Archway Tower civil servants stage one-day walkout
Published: 6th May, 2011
by PETER GRUNER
UP to 200 Archway-based civil servants fighting a move to Birmingham were offered a lifeline this week when it emerged that a parliamentary committee could investigate their case.
The all-party Public Accounts Committee, chaired by former Labour Minister Margaret Hodge – a former leader of Islington Council – is being asked to decide whether the move, which will cost taxpayers £22m, is good value.
The news was relayed to pickets on Tuesday when the civil servants who work at the Office of the Public Guardian, based in the 17-storey Archway Tower, staged a one-day walkout.
Islington North Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn and the council’s Labour leader, Councillor Catherine West, turned up to support the pickets.
Cllr West said: “There are shops closing all the time in Archway. We just can’t afford to lose as many workers as this.”
Hundreds of residents and traders signed a petition calling for the office to be kept in Archway. Opponents say the move will devastate the local economy, with dozens of shops, cafés and restaurants losing trade.
Phil Cosgrove, chairman of the Public and Commercial Services Union’s Islington branch, said: “We can show the committee that, rather than saving money, this move will actually be extremely costly.”
He added: “We have got a five-year lease at Archway Tower, which means there is no reason to shift the operation to Birmingham and spend even more money on another building.
“They are replacing trained staff in London with untrained workers in Birmingham and creating a glorified call centre. This is diminishing the service we give to the public.”
The office deals with people seeking a lasting power of attorney over relatives whose mental illness makes them unable to take decisions.
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 will provide a better and more cost-effective service through locating the majority of business away from London.”
The jobs of 250 civil servants who work for the Court of Protection at Archway Tower are safe, at least for the time being.