Bid to resolve social welfare offices dispute

THE National Implementation Body will today try to resolve the dispute between the Department of Social and Family Affairs and its staff before workers begin all-out strike action.

As of yesterday, 2,500 of the department’s staff who are members of the Civil Public and Services Union were refusing to answer telephones or work overtime in protest at the failure by management to introduce flexi-time arrangements.

The union said the Department must implement the 2001 agreement for the extension of flexi-time attendance patterns which has been adopted in other areas of the civil service.