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CLYDEBANK BENEFIT CENTRE TO BE AXED
- 130 STAFF SET TO BE OFFERED REDEPLOYMENT
- MP RAISES CONCERNS WITH UK BENEFITS MINISTER
Local MP Gemma Doyle has branded DWP's planned closure of its Clydebank contact centre "deeply disappointing" and has raised concerns with a UK Government Minister over the announcement.
The Department for Work and Pensions has announced today (13 May) that the Clydebank Jobcentre Plus contact centre will be closed. DWP says staff at the centre will be offered redeployment at centres in Paisley and Glasgow, and that the closure will not affect services offered to Jobcentre customers.
Gemma Doyle has today had talks with UK Benefits Minister, Chris Grayling, where she raised concerns about the decision to take jobs away from Clydebank.
West Dunbartonshire MP Gemma Doyle said, "It is deeply disappointing that the DWP want to close the contact centre and take 130 jobs away from Clydebank. No doubt it will strike people as deeply ironic that the Government's actions will take Jobcentre jobs out of an area with high levels of unemployment.
"Although the DWP has offered strong assurances that staff will be redeployed they must accept that some workers may be constrained financially, or through family commitments, from moving their place of work. I would expect DWP to consider individual workers' circumstances closely and sympathetically through this process.
"I also have serious concerns about the lack of any significant consultation process with staff prior to these plans being announced. I would expect the DWP to work with staff and invite views on their proposals rather than just presenting them as a fait accomplis as they have done.
"I have raised these concerns with the minister. I will be watching this situation closely and if there is evidence of staff being treated unfairly during this process, the Minister knows he'll be hearing from me."