The protests in Washington on Monday against the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund may have closed down federal offices, but that doesn't mean civil servants didn't work.
Employees at General Services Administration headquarters, for example, worked away from the office, logging into the agency's computer system in greater numbers than have ever been recorded on a single day before, GSA officials said.
"We have in place remote access for users to dial in and pick up electronic mail and their office documents. Basically any application they use, they can pick up remotely," said Doug York, team leader for GSA's remote access team.
On a typical day, 150 GSA workers log in to the agency's computer system remotely, over telephone lines. But on Monday, with the headquarters office closed because of protests, 261 employees logged in-a 75 percent increase over normal usage. Another 28 employees signed on to the network over a pilot virtual private network, or VPN, which allows people with cable modems or other high-speed Internet service to access the agency's computer system. On a typical day, 20 employees use the VPN.
"Remote usage was constantly high all day, well past normal working hours," York said, even though people who work at GSA headquarters were excused from working at all.
Jack Jackson, team leader of GSA's requirements analysis team, noted that GSA employees throughout the country can access the agency's systems remotely. During the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and recent tornadoes in Fort Worth, Texas, GSA employees who couldn't get into the office simply worked over the phone lines.
"That's why we champion telework," Jackson said. "It allows us to work from any place at any time."
A handful of employees managed to get into the office through protester and police lines to make sure that the computer system stayed up all day.
"There was not a hiccup," Jackson said. "It was business as usual."
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