Secretaries employed in Dáil Éireann are to take industrial action tomorrow in pursuit of a claim for payment for unpaid work associated with the construction and occupation of the new Dáil office facility.
The secretaries, who are represented by SIPTU, will refuse to answer telephones for the day.
Mr Brendan Hayes, SIPTU's regional secretary, said the Dáil secretaries bore the brunt of the work associated with the move to new offices and have been treated disgracefully by the Department of Finance and the Government.
He added that the offices were 'a virtual building site' when staff moved with exposed cables hanging from walls and work taking place around them. He said that despite this, the secretaries worked continuously to ensure there was the minimum disruption to the functioning of the members of the house.
"The work involved secretarial staff packaging and unpacking the entire contents of their office on up to eight occasions. This was in addition to their normal work which they continued to perform without interruption," said Mr Hayes.