PCS Scotland Press Release - “WICK WON WORK” UNION VICTORY

“WICK WON WORK” UNION VICTORY

Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) members and the people in the town of Wick are today celebrating a successful campaign to keep the Wick tax office open until 2014. 

A "model campaign" to prevent the closure of a tax office in a small town in the far north of Scotland has successfully won a reprieve, the PCS union announces.

"WON" Logo - available in a variety of colours!

The union-led Wick Wants Work campaign, launched seven months ago to stop the planned closure of the office in 2012, has won support from members of the public, politicians from all parties and other trade unions, notably the Scottish Trades Union Congress.



As a result HM Revenue and Customs senior management has announced the office, which employs just 20 staff but covers a geographical area the size of Belgium, will stay open until 2014.

The town offers no other redeployment opportunities and the union has pledged to continue to fight to keep the office open permanently.

Like others across the UK, tax compliance staff in Wick work to help tackle the estimated £120 billion in taxes that are evaded, avoided or uncollected every year.

PCS Scottish Secretary Lynn Henderson said: "This has been a fantastic campaign which has been fought and won locally.  I am proud of the role PCS members have played in the campaign and not only has it put Wick on the map for those fighting the Con Dem cuts, but can be held up as an exemplar campaign model across the trade union movement involving communities and trade unions locally and nationally.

"Our members have vowed to continue with campaign and to stand shoulder to shoulder with the local community to ensure the threat of closure is withdrawn.”

PCS Office Secretary Allan Tait said “we have put a tremendous amount of effort into the campaign and I would like to thank everyone for their support to date.  This is, however, not the end of the campaign but simply an important key milestone.  We have a long a very long road ahead of us until we achieve our ultimate goal which is to remove the closure threat completely.”


ENDS


Notes
The Public & Commercial Services Union represents over 270,000 members in the civil and public services and in the privatised commercial sector, over 34,000 of which are in Scotland.  It is the 5th largest trade union affiliated to the TUC and STUC. The general secretary is Mark Serwotka and the president is Janice Godrich - on Twitter @ janicegodrich.  The Scottish secretary is Lynn Henderson.

- Follow PCS Scotland on Twitter @pcs_scotland

Huzzah!

Thanks to James in Campaigns for this:

Snappier than "Wick Got Work" - the perils of trying to break news!  This is the line we're using now...

NEWSFLASH - WICK GOT WORK!

WICK GOT WORK!

We are absolutely ecstatic to report the news that HMRC at 2pm today announced to Campaigning PCS Members in the Wick Tax Office that in the face of massive political pressure, the decision has been taken to retain an office presence in Wick until at least 2014.

The Wick Wants Work campaign has, over the last seven months, worked hard to build the profile and the political contact that led to this Political pressure being applied, and our thanks are due to everyone who has shared the message and supported the Campaign.

Formed and directed by Members of the Public & Commercial Services Union, the Campaign has benefitted hugely from the support of the public in Caithness and across Scotland, and of PCS Reps, Members and other Trade Unionists, in  particular the General Council and Staff of the Scottish Trades Union Congress.

Wick is a unique place, with Unique characteristics.  A wee town in the far North of Scotland, it represented a Unique challenge in terms of the complete lack of redeployment opportunities for staff should the Office have Closed, and the Geographical Area covered by the office (an area the size of Belgium) added weight to the message that the retention of HMRC Compliance Work was vital.

Welcoming the decision today, the Executive Committe of PCS for members in Revenue & Customs offered particular congratulations and Thanks to Allan Tait, local PCS Office Secretary in Wick, to Lewis Bevan,Lorna Merry and Simon Boniface as the negotiating team, and to the members of the Executive that have been active in supporting the Campaign.

Whilst very happy with the reprieve provided by today's announcement, Campaigners are clear that the Campaign is not over, and that the fight to retain these jobs, and to bring more work to Caithness, both in HMRC and in other areas of both the Public and the Private Sectors will continue.

Thanks again to everyone for your support thus far, and for the support that you will give in the future.  Today's news once again demonstrates that when the political will is there, no fate, no matter how bleakly it is presented, is absolute.  The about turn by HMRC on Wick is a win for the Campaign, and is a win for campaigners against closures across the UK.

Wick Got Work because of you.  Thank you.