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PCS - criminal enforcement staff to take action against privatisation

Our members who collect court fines, chase up unpaid fines and breached warrants are taking action.

Criminal enforcement staff working in about 150 workplaces will stage a two-hour walkout on Tuesday (30 July) over the government’s plans to privatise the enforcement and collection of criminal fines and fixed penalties  

The staff are often placed in stressful or upsetting situations as they deal with phone calls from the public. Tuesday’s walkout will cause particular problems for the employer as it will impact on its end of month collection totals. It will also have an effect on the public in terms of phones being unanswered and queries not being dealt with.

Companies cash in

The privatisation could see large global companies like G4S, Serco and Capita being handed lucrative contracts to do this work. Earlier this month, it was reported that G4S and Serco have overcharged the government by as much as £50 million for electronic criminal offender tagging.

Now almost 1,000 staff face being privatised despite meeting targets and improving collection rates by 15% last year. Private bailiffs collecting fines succeed in less than 20% of cases and there are also major concerns about the misrepresentation of powers and intimidating tactics being used by these bailiffs.

Invest in justice

This privatisation could again see chaos in our justice system, leave vulnerable people at the mercy of rogue bailiffs and offer no value for the taxpayer. We believe that the fines collected should be invested to fund the effective delivery of our justice system rather than lining the pockets of wealthy shareholders.

A PCS spokesperson said: “Our members within the criminal enforcement department take great pride in the service that they provide. We are determined to fight against plans to privatise the organisation and turn it over to the hands of companies whose only aim is to make huge profits for themselves and their shareholders.”

Sign our e-action today at pcs.org.uk/justicenotforsale

• Posted by: PCS at 6:38am on 26 July 2013
• Filed under: Privatisation, Protest

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