A nationwide industrial dispute hit Yeovil this week when members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) went on strike.

PCS say that the government has announced plans to remove protective screens from benefits offices in the country - a claim denied by a government representative.

The union also say that more than 5,000 staff in benefits offices were threatened or assaulted at work last year - a figure that would have been much higher if it hadn't been for the protective screens.

A PCS spokesperson said: "Most people using benefit offices pose no risk to staff. But there is always the risk of a hostile reaction to an unwelcome decision.

"But ministers refuse to be persuaded. They are going ahead with their plan to conduct benefit work without screens. That is why thousands of staff have decided to go on strike."

Somerset branch secretary Fran Heathcote joined PCS members outside the Hendford benefits office in Yeovil and said: "In an ideal world we wouldn't need the screens installed in the first place because of the unpalatable decisions that our counter staff have to deliver to Britain's poorest people."

She added: "Although we understand that the government would like all clients to be seen in an open-plan environment, we feel the need to have our safety at work protected - is that too much to ask?

She estimated that 95 members out of just over a hundred were on strike in Yeovil alone on Wednesday and Thursday.

Paul Kingman-Reed, of Somerset Employment Service, gave a different story. He explained that the county currently has 10 job centres and three benefits offices.

These will be under the same management as of next year, although the may not be under one roof, which is the case in Yeovil.

The new set-ups are to be known as Job Centre Plus, being the result of two-year trials at selected locations and in non-screen environments.

Mr Kingman-Reed said that, from a screen point of view, nothing would be different in Somerset next year. "The need will remain to process cases away from the frontline, and this will be in a screened area. We have no plans to take the screens away."

He added, however, that it was impossible to establish a rapport with Job Centre Plus clients if there was a screen separating people.