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Jobcentre staff who deal with benefits enquiries at call centres in Scotland are on strike over working conditions.

Staff at centres in Dundee, Glasgow and Paisley have joined UK-wide action by more than 6,000 members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union.

The union claims Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) staff struggle with staff shortages, "​oppressive working conditions and unrealistic targets"​.

The DWP said the "​unnecess​ary"​ strike would have "​limited"​ impact.

The DWP announced a revamp of its telephone and benefit processing service in October 2009.

Staff in Scotland took part in a 48-hour walkout in January after a decision to convert seven benefit processing offices into "​contact centres"​, with staff re-allocated to taking calls from the public.

Since then the dispute has broadened to include staff at 32 sites across the UK.

'​Draconian targets'​PCS Scotland spokesman Derek Thomson said: "​Not only do these attacks on conditions impact directly on PCS members but they also have a negative impact on the service that they provide to vulnerable people who rely on these services every day.

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