Unions attack closure of 90 tax offices across the UK
The UK government appears to be on a collision course with unions after the announcement of 90 tax office closures across the UK. These closures are rumoured to put around 3,400 jobs at risk at a time when the government had promised increased investment in public services. The unions have been quiet of late, after flexing their muscles earlier in the year, but this latest fallout appears to put both parties on a collision course.
The move to close the tax offices came out of the blue and was totally unexpected with nothing flagged or rumoured prior to the announcement. Many unions had been expecting increased spending in public services which would have seen many of their members employment opportunities increase rather than reduced. To balance the argument, there is a need for the government to cut costs in certain areas and use savings to invest into other areas of public service. Quite why the tax office has been chosen is uncertain but no doubt we will hear the reasons in due course.
It will be interesting to see how the government and unions decide to tackle this problem as industrial action is the last thing which both parties need and want at this moment in time.
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