UNION chiefs are stepping up their campaign against the loss of civil service jobs in the North-East.

The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) recently announced that up to 100 jobs were to be shed at the Mowden Hall site, in Darlington, between now and 2006.

The losses are part of controversial plans to cut 800 jobs nationally as part of a re-organisation of the Government department.

The DfES also said it planned to shed a further 610 posts between 2006 and 2008, raising fears about the future of Mowden Hall.

As a result, the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) launched a consultative ballot of its members. They were asked to support a campaign of lobbying MPs, negotiating with management and potential industrial action.

PCS Darlington branch secretary Terry Hegarty said the ballot would close at the end of this week and that further action would be considered.

Bosses have already started deciding which areas would face cutbacks as part of the first wave of changes.

"So far, it is not a great problem. Most of it will be contained by a freeze on recruitment or letting people go on early severance," said Mr Hegarty.

But he said the union had serious concerns about the long-term future of the site.

"We are getting vague assurances that there are no plans to close the site in the foreseeable future, but we've heard all that before when they promised they wouldn't privatise the teachers' pensions operations on the site," said Mr Hegarty.