Lucy Burton
Fri, 5 April 2024
empty office
Civil servants at Britain’s official statistics body have voted to go on strike after being asked to work in the office for two days a week.
A total of 73pc of voting employees backed industrial action at the Office for National Statistics (ONS) because they want to keep the option of working from home full time.
The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union, which is spearheading the push for action, has called for urgent talks with ONS officials to resolve the dispute.
It previously argued that many workers only accepted a job at the ONS because of home working, saying that the plan to force workers to spend at least 40pc of their time in the office has “caused considerable disruption, especially for staff with childcare and other caring arrangements”.
Fran Heathcote, general secretary of PCS, said that ONS bosses had “seriously undermined the trust and goodwill of their staff by seeking to drive this policy through in such a heavy-handed way”. She called for the policy to be paused immediately.
It is the latest pushback from staff who want to continue working from home as bosses increasingly demand an end to remote practices.
Ministers have been trying to pressure Whitehall staff back into the office at least 60pc of the time, or three days a week for full-time staff, over fears that working from home has reduced productivity and increased waiting times for services.
Around 1,200 employees balloted for a strike but only half of that number voted, a turnaround which only just hit the legal threshold for a ballot.
An ONS spokesman said that the organisation has had a hybrid working model for several years, in line with the wider civil service.
He added: “Face-to-face interaction supports collaboration and fosters learning and innovation, while some tasks can be done as effectively or even more effectively at home.
“We are applying this flexibly to help balance business and personal needs, and have offered all colleagues extensive support.”
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