'No need' | ONS workers vote to renew industrial action over hybrid office policy

Employees at the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have again voted for industrial action in their dispute over a forced return to workplaces.

In a recent ballot, 69% of Office for National Statistics (ONS) workers - who are members of the PCS (Public & Commercial Services) union - voted to take strike action, while 92% voted to take action short of a strike (ASOS), on a 65.5% turnout.

Since May 2024, over 1100 PCS members working for the ONS in various locations (Newport in South Wales, Titchfield in Hampshire, London, Darlington, Manchester and Edinburgh) have been taking action short of a strike by refusing to comply with the new attendance policy, which requires them to spend at least 40% of their time in the office.

This action has had no tangible impact on the ONS’s outputs,  says the PCS, adding that this proves the union’s argument “that there was no need for a more restrictive attendance policy”.

To increase the pressure on the ONS, members have also been working-to-rule since August 2024, refusing to work overtime, out of hours or out of grade.