The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) has welcomed calls by the Work and Pension Parliamentary Select Committee for the immediate suspension of government plans to cut 25 per cent of jobs in the Child Support Agency (CSA).
Supporting the recommendation made by the select committee today in a report on the CSA’s performance, the union maintained that it would be “ludicrous” to cut jobs given the huge backlog generated by recent IT problems.
However, the union also cautioned against scrapping the agency, arguing that it would only lead to even greater uncertainty for users and staff alike, and called for a period of stability.
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PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka, said: “The committee are right to call for a suspension of such massive job cuts in the CSA. It would be sheer lunacy to plough on with cutting a quarter of the workforce while you have thousands of hardworking staff trying to clear the backlog with, effectively, one hand tied behind their backs.
“Some serious questions need to be answered, which is why we support the committee’s call for a National Audit Office investigation in to the background to the contract with the IT suppliers to the Department for Work and Pensions,” he said.
