Passport office remote policy criticised
by Róisín McKane
 
Fórsa official Seán Carabini said he was “disappointed in the extreme” with the employers response to a request for greater home working, and that additional areas within the Passport Office, suitable for remote work, had been identified.
Fórsa official Seán Carabini said he was “disappointed in the extreme” with the employers response to a request for greater home working, and that additional areas within the Passport Office, suitable for remote work, had been identified.

Fórsa is continuing to pursue the Department of Foreign Affairs aboout working arrangements in the passport office, and has criticised the department’s response to date. The union is urging management to continue to identify work that can be carried out off-site.

 

Since the onset of Covid-19, Fórsa has sought to find a balance to ensure that staff can attend safely where attendance is necessary, and has advocated for work to be done remotely where attendance is not necessary.

 

Fórsa sought commitments from management for a more thorough review of home working options in the Passport Office. While recent developments have seen the introduction of new working patterns to allow increased social distancing in the office, the union feels that these patterns do not go far enough.

 

Fórsa official Seán Carabini said he was “disappointed in the extreme” with the employers response to a request for greater home working, and that additional areas within the Passport Office, suitable for remote work, had been identified.

 

“This is a health and safety issue,” he said. “Given the current climate we must allow all suitable employees to work from home in order to facilitate a safer working environment for those workers who must be office based.”

 

Seán said that the union is committed to doing everything necessary to ensure the health and safety of workers. The Government’s latest advice, issued on Wednesday night, is for employers to facilitate remote working options wherever possible in order to help contain the growing spread of Covid-19.

 

Seán said: “Home working, where it can be done, is crucial to the welfare of our members. If we can’t get the commitments that are needed on this, we will refer the Department of Foreign Affairs to a third party process.”

 

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