Staff at Kirkby Job Centre may find that they are themselves out of work as New Labours piecemeal privatisation of the Country continues to see public services given over in bulk to the private sector. Kirkby Times has already reported on the duplication of job centre work here in Kirkby by private agencies and 'projects', led by Kirkby's 'left'. Now we hear there is to be 18,000 redundancies of benefit agency and job centre staff. Today, Kirkby Job centre and the Benefit Agency buildings were closed due to a strike by workers. They were among some 90,000 civil servants who walked out today, the biggest such action since the days of the Tories.

Below: Sign on Job Centre claims office is closed due to 'exceptional circumstances.

The above photo shows the actual notice put up to explain why Kirkby Job centre, and the Benefit Agency building were closed. Why is a strike being described as 'exceptional circumstances'? - a strike is a strike, and it seems that in Bliars Britain they don't even want to mention the word. We wonder who stuck this notice up? - was it the management of Kirkby Job Centre or the Benefit Agency? If so, your dubious attempts at spin-doctoring has been captured for us to gaze upon. Your workforce was on strike because of low pay and bullying heavy-handed management. The DWP management described the action as 'completely indefensible' - I'd say underpaying workers or crossing a picket line is 'completely indefensible'. The DWP claimed on the BBC website that 'the majority of job centres remained open'. Do they mean that management and a few Judas's managed to man the phones? - it seems so. What Centres were open were severely disrupted as seen below.

St Helens Job Centre

On the notice is a phone number for St Helens Job Centre Plus, upon phoning this number I was answered by a worker who informed me that "The job centre was closed due to industrial action" - I asked him was he in a Union - to which he replied "no" - and confessed that only a few workers were in the office. This was a skeleton crew - but we hope the Union will investigate. When your fellow workers go on strike, it is your duty to follow them. All for one and one for all. It's the only way we will win.

The Job Centre.

Years ago to get a job you went to the job centre. This makes sense as the jobs advertised would be legitimate ones and people got used to this system. Nowadays we have dozens maybe hundreds of small and large agencies who make money by robbing the workers wage. Employers hire labour through agencies instead of using the job centre. They stand between an employer and your pocket. All they are is a barrier to your getting a decent wage. Firms who wish to avoid paying National insurance and taxes will stay clear of the job centres. Hundreds of thousands of illegal and on the side workers drain the economy along with the calculated fraud committed by the bosses who employ them. There is a lot of sense in using the system of government run job centres and abolishing agencies.

Heroin Addiction a better earner!

The average wage for DWP staff is some £13,400, but 10,000 DWP staff earn less than £11,000. Some people on benefits are getting more than the people handing them out. A local heroin addict would rake in more than some of the staff at Kirkby Job centre. What sort of messed up Country are we creating here?

Funded 'Alternative' Job Centres

Liverpool's left wing has long been involved in welfare advice, and then employment advice seemed to attract grants so several schemes were duly set up to advice unemployed and offer a very similar service to the job centre. Local staff at Kirkby Job Centre would be shocked to hear what people in Kirkby's SRB funded 'alternative' job finding services are earning. We bet that these secretly (no-one will tell us how much has been spent) funded subsidised schemes are simply a way in which to gradually privatise the job centres work completely. New Labour are privatising everything and the left wing in Kirkby have actively encouraged and participated in it. Kirkby Unemployed Centre have had cash threw at them by the bagful ever since they agreed to back New Labours various plans for the Unemployed.

All Out & Ditch New Labour.

Kirkby Times wishes all the local staff at Kirkby Job Centre all the best for the second day of the strike tomorrow. Perhaps the PCS Union may care to look at the example set by the Rail Union and vote to sever links with themselves and the New Labour Party. The unions, by their patronisation of the Labour Party, are in effect, contributing funds to pay for their own destruction. Union members should take note that they are often in conflict with their own FAT CAT leaders whenever they take action. The days of Union leaders picking up more than the workers has to end, Union leaders with Knighthoods are hardly inspiring to workers earning a mere pittance. Going on strike should once again be taken up by the British worker and used as a tool to safeguard our rights as employees. It is not a reckless action it is simply a sensible tactic which working people need to employ to ensure WE have the upper hand and not the bosses. Bullying tactics by managers in the DWP has been noted and Kirkby Times would be interested in any thoughts that DWP workers have on this matter and all the issues at hand.

Strike deliberately under-reported?

I took some photos of the Job Centre, and in the couple of minutes I was there, at least half a dozen people tried to open the door. We wonder would New Labour sneakily keep the news of the strike quiet so they can perhaps get the unemployed turning against the DWP staff?

Good luck for tomorrow.