“In practical terms, that means when it is clear that the Government is on target to achieve the Euro requirement of a deficit of less than 3% of GDP in 2015 – and they are predicting that they will,” he said. The conference adopted motions instructing the union to pursue income recovery in all sectors – public, private, community and commercial semi-state. Shay Cody said the union would:

• Pursue pay increases in the public service once the Government meets its target of bringing the deficit below 3% of GDP, which is predicted to happen in 2015
• Seek the restoration of frozen increments in the community and voluntary sector, and pursue pay increases in the sector to match any movement in the public service
• Seek and support a continued “successful wage round” in the private sector among companies that can afford to pay
• Work with other unions to make the recently re-established Joint Labour Committees effective in protecting pay and working conditions in the economy’s lowest paid sectors, and
• Continue to prioritise job creation as the core economic policy because employment is the biggest determinate of income for most individuals and their families.

Mr Cody said employment “must remain a top priority across the union movement, including among public service unions.”

Also speaking at the conference, the Tánaiste said rising wages were the sign of a healthy economy. On public service pay, Mr Gilmore said: “Next time the Government and unions sit down to talk, it will be to talk about increasing pay not reducing it.” Referring to the legislation that underpinned pay cuts in the Haddington Road agreement, he said he “looked forward to the day when the FEMPI legislation becomes a thing of the past.”

Shay Cody said IMPACT would now consult with other public service unions on how best to develop a pay claim. “We need to honour the commitment that lower paid workers should be prioritised, but acknowledge that it will be difficult to secure a critical mass of public servants to support a claim that only applied to those who earn less than €35,000,” he said. He outlined two possible ways of approaching this issue:

1. Considering whether unions could rally around a flat-rate increase “as a way to deliver on the promise [to lower-paid public servants] while commencing income recovery for all,” and
2. Considering whether unions should seek a reduction in the pension levy rather than increases in gross wages.

Members of IMPACT’s Cabin Crew branch are on a 24-hour strike today over management’s intransigent attitude to rosters that create intolerable burdens on staff. The dispute has seen 200 flights cancelled at a loss of €10 million to the company.

The two sides are expected to meet next week, although management’s 11^th-hour invitation to talks was not enough to stop today’s dispute.

Máire Ní Chleirigh, who has worked with the airline for 25 years, said cabin crew wanted to work with management in a constructive and positive way and develop rosters that meet everyone’s needs. “We would rather be doing our job than taking this action, but we can't go on any longer the way things are. We are happy to meet the company's productivity demands, and the long days that go with it. But we need our time off to be better planned in order to meet those demands. Stable roster patterns like the ones we've proposed are already in use in other airlines," she said.

IMPACT has called on management to consider a trial period for the union's proposed rosters on European short haul services. But, according to official Michael Landers, the company “simply got up and left the room when we attempted to talk to them about it.”

The union has rubbished management claims that cabin crew are seeking additional leave. “Our proposals would deliver the same high levels of productivity and flying hours. The company's claims around this are simply wrong. Our members are not seeking extra leave. They are quite prepared to work to the demands of the schedule, but they need to have adequate periods of rests between blocks of duty. This would put an end to the chaotic roster patterns currently in use and make the rosters more sustainable," said Landers.

You can send messages of support to cabincrew@impact.ie.

Listen to cabin crew speak from the picket line

The cost to families of universal health insurance (UHI) will vastly exceed the property tax or planned water charges, according to IMPACT. In a submission to the consultation on the Government’s white paper on UHI, published this week, the union said this would place “an impossible financial burden on families and individuals who don’t currently have private health insurance and don’t qualify for medical cards.”

It said health minister James Reilly was “optimistic” to estimate that UHI would cost €900 per individual.

The union’s submission calls on the Government not to proceed with the implementation of UHI until the likely cost to individuals and families is “assessed, publicised and understood.” It also calls for more clarity – including over costing – on what services and procedures will be covered by the basic package, and says safeguards should be put in place to provide cover, at no additional cost, if a private insurer fails.

According to the IMPACT submission: “It has been claimed that UHI can be introduced with no additional cost to the exchequer, which means any extra revenue would have to be raised through individual insurance premia. By far the biggest cost burden would fall on individuals and families who do not currently have private health insurance and who do not qualify for medical cards. Given the fact that private insurance delivers better access to health services, it is safe to assume that most people in this category simply cannot afford private health insurance. Yet they will be required by law to pay for private insurance for every family member. Even the minister’s seemingly optimistic estimate of a cost of €900 per individual would create an impossible financial burden on families and individuals who don’t currently have private health insurance and don’t qualify for medical cards. The Dutch experience suggests that this financial burden would then increase over time.”

IMPACT’s detailed submission argues that the UHI funding model set out in the White Paper is deeply flawed and is likely to place a universal financial burden on families with no guarantee of universal access to healthcare. “The experience in other jurisdictions, with similar models of competing insurers, has been a continuing rise in the price of compulsory insurance, coupled with increasing restrictions on the health services covered. Lessons from the Netherlands show that this profit-driven commercial model leads to an inequitable and inefficient system of funding, different tiers of entitlement and rising hospital deficits with increased hospital re-admission rates because it creates financial incentives to discharge patients too early.” it says. 

