Meeting to highlight jobs threat to Down

Meeting to highlight jobs threat to Down

22 August 2012

A PUBLIC meeting in support of local Social Security workers battling relocation is being held in Downpatrick this evening.

Organised by Downpatrick Chamber of Commerce, the meeting is expected to be attended by local politicians and members of the local business community.

It was announced in June that Social Security Agencies across the district were to be downgraded as part of a radical shake-up of services.

Staff working in offices in Downpatrick, Newcastle and Ballynahinch, currently responsible for processing income support and jobseekers allowance payments, are to transfer out of the area. The Social Security Agency is creating a number of new payment processing centres across the Province and local staff are expected to be relocated to either Lurgan or Newry this November.

The move is another blow to public service provision in the area, with health finance staff based at the Downshire Hospital currently fighting moves to transfer them to Ballymena.

The news also comes as the latest unemployment figures show a 7.8 per cent increase in the numbers out of work in Down District over the past year, compared to the Northern Ireland average of 5.2 per cent. Out of the 26 district councils, just five had higher unemployment rates.

A member of staff from the Downpatrick Social Security office, who asked not to be named, said they feared up to 30 staff could be moved, and were initially “gobsmacked” by the news.

“We were under the impression that there was going to be a new processing centre somewhere in the district and possibly Downpatrick was to be the site,” she said. “They need another processing centre somewhere so why not here?

“Instead we were told we would be moving to either Lurgan or Newry. There is no direct bus route to Lurgan and Newry is 35 miles away. Even then the Newry office is not in Down, it is in County Armagh, the other side of the river.

“A lot of our staff are female with caring responsibilities.”

Warning that just a handful of staff would be left behind on the front line, she said people were “not going to get the service they expect”, especially with regards to processing social funds, crisis loans and community care grants.

“I do not know how they are going to do it,” she said. “This is basically going to affect all businesses in Downpatrick and we want to see as many people as possible at the meeting.”

Tracey Quail, President of the Chamber of Commerce, also stressed the need for businesses and members of the public indirectly affected by the removal of the workforce to attend.

“These job cuts will impact heavily on the community and local economy,” she said. “Without your support the local area will suffer.”

The meeting will be held in St. Mary’s High School, Downpatrick, at 6pm.