More than 1,000 members of the Public and Commercial Services union say they will not be ‘forced back’ to the office
Employees at the Office for National Statistics (ONS) are refusing to obey an instruction to spend two days a week in offices, it has been revealed.
Over 1,000 members of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS), based in different locations including Newport in South Wales, Hampshire’s Titchfield, London, Darlington, Manchester, and Edinburgh, have already voted in favour of strikes and other forms of industrial action in protest at the drive for more office-based working. PCS members account for around a quarter of the ONS workforce.
The union disclosed that from May 8, their members will defy the directive. While many employees voluntarily spend more than 40% of their work hours in the office, the PCS claim that frustration is mounting regarding the arbitrary nature of the new instruction.
A spokesperson for the PCS said: “Following a promise by management that staff could continue to work flexibly after the Covid pandemic, some workers started families, moved house and made other long-term commitments, safe in the knowledge, they thought, their working conditions were secure.”
General secretary of the PCS, Fran Heathcote, said: “Our members are a highly skilled and capable workforce and they deserve to be treated as such, showing for several years they can successfully manage hybrid working. The new policy threatens serious disruption, especially for staff with childcare and other caring responsibilities, and those who live a considerable distance from their designated office.”
She added: “The workforce at ONS is spread across the UK, meaning that regardless of where staff perform their work, most meetings and collaboration must have a virtual presence. Mandated office attendance removes the flexibility and trust that was promised to staff by senior leaders, which staff understandably shaped their lives around, for the sake of meeting an unnecessary attendance percentage.”
A spokesperson for the Office for National Statistics said: “We continue to engage with our departmental trade unions and are disappointed PCS has chosen to take industrial action despite the range of flexibilities built into our hybrid working arrangements.
“While we do not expect this action to have any significant impact on the production of key ONS statistics, we believe firmly that a reasonable level of office attendance – in line with the wider Civil Service- is in the best interests of the ONS and all our colleagues. Face-to-face interaction supports personal collaboration, learning and innovation.”
