Unions slam HSE relocation to the North West

UNIONS have slammed plans to move the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) headquarters from London to Bootle in Liverpool, arguing that it will lead to the loss of experienced and valuable staff.

The PCS civil service union has highlighted the government’s own figures, which state that of the 320 staff affected by the move, over 60 have already left and only 12 have expressed an interest in relocating. This means that HSE will lose the competence, knowledge and know-how of a further 250 staff over the next two years. So far only 28 workers have been recruited in Bootle.

Chris Hurley PCS branch secretary at the HSE said: “Management say that savings from moving out of London will enable HSE to improve inspection rates across the country. In fact, London HQ only accounts for 1.5% of total budget. Also, the original business case assumed that 40% of staff would go to the North West. In fact it’s less than 4%. This loss will devastate the organisation. It is time for management to think again before it is too late.”