The union has urged the health minister to examine and consider the merits of an alternative approaches like those adopted in France, Germany and Nordic countries.

Staff in South Dublin County Council began a campaign of industrial action this week after management unilaterally withdrew acting payments from 13 of its staff and revealed plans to do the same to another 150 workers.

IMPACT official Angela Kirk said management was in breach of the Haddington Road agreement and was effectively extending pay cuts to staff below the €65,000 earnings threshold set out in the deal. The union also condemned management for refusing to discuss its proposals, saying that they were non-negotiable.

“Council  management has breached the Haddington Road agreement, which is delivering huge savings and increased working time in South Dublin and other local authorities. Management has refused to deal with the situation through negotiations. Instead it announced its intention to cut pay just days before a Labour Relations Commission hearing, which was meant to deal with the matter,” she said.

The industrial action includes a refusal to staff public counters between 12.30pm and 2.30pm, the withdrawal of cooperation with evening meetings, an overtime ban, and a refusal to carry out duties at a higher grade.  IMPACT has warned that strike action is possible if council management continues to refuse to negotiate on the issue.

The staff concerned have been carrying out extra work with additional responsibilities – some of them for as long as 12 years – for which they have been getting an extra ‘acting’ payment. The council now says they must continue to do this work, but without the extra payment.

During the talks that produced the Haddington Road agreement, IMPACT won agreement on a process to regularise long-term acting positions following the completion of a workforce plan in each local authority. Local talks on the issue broke down in South Dublin after management told IMPACT it intended to cut pay rather than discuss the regularisation of acting positions.

Tara Robertson (Dublin City branch) and Maeve McCarthy Barrett (Cork branch) were re-elected as treasurer and secretary respectively. They are joined by Patricia Fanning (North Dublin/North Leinster SNAs branch), elected as equality officer, and Siobhan Ní Griofa in the new role of health and safety officer.

The nine officers join the union’s Central Executive Committee (CEC), which also includes representatives from each of the union’s divisions (civil service, health, education, local government, municipal employees and services and enterprises) plus immediate past president Kevin O’Malley. The CEC is elected to manage and conduct the union’s affairs, subject to policies agreed at its biennial delegate conference.

The union’s elected positions are unpaid.

Find out more by visiting our conference microsite.

IMPACT will campaign for a ‘yes’ vote in any future referendum on gay marriage after delegates at the union’s recent conference unanimously endorsed the stance. Sinead Costello of the union’s Sligo branch said it was unreasonable to deny same-sex couples the right to marry.

“The state is effectively saying it does not value, respect or acknowledge the status of same-sex couples in the same way as heterosexual couples. Opinion polls tell us that the vast majority of the public believe in marriage equality for gay people. This is an issue for IMPACT members whether gay or straight,” she said.

Meanwhile, ICTU has linked up with gay rights organisation BeLonG to launch the Stand Up At Work campaign to combat workplace homophobia. The two organisations have produced a video in which young gay, lesbian and bisexual people explain the discrimination they face at work.

Read the IMPACT blog on why homophobia is a workplace and trade union issue.

But he said it was enabling legislation, and workers would only benefit if unions took the opportunity by recruiting and organising workers who aren’t in unions.

IMPACT general secretary Shay Cody agreed, saying that the new legislation would allow the Labour Court to impose improved pay and conditions on employers who refuse to recognise unions and pay below the going rate. He also said it contained valuable new safeguards against employer victimisation of those who joined unions.

“If we can’t use this legislation to entice people to join unions to improve their terms and conditions, then we’re not doing our job,” he said.

Mr Begg said union efforts to attract new members were hampered by the complexity of the Irish trade union structure and the number of unions competing for members. He outlined ICTU plans to “reimagine” the Irish trade union movement to make it more effective and more attractive to workers.

Mr Begg said better structures would also help unions win support for alternatives to austerity. “Our task is to organise people into unions, interpret the world for them, and give them the means to change it,” he said.

The union pointed to disastrous service failures that followed the centralisation of student grant applications, medical card applications and driving licence renewals. Speakers from Dublin pointed to increased charges for waste collection following privatisation, which had also led to dirtier streets and increased fly-tipping.

Eddie Walsh of the union’s Roscommon branch said IMPACT wanted to stop the piecemeal privatisation and erosion of services. “We once had efficient refuse collection. Now we see rampant illegal dumping. We have seen third level students forced to drop out of college because their grants weren’t processed in time. Nearly every member of the public knows the farce that continues to surround the driver licence service, which was removed from local authorities who had been providing the service with a satisfaction rating of over 90% from users,” he said. 

Finbar Touhy of IMPACT’s Clare branch said the further centralisation of local authority services would also lead to job losses in rural areas. He said local authorities had collectively decided on another radical programme of centralisation of services including transfers of payroll services to Laois, accounts services to Kildare, and legal and veterinary services to Cork.

