Tax employees are threatening to go on strike over bed bugs in their workplace.
A union representative said that industrial action may be taken at the HM Revenues and Customs (HMRC) office in Brooke Lawrance House as the employees are asked to work from an office that struggles with bed bugs.
The office located on Civic Drive has undergone chemical treatments and steam cleaning to get rid of the bugs, but it has not resolved the issue that appeared at the office in the summer of 2022.
A sniffer dog visits the office fortnightly and searches for the insects.
The HMRC office, which employs more than 500 members of staff, rents out two and a half floors of the town centre’s AXA building.
The employees who have been working from home were asked to go back to the office.
Martyn Mellis, PCS Union representative, said: “The problem has been going on for about 14 months now.
“Even though the floors were chemically treated, last week another live bug was found in the office.
“The issue is that the colleagues are being moved from one area to another, from floor six to seven, transporting the bugs.”
The union representative added that his colleagues have been considering taking industrial action over this issue.
One of the employees said she had to “carefully plan her day” to avoid catching a bed bug while working from the office.
She added: “I left my handbag in the boot of my car and transferred anything I thought I might need for my time at the office into a couple of polythene bags. These bags went straight outside in the bin on my return home.
“The clothes I wore to the office were chosen as being able to be washed at a high temperature, and on my return home, I walked straight through to the washing machine and put every item of clothing, including my shoes, into a hot wash.”
Mr Mellis added: “Union members are telling me they are also worried that if an infestation goes into their home, it can cause financial hardship.
“It’s not impacting only them, but also their families.”
An HMRC spokesperson said: “The health and safety of employees is our top priority, and we are following expert advice to treat and manage the issue.
"We are continuing to work with trade unions on this issue to best support our employees.”
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