Public service union leaders will meet senior officials from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DEPR) on 27th April to open discussions on remaining pay equity issues for ‘new entrants’.

The invitation to ICTU’s Public Services Committee arrived before the problem was aired at education union conferences last week. Speaking at Fórsa’s Education Division conference, deputy general secretary Kevin Callinan called for a speedy resolution to the issue – but warned that clerical officers, special needs assistants (SNAs) and other lower-paid grades must not lose out.

The union will press for pay scales to be shortened as quickly as possible for staff who joined the public service after January 2011. Under discriminatory measures announced by the then-Government in December 2010, it currently takes these new entrants two years longer than their colleagues to reach the top of their pay scales.

ICTU’s Public Services Committee, which represents almost all unions in the sector, secured agreement for new talks last month under a clause in the Public Service Stability Agreement (PSSA), which allows for an “examination” of the new entrants’ pay issue.

Speaking at Fórsa’s Education Division conference in Dublin, Kevin Callinan said SNAs were proportionately the largest group of new entrants in the public service, as more than a third of them had been hired since the start of 2011.

“There are many ways to define pay equity, and Fórsa is determined that lower-paid staff are not left behind in this debate. SNAs begin work earning less than two-thirds the pay of a classroom colleague hired on the same day. Their pay is linked to the civil and public service clerical officer, and Fórsa represents over 30,000 public servants on similar pay rates or less.

“Pay equity is a priority for all trade unions, but we believe pay policy must also encompass the issue of lower-paid groups like SNAs and civil and public service clerical officers,” he said.

In initial discussions last October, DPER confirmed that 53,000 workers had been hired since lower new entrant scales were imposed in January 2011. Management also acknowledged that unions had opposed the new scales, and had used the first opportunity available – the Haddington Road Agreement – to equalise the maximum points of the scales.

The main outstanding issue is the existence of two additional scale points for staff employed since 2011. That’s why Fórsa wants the length of these scales reduced by two points as quickly as possible.

The critical illness protocol (CIP), which governs public service arrangements for those on long-term sick leave, has been improved to allow more managerial discretion about what constitutes a ‘critical illness’ in cases where the precise medical criteria are not met. 

New ‘CIP managerial discretion guidelines,’ negotiated with Fórsa and other unions, make it clear that managers have the flexibility to accept illnesses as ‘critical’ even if they have not quite met the threshold on the basis of medical certification.

An appeals mechanism against unfavourable management decisions, with access to third party adjudication, has also been agreed.

The CIP arrangements for the ‘protective year’ have also been improved. The ‘protective year’ allows staff who return to work following a critical illness to avail of remaining CIP leave for subsequent non-critical illnesses or injuries within one year of their first date of absence.

This protective year period will now begin on the date of return, which means more support for those returning from a serious illness who then suffer a routine health problem in the following 12 months.

The changes are now rolling out in the civil service and will then extend to other parts of the public service, including non-commercial semi-state organisations.

Fórsa is still in discussions about the calculation of certain types of sick leave in the one year/four year look back periods, and on the application of temporary rehabilitation remuneration (TRR). Union officials think these issues are likely to be referred to the Labour Court, due to the absence of agreement.

The CIP provisions of the sick leave scheme retain the original six months on full pay and six months on half pay arrangements.

Health service management has agreed that more evaluators will be trained over the coming month to deal with the high demand for job evaluations.

At a recent meeting between Fórsa and the HSE’s Job Evaluation Board, health officials conceded that the current waiting time for processing applications was between six and nine months. The union is exploring ways of speeding up the process and keeping applicants informed of progress.

Fórsa has trained a good number of union reps to participate in evaluations, and its officials have been encouraged by the high number of applications to the reactivated job evaluation scheme, which opened last year on foot of the union’s campaign.
 
The union says the success rate has so far been high, although the waiting times for completion of the process is also long due to huge pent-up demand.
 
Fórsa official Catherine Keogh said the eight-year suspension of the scheme had created a large backlog of existing and potential applications from workers who have taken on substantial extra responsibilities as clerical and admin staff numbers fell dramatically during the crisis.
 
“The waiting time for an evaluation is currently too high, although well over half of cases completed so far have led to an upgrading. Neither of these things comes as a huge surprise given the freeze on promotion and recruitment over many years,” she said.

In a recent letter to Fórsa branches, Catherine said she had warned senior management that the union’s industrial action mandate remained in place if local managers blocked or obstructed the nationally-agreed scheme.
 
The scheme, which is open to clerical and administrative grades III to VI, and related grades, offers staff the prospect of an upgrading if their job roles and responsibilities are found to have increased sufficiently.

Last Saturday’s housing rally saw a very strong Fórsa presence as community organisations, homeless services organisations and trade unions took part in the the National Homeless and Housing Coalition’s #April7th rally.

Up to 10,000 people are reported to have taken part in Saturday’s rally. Participants marched from the Garden of Remembrance to Custom House Quay.

Kevin Callinan, Forsa’s deputy general secretary and vice president of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, addressed the rally. He described the latest homelessness figures as a “shame and a blight on our society.”  February’s figures show almost 10,000 individuals are homeless, of whom 3,755 are children. 

Kevin added, “Where stands the Republic if they can’t vindicate this basic right. What is liberty without social solidarity and equality? We need a national policy once and for all to make the country’s national resources work for the people.”

He said trade unions are to mobilise to press for the building of 10,000 public homes every year for the next five years.

Colours

Fórsa lead organiser Joe O’Connor estimated there were about 150 Fórsa supporters taking part in the rally.

“We had fantastic support from Fórsa members who travelled from all over the country to attend the rally. From Cork, Kerry, Galway and Donegal, and all points in between, and with our Fórsa colours making their first appearance at a rally of this kind.

“We had an important message to deliver to our Government last Saturday. We are witnesses to the worst housing crisis this country has seen in a century.

“Future generations may look back and wonder why it took so long for Irish society to demand action. We must ensure they don’t suffer the consequences of failing to act. We need to reverse the continuing rise in homelessness we are currently witnessing,” he said.