Passport office staff threaten strike

CIVIL servants at the Dublin Passport Office will strike if the Government carries out a threat to dock the pay of those involved in industrial action.

Speaking in Brussels Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin last night raised the heat in an already fraught dispute, warning his department will instigate disciplinary procedures against those who fail to carry out “core duties”. Referring to a letter he said had been sent to workers and the CPSU union, Mr Martin said: “Staff that refuse to carry out the duty for their grade, including the duty they were rostered for, will not be paid for the period.”

CPSU general secretary Blair Horan, whose members have undertaken ‘work to rule’ action at the passport office for the last seven weeks, said: “If you don’t pay people, people will strike, there is no doubt about that.”