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Disputes over office attendance have spread across Britain’s public sector, with Land Registry staff ordered to return to their desks and set to begin indefinite industrial action this month.
The public and commercial services union said on Wednesday that it would not be allowed to operate from January 21 after 4,000 members across 14 of its offices in England and Wales voted in favor of strike action in December. He announced that he would refuse to represent a colleague or take on any additional duties. .
The union is objecting to a new requirement for employees to work three days a week, which became a rule for the entire civil service last year. They are also concerned about new systems for tracking individual performance, saying staff are being given more duties without additional pay.
The three-day requirement is less stringent than what many white-collar workers in the private sector face, as major employers have tightened their work-from-home mandates.
Advertising group WPP this week became the latest major employer to tighten work attendance rules, following similar moves by PwC, Santander, Asda and Amazon.
Think tank Center for Cities found last year that government workers in London spend less time in the office than their private sector counterparts, working an average of 2.2 days a week, compared to 2.4 days a week for finance workers. , revealed that the total time is 2.6 days. private sector.
But unions representing public sector workers say that against a backdrop of severe wage restraints, it will be important to widen access to hybrid and other forms of flexible working, rather than restricting it. .
Paul Nowak, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, which represents Britain’s trade union movement, said in a recent interview with the Financial Times that flexible working is the key to tackling the recruitment and retention crisis in the NHS, schools and the general public. He said that was the key. sector.
“Of course, teachers can also prepare lessons outside of the school environment, and if that allows them to balance work and life a little more effectively, that would be a good thing,” he said. , added: We do not believe that there is a one-size-fits-all way to deliver public services. ”
PCS is already leading industrial action over the Office for National Statistics’ attendance rules, with staff there taking action short of a strike since May. PCS members working for the Metropolitan Police launched industrial action this week in the wake of a similar dispute.
The union is also campaigning for a four-day week for members in the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Department of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
The Land Registry said the PCS measures would have a “minimal” impact on its services and that it would respond as necessary to maintain vital services that support the property market.
But the agency is still struggling with a backlog built up during the post-pandemic housing boom and is looking to hire additional caseworkers and increase automation.
PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said the Land Registry’s management was imposing changes to working conditions without prior agreement and needed to find a solution to “regain some of the goodwill we need to move forward”. He said there is.
