Offices of the Department of Social and Family Affairs face disruption from tomorrow as civil servants escalate their current industrial action in a row over flexi-time and the recording of attendance.
Since April, the clerical staff who belong to the Civil and Public Service Union, have been refusing to open social welfare offices over lunchtime.
From tomorrow they will ban overtime and refuse to answer telephones.
The CPSU says the Department of Social and Family Affairs has failed to implement a 2001 civil service-wide agreement for the adjustment of flexi-time attendance patterns.
However, the department says that if staff will not cooperate with a new time and attendance recording system, it cannot operate a system of flexi-time and has to revert to normal shift and signing in procedures.
Talks at the Labour Relations Commission last week aimed at resolving the row broke down without agreement.
