Civil servants at the pension services office in Sligo have voted to go on strike over a plan to install three mobile-phone antennae on their office.
The action, by members of the Civil, Public and Services Union (CPSU), would cause severe disruption to some social welfare payments.
The office is the national centre for the maintenance and payment of old-age and widows' pensions.
It is also responsible for most one-parent family payments.
If the strike goes ahead new claimants and those whose circumstances alter, requiring them to submit new applications, will be among those affected.
Some 97 per cent of CPSU members, who comprise two-thirds of staff at the office, voted in favour of industrial action.
The union claims the Office of Public Works (OPW) has breached its own guidelines in allowing Vodafone to erect the antennae within 10m of a work station and 25m of a creche.
This was denied yesterday by the OPW.
About 450 civil servants work in the office on College Road, while some 50 children are placed in the on-site creche.
CPSU general officer Eoin Ronayne said there would be no strike in advance of the antennae being erected. However, if Vodafone proceeded with the installation an immediate walk-out by staff would be likely.
Conor McKinney, the union's Sligo branch representative, said the strike vote reflected the anger felt by members.
The union had met the Minister of State in charge of the OPW, Tom Parlon, and it expected him "to intervene without delay to stop this abuse of our members and their young children".
In a statement responding to the claims, the OPW said the antennae fully complied with all relevant regulations and guidelines.
"This installation is part of a nationwide roll-out of mobile phone infrastructure that utilises a number of public buildings identified as suitable, in addition to the current Garda stations that have had such equipment in operation since 1997."
As part of this roll-out a licence to install equipment on the Sligo building had been granted to Vodafone.
"Under the terms of the licence the operator is required to strictly comply with all relevant Health and Safety Acts, and will operate within current standards and EU regulations," the statement said.
Vodafone would also be required to adhere to the guidelines on exposure limits to emissions issued by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP).
The Department of Social and Family Affairs said it had been advised of the result of the ballot by the CPSU.
However, the department expected that if the antennae were erected then seven days' notice of any action would be served at that point.
Existing social welfare customers whose claims remained unchanged would not be affected by the strike.
