IMPACT has demanded that management produce stronger service level agreements (SLAs) to ensure that water services are maintained and improved when they transfer from local authorities to Irish Water next month. In a meeting this week, the union told management that the SLAs tabled so far were too weak because they don’t properly define the staffing and other resources that will be committed to future water provision.

The SLAs are needed to define how local authorities will provide services on behalf of Irish Water between 2014 and 2026. IMPACT says they must be sufficiently durable to ensure successful service delivery over this 12-year period.

At a meeting of the Irish Water Consultative Group (IWCG) last October, employers restated an earlier commitment that SLAs would be “sufficiently durable” to cover the period to 2026. The agreements, which are being negotiated in all local authorities, are meant to establish robust service levels and nail down agreed staff protections.

But this week IMPACT criticised management for suggesting that precise details of staffing and other resources may not emerge until the spring. Management agreed to come back with clearer proposals after the union said its approach could put staff and services at risk.

Meanwhile, the union continues to press for an absolute assurance that its members will not be ‘conscripted’ into the new water company against their will. IMPACT national secretary Eamonn Donnelly has told management that the union’s continued cooperation is founded on the commitment that staff will not be moved compulsorily.

Eamonn Donnelly wrote to branches to reiterate this position after the Water services No.2 Bill was published earlier this month. The bill provides for the transfer of services to Irish Water and sets out details on metering, charging and penalties for non-payment.