The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin TD, last week (Monday 30^th November) formally signed the Commencement Order bringing into law the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (FEMPI) Act 2015.

The Act gives effect to the provisions of the Lansdowne Road Agreement and amends previous FEMPI legislation, which has underpinned the various public service pay and pensions reductions since 2009.

It follows the passing of the legislation by the Seanad last week.

The Minister praised the role of public servants in maintaining delivery of public services through the years of crisis in an atmosphere of industrial peace. “Thankfully, we are in a position to commence the unwinding of that financial emergency legislation. This Act illustrates that this Government is committed to the process of income restoration for serving and former public servants. This package is aimed at delivering particularly for the lower paid.  I am pleased that we have been in a position to recruit once again into the public service with a particular focus on front line positions like Gardaí, teachers and nurses”.

The FGE branch of IMPACT has secured agreement on new measures to establish 430 members of the branch as officer grade civil servants by confined competition.

Subject to members having the standard criteria on service and suitability, they can now apply for establishment having completed one year of service, without interview or formal competition. The measures follow intensive negotiations over the past year between IMPACT's FGE branch and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER).

The negotiations were conducted by the FGE branch's seconded officials Thomas Cowman and Eugene Dunne.

Thomas said the new competition model is a more functional appointment method. "It replaces an archaic and anachronistic model that has existed since 1956 and has moved the department into a position where it has devolved authority, to handle applications for establishment, to line departments at a local level in conjunction with Public Appointments Commission" he said.

Pensions

The establishment of the existing 430 staff will have a significant effect on their pensions.

Eugene explained, “Depending on whether a person is employed pre or post-1995, there will be significant benefits in pensions. Non-established members, employed after 1995 and prior to the new single pension, will see an increase in gross pay of 5.21 per cent, which will feed into their final pension.”

Eugene added that those recruited after 2012, and subject to the single pension scheme, will also have the security of permanence in status equal to all officer grades. The branch is currently in discussions with DPER to have this competition annualised, given the criteria of the single pension scheme.

Competition

IMPACT national secretary Andy Pike said that the new measures were a welcome departure from the previous system, where sporadic competitions for establishment were agreed on a ‘grace and favour’ basis. He added “The branch has described the new approach as a more functional model and I think that’s a good way to describe it. Under this new model, the authority to handle applications for establishment is devolved locally, and provides a fairer approach for experienced staff.”

Both Eugene and Thomas said that this is a significant breakthrough in the area of establishment and includes a very large group of IMPACT members (430). The branch has advised that individual members check their circumstances with both their employer and the Department of Social Protection before taking up the offer.

Download DPER’s circular  - Selection Process for Established Appointments to Certain Grades in the Civil Service (Confined)

A special event for IMPACT members and their families, to celebrate the beginning of the Christmas season and to raise donations for the Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP), took place at Rumley’s Open Farm at the end of November.

The event,organised by IMPACT's Cork branch, proved so popular with members that 100 tickets had to be allocated through a lottery sytstem, and drew in applications from over 500 interested members.

IMPACT organiser Linda Kelly said Rumley’s open farm provided a truly magical setting for the event, and members enjoyed a fun filled day highlighted with a visit by Santa Claus himself. Linda said that members were encouraged to bring along a gift on the day to be donated to the SVP. “We were completely overwhelmed by the generosity of our members. The volume of donations gathered was beyond our expectations,” she said.

The gifts were collected by SVP member Brendan Dempsey on Monday. Linda added, "The donations completely filled the van. Contributions included clothes and food, all of which are so beneficial to families at this time of year. There were also some beautiful toys, including Lego, colouring sets, One Direction merchandise and much much more."

Brendan added,“These high quality toys will ensure that many boys and girls in the Cork area will wake up on Christmas morning and have wonderful presents to open. The Society of St Vincent de Paul and the broader community hugely appreciate the generosity shown by IMPACT members and their families.

