WIREDGOV

An overtime ban involving 70,000 PCS members working for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) began this week, as the department spends millions on the use of overtime to mask the true impact of job cuts.

The union is calling on HMRC to employ permanent staff rather than relying on routine overtime to cover the loss of just under 19,000 jobs over the last three years.

During that period the department have become increasingly reliant on using overtime and temporary staff to clear backlogs of work and post which have built up due to job cuts.

Just in the processing area of HMRC alone, £4.5 million or 10% of the area’s budget was spent in the last financial year on overtime.

This is money which the union argues would be better invested in permanent staff to provide a better service and to chase the £25.8 billion of uncollected tax.

The continuous overtime ban follows strong support for the action with 70% of those taking part in a recent ballot supporting the action.

Commenting, Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary, said: "HMRC’s growing reliance on overtime to mask 19,000 job cuts is unsustainable and unacceptable. Services to the public are suffering as the department seeks to cut a total of 25,000 jobs by 2011.

"This is a situation which will get worse with less and less staff and not enough hours in the day to get the job done. The department should be hiring staff rather than firing them and spending millions on overtime to clear backlogs and get the work done.

"It make no sense to be cutting jobs during a recession especially when there is £25.8 billion of tax going uncollected. The millions spent on overtime would be better spent on permanent staff to provide a better service and to chase the £25.8 billion of uncollected tax."