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Union officials Austin Harney and Phil Cosgrove outside the Archway Tower |
500 JOBS GO AS CIVIL SERVICE QUITS TOWER
Departure of office workers a ‘disaster’ for shops and cafés
UP to 500 civil service jobs will be lost in Archway, bringing economic “devastation” to an area already struggling to survive the recession.
Staff at the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) at 17-storey Archway Tower are being moved North or re-deployed across London over three years to save money, it was announced this week.
The move has been described as a “disaster” for the local economy. Dozens of shops, cafés and restaurants have trade boosted by the office workers.
It’s the biggest single loss of jobs in Islington since 500 redundancies were announced two months ago by Holloway-based London Metropolitan University.
The OPG “supports and promotes decision making for those who lack capacity”. Staff visit thousands of mentally and physically disabled people in the South-east.
The Public and Commercial Services Union, which is fighting the job losses, claims that the department will be replaced by a “poorly staffed, glorified call centre”.
Islington North Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn fears that, with dozens of unused office blocks in the capital, the Archway Tower could remain empty for a long time, ending up a white elephant. He added: “The tower was built by London Transport in 1967 and has been a fantastic drain on public expenditure.
“The OPG paid for an extremely expensive refurbish of the building only a few years ago. I suspect the building will now revert to its former state of being empty, with the local economy suffering from the lack of expenditure from people working in the tower.”
Kate Calvert, chairwoman of Better Archway Forum, said the job losses were a terrible blow at a time when the area was trying to improve its neglected image.
She added: “These 500 civil servants animate the area and spend their money here during the day and often in the evenings.
“We hope that the tower doesn’t end up a white elephant. In the past when we have approached the owners of the building they haven’t wanted to talk to us.”
Phil Cosgrove, 51, chairman of the Public and Commercial Services Union’s Islington branch, said: “Many people, including myself, have built their life in London and don’t want to move.
“At the same time the majority of our clients live in the South. They include people suffering from dementia and other disablements.
“Under the proposed new service, instead of dedicated officers visiting people in their homes, there will be a call centre system in Birmingham and Nottingham. We’ve all had experience of call centres.”
Another union official, Austin Harney, said his members were extremely depressed by the threat of the move. “We’re not top civil servant mandarins,” he added. “Our members are on a minimum of £15,000, which will be reduced if they are forced out of London.”
Mr Corbyn, commenting on the change in OPG services, said: “These ought to be delivered face to face, not by a remote and faceless call centre.
“Many families and people facing enormous stress need to talk to somebody in front of them, not down a phone.”
The jobs reorganisation has been recommended by Sir Michael Lyons, who in a report has called for 2,000 civil servants to be moved out of London.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said: “The Office of the Public Guardian has already seen growth in its business beyond expectations, and plans to continue to grow in the future. Quite apart from the limits on capacity in Archway Tower, the nature of OPG business is such that we can and will provide a better and more cost effective service through locating the majority of business away from London.
“OPG will still retain some presence in the city. We have started the process of change and expect to have successfully transformed the OPG over a three-year period.
“Where individuals’ roles do move out of London, the OPG and the Ministry of Justice will naturally seek to re-assign or re-deploy staff wherever possible, in line with the department’s redeployment policy.” |
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