CSA lashed over alleged union-busting

August 4, 2010

The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) has lambasted the Child Support Agency amidst claims of harassment, bullying and the dismissal of union representatives.

The PCS has called upon the select committee for the Dept of Work and Pensions to conduct an inquiry following the sacking of Sam Buckley, a PCS branch secretary and the fifth union representative to be fired from the Child Support Agency office based in Hastings in nearly three years.

Managers at the office have stated that Buckley was sacked for “incapability”, and strenuously deny that the dismissal was related to Buckley’s claims that managers were ignoring employment law and ACAS guidelines.

The office has lost two secretaries, a pair of vice-chairman and a chairman since 2007. A tribunal found that chairman Eddie Fleming had been dismissed unfairly; even so, managers refused to reinstate him.

In another case, Winston Resalsingh was fired for raising the issue of discrimination after, on numerous occasions, he had been refused time to attend a committee meeting for black members.

Following an investigation, the decision was overturned as managers had not shown impartiality or understood the correct procedure to take. Mr Resalsingh returned to his job and received a settlement, but to date has not received an apology.

An attempt had been made to reprimand Chris Brambleby, the branch chairman, as he had represented Mr Resalsingh. However, the action was dropped following the alleged doctoring of minutes of a meeting involving Mr Brambleby.

The PCS labelled Hastings CSA as “the Bermuda triangle of the Civil Service” due to their view that anyone who stands up to its management ‘disappears’, and accused the department of calculated union-busting.

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