Post by Banker on Apr 8, 2012 7:56:30 GMT 7
The frontline staff who deal with the desperation of people living on welfare say they are facing a rising tide of hostility and aggression from their clients.
And their union says staff cuts are exacerbating the problem, blowing out waiting times for customers, creating backlogs of work and slowing decision-making.
More than two-thirds of the 940 staff surveyed last month by the Community and Public Sector Union said hostility from customers had risen in the past six months, and more than half said they had borne the brunt of more aggression.
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The worst rates of customer aggression were for staff working in the emotionally charged areas of child support, rehabilitation services, and at Centrelink - dealing with people on welfare payments.
Staff working in Medicare and customs agencies also reported high levels of threats from the public.
Much of the abuse was over the telephone, but 40 per cent said they had been the target of face-to-face aggression.
One of the staff surveyed told the union: ''I had a customer tell me that he has been in prison for murder, and that when I least expect it, he will get me.''
Others reported their office having to hire a security guard for the first time; one told of an angry customer shattering a door and another said waiting times had blown out from two minutes to 30 minutes.
''Over the last few years I have only ever had five abuse/aggressive phone calls.
''This year alone I have had twice that number including a threat to punch my lights out and someone wishing that I died,'' another said.
The Community and Public Sector Union blames staff cuts imposed by government in its quest to find budget savings for compounding the problem. The union said staff numbers at the Department of Human Services had dropped from 42,000 in 2010 to 40,000 this year. They are forecast to drop to 38,000 in 2012-13.
The union's national secretary, Nadine Flood, said the survey revealed that staff safety was ''at a tipping point''.
But the growing anxiety for those on welfare may also be a factor, with a growing chorus of charitable groups and conservative economists warning that the refusal to increase the dole to keep pace with wages and pensions was forcing people into desperate situations.
In the past six months, conservatives including former Fair Pay commissioners Ian Harper and Judith Sloan and former mining chief executive Hugh Morgan have condemned the level of the dole, which is $245 a week.
The Australian Council of Social Service has been pressing for an increase of $50 a week.
goo.gl/n6YwI
And their union says staff cuts are exacerbating the problem, blowing out waiting times for customers, creating backlogs of work and slowing decision-making.
More than two-thirds of the 940 staff surveyed last month by the Community and Public Sector Union said hostility from customers had risen in the past six months, and more than half said they had borne the brunt of more aggression.
Advertisement: Story continues below
The worst rates of customer aggression were for staff working in the emotionally charged areas of child support, rehabilitation services, and at Centrelink - dealing with people on welfare payments.
Staff working in Medicare and customs agencies also reported high levels of threats from the public.
Much of the abuse was over the telephone, but 40 per cent said they had been the target of face-to-face aggression.
One of the staff surveyed told the union: ''I had a customer tell me that he has been in prison for murder, and that when I least expect it, he will get me.''
Others reported their office having to hire a security guard for the first time; one told of an angry customer shattering a door and another said waiting times had blown out from two minutes to 30 minutes.
''Over the last few years I have only ever had five abuse/aggressive phone calls.
''This year alone I have had twice that number including a threat to punch my lights out and someone wishing that I died,'' another said.
The Community and Public Sector Union blames staff cuts imposed by government in its quest to find budget savings for compounding the problem. The union said staff numbers at the Department of Human Services had dropped from 42,000 in 2010 to 40,000 this year. They are forecast to drop to 38,000 in 2012-13.
The union's national secretary, Nadine Flood, said the survey revealed that staff safety was ''at a tipping point''.
But the growing anxiety for those on welfare may also be a factor, with a growing chorus of charitable groups and conservative economists warning that the refusal to increase the dole to keep pace with wages and pensions was forcing people into desperate situations.
In the past six months, conservatives including former Fair Pay commissioners Ian Harper and Judith Sloan and former mining chief executive Hugh Morgan have condemned the level of the dole, which is $245 a week.
The Australian Council of Social Service has been pressing for an increase of $50 a week.
goo.gl/n6YwI