115 extra staff to cope with rising dole claims

THE Government is to assign an additional 115 staff to social welfare offices across the country to deal with the growing backlog in unemployment claims.

Over 43,600 people are stuck in the backlog, with the Department of Social Affairs under acute pressure to process these claims before Christmas.

It is the second extra assignment of staff this year, after 31 additional public servants were deployed to offices over the summer because of the speed at which the dole queues were increasing.