the media last spring), and
yesterday's walk-out would mark the start of a campaign to resist the
process.
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