Valerie Vaz hands over Walsall tax office petition
A petition against the closure of a tax office in Walsall is being presented today by a town MP.
HM Revenue & Customs plans to close the Pattison House office this year as part of cut to its budgets.
Staff will transfer to other offices in the region - but unions fear the plans will lead to job cuts.
The petition handed in by Walsall South MP Valerie Vaz was signed by more than 500 people.
The Public and Commercial and Services Union set up the petition just a week ago.
Around 90 per cent of the workers based at the office are believed to be female.
One union member said: "Not one person approached refused to sign the petition. We believe that Walsall as a community wants the HMRC office to stay in Walsall and us to keep our jobs.
"We thought that it was quite poignant that we delivered our petition to a female MP on International Women's Day, as our office closure will have a disproportionate impact on women from Walsall."
Ms Vaz has already agreed to raise her opposition to the closure in Parliament.
