Staff dealing with Universal Credit are going on strike

Staff at two centres that handle the Government's Universal Credit benefit system are set to walk out in a dispute over workloads.

The two-day strike is being held by members of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) based in Walsall and Wolverhampton.

They will walk out on May 28 and 29, claiming they face "intolerable" workloads and insufficient staff recruitment, PlymouthLive reports.

The union said it had made repeated warnings that Universal Credit should be scrapped and replaced.

The Department for Work and Pensions (PA)

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: "Instead of trying to solve this ongoing dispute over workloads and recruitment, ministers are spending thousands on a propaganda campaign to promote a failed Universal Credit system.

"It is shameful that the minds of minsters are not focused on claimants or staff but instead on covering up for their own abject failures.

"This strike will send a message that we as a union will not stand idly by while our members are treated with contempt and ministers run Universal Credit into the ground."

Around 250 workers are involved in the dispute.