JOBLESS and sick people in York and North Yorkshire are waiting up to seven weeks for a benefit application to be processed, a civil service union leader claimed today.

They are also facing great difficulties getting someone to answer the phone in the first place, and waiting up to a fortnight to get an appointment - with similar problems also being faced by claimants in East Yorkshire.

As a result, staff are facing an increase in violence and abusive language from frustrated members of the public, said Tanya Walker, North Yorkshire branch secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS).

She was speaking as about 150 Department of Work (DWP) and Pensions civil servants in York were today taking part in the second day of a national two-day strike.

They were protesting about continuing plans by the Government to axe 30,000 DWP jobs across the country.

She said the PCS wanted a halt to job losses while an assessment was carried out into the impact of the cuts so far, and all sides went back to the negotiating table.

She estimated that more than 75 per cent of staff at the Jobcentreplus offices in Monkgate and Stonebow were taking part in the action, which would affect unemployed and sick people and also people on income support, such as single parents.

She said about 170 staff now worked at Monkgate, compared with just under 200 when the Government first announced the job cuts, with just under 40 working in Stonebow.

Asked whether the strike would simply worsen the problems for benefit claimants, she said it was a "last resort".

She said: "The increasingly unreasonable and unrealistic demands have in many areas driven staff to breaking point, stress is rife, violent incidents from frustrated members of the public are increasing and disciplinary warnings for sick absence are commonplace, irrespective of the reason.

"The DWP is one of the few government departments which we will all have dealings with at some point in our lives, providing a cradle-to-the-grave service. Yet due to staffing cuts, calls are going unanswered, waiting times for an appointment are over two weeks and benefit applications are weeks behind."

But a spokesman for the DWP said today it was "committed and determined" to deliver its services to the public.

"We have robust contingency plans in place to ensure that our principal priority of making payment to our customers continues, whilst minimising the impact that industrial action may have on our services," he said.

"If we are going to meet our commitment to deliver the highest quality of service to our customers, it is vital we push ahead with our modernisation programme.

It is therefore disappointing that the PCS remain opposed to much of the change."

Updated: 09:23 Wednesday, May 03, 2006