Passport office row flares up again

THE dispute between the Department of Foreign Affairs and workers in the country’s passport offices has re-ignited because staff are still being prevented from giving priority to customers with immediate travel plans.

Instead, staff claim that management are insisting they continue to operate on a first-come first-served basis.

Last Thursday a deal was concluded at the Labour Relations between the Department and the Civil, Public and Services Union, which proposed the appointment of 50 temporary staff over the summer months to clear the backlog of more than 61,000 passport applications.