Staff Told to Walk it Off

Centrelink staff are being given pedometers – devices used to count footsteps – to help them deal with flying colostomy bags, dead snakes and fire bombs.

Centrelink staff take more sickies than anybody else in Australia, prompting management to buy the fitness-inducing gizmos for staff, as well as sending them to health seminars.

The department has also tied a one per cent increase in its current enterprise agreement pay offer with a one day a year drop in sick leave across the department.

But the Public Sector Union says the high number of sick days at Centrelink is because departmental policies lead to abuse from clients.

"To think you can dangle money in front of people - people are deeply insulted and annoyed at the assumption behind it," a CPSU spokesman said.

The spokesman said confusing and ever-changing policy at the department set clients off.

"They need to look at why people get annoyed - and it could be that they're dissatisfied with policy," he said.

"Another problem is that low staffing levels are leading to high levels of queue rage."

Mainstream media have reported that Centrelink staff have been assaulted by colostomy bag wielding pensioners. Other customers have resorted to the use of dead snakes and firebombs to express their frustrations.

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