“My own authority in Clare is not due to host any new services. Our members see a relentless haemorrhage of jobs to other agencies and other authorities, reducing the number of public sector jobs in the county,” he said.

Kevin said income restoration was now IMPACT’s top priority after six years in which living standards had been “battered” for all but a small elite. “You cannot restore living standards without restoring incomes, and that means pay,” he said.

He said Ireland already collected less tax as a proportion of GNP than most EU countries. “Employers’ organisations are telling us that pay must stay static while taxes fall. That would mean working people trading any sort of income recovery for worse public services, while profitable businesses and their shareholders make no contribution at all,” he said.

Late last year official figures showed that almost 90,000 employees were receiving jobseekers’ benefits because their pay was too low or their working hours were too few, while over 40,000 working families were receiving family income supplement. The number of public servants who receive family income supplement (FIS) has increased by 32% since 2008.

Delegates overwhelmingly rejected calls for the union to adopt a blanket opposition to water charges after hearing water workers’ fears that this would put their jobs in jeopardy. But the conference united around concerns that water services could ultimately be privatised, which would herald both job losses and higher charges for households.

Many delegates paid tribute to the union’s work in protecting the jobs and working conditions of water workers after the establishment of Irish Water.

Government spokespeople have repeatedly said that there are no plans to privatise Irish Water.

The occupation of the Dublin shop and restaurant was prompted by the owners’ failure to pay over €50,000 in owed wages, although this figure is rising as more employees come forward with complaints of non-payment.

In a statement yesterday (Thursday) the workers said their employers were refusing to pay wages owed for months of work, and also refusing to declare the company insolvent. “The response from the public has been amazing. Our Facebook page is approaching 4,000 likes and MEPs, Moore Street traders, TDs, former customers and local businesses have all expressed their support for us in person and online. Almost 3,000 people have signed our petition,” they said. You can add your support HERE.

Last weekend ICTU president John Douglas joined the workers for two nights of the occupation and IMPACT was represented at a protest outside the shop last Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions has demanded that the Government immediately close the legal loophole that allows employers to leave workers unpaid when a business runs into difficulty. Its general secretary David Begg said: “We’ve been here before and will be again unless this legal loophole is closed and employers are obliged to honour their commitments and pay employees what they are due. The situation in Paris Bakery is history repeating itself. We’ve seen it in Vita Cortex, La Senza, HMV, Game, Thomas Cook and Connolly Shoes over the last number of years. Workers should not be forced to take this action to get what they are due.”

In 2012, ICTU made a submission to the Government outlining how the legal loophole could be closed.

The union asked candidates to sign a pledge that, if elected, they would support the maintenance of budgets for homeless services. IMPACT official Ashley Connolly said the campaign was inspired by Dublin City councillors’ decision to increase homelessness spending in 2014. She said guarantees were now needed to protect funding in future years.

"We're enormously grateful to those candidates who put their name to our campaign pledge. Since this campaign started, there has been a widespread acknowledgement that the country is in the grip of a housing crisis. There is a huge challenge facing us, but it now looks like the political system has woken up to it. Homelessness has moved from the margins to the centre of the debate," she said.

Derek Beattie of IMPACT's Boards and Voluntary Agencies branch said members' involvement in the campaign was crucial. "We put a challenge to our members to seek a pledge of support from candidates. They responded, and we seem to have engaged the local election candidates just as national awareness of the seriousness of our homeless crisis has increased. There's a huge amount of work to be done, and IMPACT members working in homeless services are at the frontline of the response," he said.

Opposition to the agreement is a key element of the international trade union campaign against human right abuses in Colombia, where murders, disappearances, threats and intimidation of trade unionists and other human rights activists are rife.

Human rights campaigners in Colombia and around the world reject claims that improved trade with the EU will lead to a change in the human rights situation. Instead they believe it will encourage the Government there and help undermine peace talks.

A large number of IMPACT members were involved, in professional or voluntary capacities, in commemorative events and initiatives at the National Museum, the National Library, the National Archives, the Hugh Lane Gallery, the Irish Labour History Society, Dublin and Dun Laoghaire libraries, Dublin local authorities and elsewhere. IMPACT members also participated in a food ship reenactment in October 2013.

The union also gave significant financial support to the Dublin Tenement Experience: Living the Lockout initiative. ANU Productions won the prestigious judges’ special award at the Irish Times theatre awards for the sell-out theatre event at 14 Henrietta Street, Dublin, which ran for over six weeks with seven performances a day.

IMPACT staff were also involved in the planning and execution of the official commemoration ceremony, led by President Michael D Higgins in Dublin’s O’Connell Street on 31^st August 2013, where a number of IMPACT members participated in a reenactment of 1913’s infamous Bloody Sunday baton charge.

The Municipal Employees’ Trade Union banner formed the centrepiece of the ‘Banners Unfurled’ exhibition at the National Museum of Ireland and remained on display in the museum’s Lockout exhibition.  IMPACT also part-funded a special module and video competition, about the Lockout and the continuing struggle for decent work, for the ICTU Youth Connect schools programme.