Think again over Llanelli’s Department for Work and Pensions office closure that was the message Mid and West AM Simon Thomas has sent to the Conservative Government in London.
In a written statement on 26 January this year, the Employment Minister Damian Hinds set out proposals for the future of the entire Department for Work and Pensions estate, including shutting the office in Llanelli with the loss of 146 jobs for the town.
The call from Plaid Cymru for the Westminster Government to re-think their proposals comes ahead of a briefing tomorrow ( 4 July 2017 in Tŷ Hywel) for Assembly Members by PCS trade union General Secretary, Mark Serwotka, along with representatives from workplaces affected.
Simon Thomas has written to the new Work and Pensions Secretary David Gauke demanding the Westminster Government abandon plans to close the Llanelli Benefits Delivery Office.
Mid and West AM for the Party of Wales Simon Thomas said:
“I’m calling on the new Work and Pensions Secretary David Gauke to re-assess the proposals to close the office in Llanelli and to review the decision to move offices and co-locate in Newtown, Llandrindod Wells and Ystradgynlais.
“It was a concern in Llanelli and the region that the closure in Llanelli town would mean job losses. Relocation of the jobs would involve offices as far away as Pembroke Dock and Cardiff. It would make travelling for somebody living in Llanelli or the Llanelli area very difficult.
“The Tories should be investing in the town centre like Plaid Cymru led Carmarthenshire Council is doing, not pulling jobs out of Llanelli.
“Many of the Llanelli workers are older and female with care responsibilities. It is invidious that there was no equalities evaluation of the impact of the move on them and their clients.”
The Assembly Member has also raised concerns about the proposals of moving Ystradgynlais jobcentre into the local library. The PCS Union has said the library is too small to house the same services that are currently delivered from the Jobcentre
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