Northern Ireland politicians are demanding that thousands of work-from-home Public Servants return to their offices as their absence is having a catastrophic effect on restaurants, coffee shops and bars suffering from their lost trade.
Assembly sources say the crisis has reached tipping-point with Minister for the Economy, Diane Dodds (pictured) writing to Head of the Public Service, David Sterling outlining Government concerns.
Many of the buildings housing Northern Ireland’s 23,500 Government staff are operating at less than 30 per cent capacity.
This has led some senior politicians to float the idea of moving staff out of sought-after offices in the centre of Belfast where rent is at a premium.
One said Public Servants should either “use them or lose them, because it would be more cost-effective to move to cheaper offices in other parts of Belfast”.
Staff from the Department for Communities are understood to be most at risk from the proposal which could save millions of pounds for an Executive needing to cut costs because of the impact of COVID-19.
More than 1,000 Public Servants from the Department are based in the Great Northern Tower next to the Europa Hotel in central Belfast, most of whom remain at home.
In her letter to Mr Sterling, Mrs Dodds wrote that one of the greatest drivers of footfall in the Belfast city centre would be if Public Servants were back at work in their offices.
“This would reassure businesses considering bringing their employees back to offices in the city centre. The sandwich bars, cafes and other stores would benefit greatly from increased footfall. I would be most grateful for an update,” Mrs Dodds wrote.
A Government source said several Ministers were growing increasingly frustrated at the slow pace of Public Servants returning to the workplace.
“Safety should be the watchword, but it’s a bit rich for Government to tell private companies to get back to their desks while many of our Civil Servants are sitting at home,” the source said.
Belfast, 18 August 2020