"This Christmas, over 140,000 families in communities across the country will ask SVP for help with food, presents and basic clothing. The donations made by the Cork branch members will help us to bring some Christmas joy and warmth to many families in Cork communities," he said.

Louise Guiney is a Masters' student in Journalism and New Media.

You can make a donation to the work of the Society of St VIncent de Paul HERE.

Management proposals to resolve a dispute, concerning new responsibilities for marriage registrars, were considered and agreed last week by the IMPACT Health and Welfare Divisional Executive (DEC).

The dispute centres around new responsibilities contained in the Civil Registration (Amendement) Act 2014, specifically in relation to so-called ‘sham’ marriages, requiring HSE registrars to identify applications for ‘marriages of convenience’ and to refuse such applications when necessary.

The legislative amendments were introduced in August but without any prior consultation with registrars about the substantial new duties and responsibilities involved. IMPACT advised registrars not to undertake any new duties associated with the legislation.

Independent review

In a letter to management this week, IMPACT assistant general secretary Robbie Ryan sought an early meeting with the agreed independent facilitator and said that the agreement to move forward with the proposals meant that the matter would no longer require a referral to the Labour Court.

The proposals include a commitment to appropriate training for registrars and an independent review of services with agreed terms of reference. In the interim period, the ‘marriage of convenience’ functions will be carried out by the most senior staff available (not below Grade 6), pending the completion and implementation of the review recommendations.

A copy of the proposals is available here.

IMPACT has challenged Irish Life on its continuing refusal to attend the Labour Court and the unilateral imposition of an inferior new pay model for its staff. Irish Life staff are represented by the Unite trade union. IMPACT is a longstanding customer of Irish Life and has pension funds invested through the company.

In a letter to the insurance provider, IMPACT general secretary Shay Cody said the new ‘median-based’ pay model - which breaks the link between profits and pay, and between inflation and pay - would deprive workers of security in respect of future pay progression. “Already, around 70 per cent of Unite members in Irish Life know that they cannot expect a wage increase in the foreseeable future.

“As one of Ireland’s leading pensions and life insurance providers, we understand that Irish Life prides itself on offering its customers security – while at the same time depriving its workers of security.

“We are advised that Irish Life is persistently refusing to attend the Labour Court in respect of all its workers, and has instead decided it will negotiate collectively with some categories of workers, and not with others. This intransigent stance from a former state enterprise to avoid the industrial mechanism of the state is not acceptable to us or our members” he said. 

Shay explained that IMPACT had concerns about the manner in which Irish Life was treating its staff and stressed the need for the company to attend the Labour Court in respect of all its employees. He said that in the absence of a positive response, IMPACT’s continuing relationship with Irish Life would have to be reviewed.

State investment in public infrastructure must be substantially increased to make up for lost ground and ensure future social and economic development, according to a new report by the independent progressive think-tank, TASC. The report was published in conjunction with Engineers Ireland.

The analysis by Paul Sweeney, chair of TASC’s Economists’ Network, makes the case for substantially increased State spending to compensate for underinvestment in public infrastructure in recent years.

The report, A Time for Ambition: Ensuring prosperity through investment, suggests Exchequer funding of €42bn in the years to 2021. This level of investment is €15bn more than the €27bn spend projected in the government’s six year capital and infrastructure plan released earlier this year.

Mr Sweeney said “Ireland has been under-investing in public infrastructure in recent years, exchequer investment fell to its lowest level in 50 years in 2013. Investment in infrastructure is vitally important because it underpins economic and social development and ensures future progress. This report shows that public investment can be difficult to get right both fiscally and because of various EU rules."

He added that a recent IMF study on public investment found that, for every €1m invested, there is a rapid return of €2m. "When there is a high loss of potential output, as Ireland has suffered, the returns on infrastructural investment are high," he said.

The key institutional reforms suggested in his report include:

• The establishment of an Infrastructural Commission, which would bring much needed long-term planning back into government policy.
• The adoption by the EU and each Member State of a ‘Golden Rule’ of minimum infrastructural investment by governments.