Anger at customs office closures

PCS members are already being balloted on national strike action

A public sector union has reacted angrily to plans by HM Revenue and Customs to close offices across the north east of England.

The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) said the move would lead to the loss of about 800 jobs and the relocation of up to 2,000 workers.

Under modernisation plans, 11 offices will be axed on Tyneside and Wearside, and three in the Tees Valley area.

The announcement comes as PCS is balloting on strike action.

Offices will be vacated in phased operations from 2008. They include sites in Stockton, Middlesbrough, Darlington, Durham, Sunderland, Washington and Newcastle.

'Travelling times'

Brendon Kelly, PCS Branch Secretary of the Northumberland and Durham branch, said the news was disappointing.

He said: "Our members have just been told by their managers today which of the retained sites that they will be relocated to.

"For many this will mean a considerable increase in the time taken travelling to work on already heavily congested routes.

"These times will be substantially more than the estimated travelling times that HMRC have put forward."

Mike Hanson, HMRC director general responsible for the programme, said: "These decisions are the latest to emerge from a nationwide series of reviews designed to create the future shape of the department.

"In arriving at them, we've engaged widely with trades unions, MPs, local authorities and a range of customer groups as well as with our own employees.

"Their feedback, together with feasibility studies carried out by our professional estates and IT partners, have given us a robust basis for the conclusions being announced today."