By Nick Everett
BRISBANE — Around 30 union members walked off the job in Brisbane's Centrelink Call Centre at 2.45pm on July 10, frustrated by continuous computer system problems.
Before the walkout, 53 Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) members met to assess Centrelink's response to the union's demand that the problems be fixed. There were more than 800 problems resulting from the introduction of a new computer system, the Newstart Common Platform (NCP), required for the federal government's new Youth Allowance.
One problem meant that more than 6000 pension recipients lost some of their entitlement on July 9, while thousands of Newstart and Youth Allowance recipients had payments delayed or incorrect amounts paid.
Staff have been physically assaulted in Centrelink Customer Service Centres as clients' anger at excessive queues reached danger levels. Furniture has reportedly been thrown at staff and clients have jumped counters.
CPSU members attending the July 10 workplace meeting unanimously rejected a motion from the CPSU Social Security section council to endorse a "negotiated settlement" and "lift all NCP-related industrial action". Instead, they agreed that the crisis had not been acceptably resolved and passed another resolution against a planned funding cut which would result in 1300 job losses in 1998/99.
The resolution noted: "The current crisis in Centrelink is a direct result of a lack of resources in both the information technology area and the general network, which will only be further exacerbated by a 20% funding cut being imposed on Centrelink over the next five years."
The members also called on the union's section council "to demand that Centrelink and the government make funds available for sufficient resources to resolve the ongoing NCP/Youth Allowance systems problems to a satisfactory level, and to cope with the extra workload involved", and "to consider any necessary action until this dispute is resolved".
Another motion called on staff not to return to work for the rest of the day. This action was endorsed by the Brisbane Centrelink delegates' committee on July 13.
"The depth of members' feeling demonstrates that they are not prepared to bear the brunt of the federal government's decision to introduce Youth Allowance", Call Centre delegate Jim McIlroy told 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly. About 46,000 young people are no longer entitled to benefits under the Youth Allowance scheme. "What is required to resolve the stress under which staff are working is a campaign by the CPSU to increase staffing levels across all areas of Centrelink", he said.