MORE THAN 150 UNISON members in Birmingham City council's benefits section began indefinite strike action on Monday 23 March in support of their claim for regrading.
The council launched a multi benefits system designed to improve efficiency and increase the uptake of benefits, but unfortunately the new left' council leadership are refusing to fund it adequately, and allowing management to intimidate and threaten strikers.
Staff will now be assessing and paying council tax benefit, housing benefit for private and council tenants, free school meals as well as advising claimants of their entitlements to welfare benefits, income support and family credit.
The existing benefits service was already a fiasco with a massive backlog of over 150,000 claims built up from April of last year.
Benefit claims for private tenants were taking over six months to process - the legal requirement being 14 days! UNISON members took the brunt of tenants' dissatisfaction with abuse, threats and violent incidents. Following limited industrial action new security arrangements were made and 80 temporary staff employed.
Obviously the problems were not solved. There is still a 40,000 backlog - only interim payments have been made and rebates yet to be assessed. Poor training of temporary staff meant many assessments were inaccurate. OFFICIAL PICKET UNISON UNISON UNISON UNISON anagers Benefat