Tax staff demand compensation for move

Revenue Commissioners staff in Waterford have threatened industrial action unless they are compensated for vacating offices due to be refurbished.

The "disturbance money" claim threatens to delay a £10 million overhaul of the Government building at the Glen, due to get under way next month.

About 150 staff are required to move to rented offices at one of two other locations in the city, both within a mile of the Glen. The refurbishment work is to take about two years.

Department of Agriculture staff have already moved from the Glen to nearby Ballybricken.

Mr Derek Mullen, national officer with the Civil and Public Service Union, which represents about 60 of the Revenue staff, said the move would impose inconvenience, but he declined to say how much money the workers were seeking.

"It would affect people in terms of their travelling arrangements, picking kids up from school, dropping them off and so on. We didn't invite this refurbishment. People are happy enough working there, and now they have to move out for a considerable period of time," he said.

A claim had been submitted by the three unions concerned: the CPSU, the PSEU and IMPACT. Revenue had rejected the claim, said Mr Mullen, adding: "We feel they're not taking us seriously".

If management attempted to force the move through, staff would be instructed to remain at the Glen, said Mr Mullen.

A Revenue Commissioners spokesman said the claim had been turned down because it had not been Government policy for some time to pay disturbance money.

Mr Mullen said it was true that disturbance money in the public service had been abolished but claimed the Government "reinvented it" last year when compensation was paid to Dail Eireann staff who had to move pending renovations.

An Office of Public Works spokeswoman said it was intended to relocate the Revenue staff at the former Eircom building in Johnstown and the former ESB building at the Mall. Both would be adapted to the needs of the staff.

The Government building at the Glen is one of the most prominent in Waterford and is generally considered an eyesore. A facelift was first promised by the OPW two years ago as part of a millennium project to improve the appearance of what it considered among the least attractive State buildings. It was subsequently decided to totally refurbish the building inside and out.