 Unions have threatened strikes over the job losses |
Staff at employment and benefit offices in Fife have staged an unofficial walkout in protest at civil service job cuts, it has been reported. The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) said the action was staged after car park meetings over news that an office in Kirkcaldy will be closed.
Up to 60 workers are employed by the service in Fife but it is not known how many are involved in Thursday's strike.
The closure of five Scottish offices was announced earlier in the day.
They are the Coatbridge jobcentre, the Job Centre Plus contact site in Provan, Glasgow, and social security offices in Hamilton and Perth.
A total of 37 social security offices and jobcentres are being shut across the UK.
It is not yet clear how many Scottish jobs will be lost but the PCS said up to 2,000 jobs were under threat.
"This is the first phase in the decimation of services to the vulnerable," said PCS official Mark Serwotka.
Workers 'angry'
"Workers will be angry, worried and extremely concerned about their future."
He said the union would be seeking an urgent meeting with Work and Pensions Secretary Alan Johnson.
Mr Serwotka added that it was more important than ever that civil servants voted to support a one-day strike on 5 November in protest at job losses.
However a spokeswoman for the Department for Work and Pensions stressed that no-one had been told that they would lose their jobs and that every effort would be made to maintain employment for as many staff as possible.
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