TAX staff in Ealing will launch a campaign of industrial action today (Thursday) to stop office closures. It could involve strikes to coincide with self-assessment deadline day.
Members of the Public and Commercial Services Union voted overwhelmingly to take a rolling programme of strike action, starting with a half-day walkout today at International House in Ealing High Street.
If the office does not remain open, staff have committed to taking action on January 31, causing disruption on one of the key dates for tax collection.
General secretary Mark Serwotka said: “HMRC staff at Ealing are standing up for tax workers across the country by trying to prevent the closure of their office.
“The Government is already failing to collect huge amounts of tax, yet the obsession with cost-cutting means more jobs and skills will be lost due to its office closure plan.”
An HMRC spokesperson said: “We will do everything possible to take the individual circumstances of Ealing staff into account well before the scheduled moves to our new Canary Wharf or Stratford Regional Centre sites.”
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