| A change in “business process” means the employment agency is planning to axe 500 posts at its call centres across Great Britain.
Fears were raised the move would mean Dundee job losses after a meeting was held at Lindsay House in the city’s Ward Road centre earlier this week to inform staff of the moves.
One staff member contacted the Tele claiming administrative workers had been told they were no longer needed.
The man, who asked to remain anonymous, said, “I work for Jobcentre Plus contact centre in Lindsay House. We were pulled into a meeting and told our department was to be made surplus to requirements.”
But a spokesperson for the Department of Work and Pensions, who manage Jobcentre Plus, moved to dismiss speculation of job losses in Dundee.
She said, “There are no plans to ‘run down’ the work of Dundee Contact Centre or to reduce the number of contact centres from which services are delivered.
“Along with the rest of the Jobcentre Plus, contact centres aim to deliver an efficient and cost effective service.
“Efficiencies over the next year will see a broad headcount reduction across the whole of the contact centre operation of around 500.
“This reduction is expected to be achieved through natural wastage.”
Ali Arnott, branch secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union in Tayside, also said it was too early to talk of job losses.
He said the national process would take a “long time” and the full impact was not yet clear.
He added, “There is a change of process being rolled out throughout the country. What this means is some work previously carried out by clerical grade workers will be transferred to Jobcentre Plus employment officers.
“It does mean some of the clerical grade work will disappear. But at this stage it is clear nothing will happen overnight.
“Whether it will mean job losses in the future or not we don’t know — the first step will be to consider redeployment.
“The meeting was to let the clerical workers know this was to happen.
“I can understand why someone has reacted in this way and feels they are now ‘surplus to requirements’. But certainly the contact centre won’t be closing down.
“Obviously I have concerns these clerical jobs will disappear.
“We will be seeking to make sure every effort is taken to find other jobs for those who want them.” |
