Union calls on civil servants to resist return to the office

THE Civil Service’s biggest union is encouraging its members to make formal complaints to managers about the return-to-office push.

The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) has given members template grievance letters to submit to managers, voicing opposition to Government plans requiring increased workplace attendance.

The PCS said the letters were part of an action plan agreed by its national executive committee in response to calls for civil servants to work in the office at least 60 per cent of the time.

As well as encouraging workers to lodge formal complaints, the PCS is asking branches and groups in the Civil Service to canvass support for industrial action.

Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg accused the union of being a “leech” on the taxpayer. He said: “Unions do not seek a fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay but money for nothing. They are leeches on the taxpayer.”

It comes after the PCS called for staff to be given a four-day week for the same pay, and after workers at the Office for National Statistics (ONS) voted to strike over going back to the workplace.

At the ONS, 73 per cent of voting employees have backed strike action after being told to work in the office for at least two days a week.

Fran Heathcote, the PCS general secretary, accused the ONS of “undermining” the goodwill of its staff “by seeking to drive this policy through in such a heavy-handed way”.

The policy was announced after ministers ordered senior civil servants to spend more time working in the office.

In November, the Cabinet Office set out expectations for managers to spend 60 per cent of working week in the office to increase face-to-face contact with junior colleagues.

Ministers have been cracking down on working from home amid concerns over a fall in productivity.

HM Revenue and Customs, in particular, has come under fire for its poor customer service, with official statistics showing that taxpayers currently have to wait 23 minutes on average before an adviser picks up the phone.

The tax office has insisted there is no connection between its long waiting times and the hybrid working policy.

A survey of PCS members last year revealed that the vast majority say hybrid working makes them more productive, while 100 per cent say increased office work would lose them time and add to their commuting costs.

The PCS declined to comment.