Social care workers and leaders across Galway and Roscommon have commenced industrial action today (Tuesday 8^th September) in a dispute over the outstanding €7.5 million in unpaid premium payments to the 400 social care staff working in the Brothers of Charity and Ability West services in both counties.

The staff, who work with people with intellectual disabilities, have commenced a work to rule. The action includes non-cooperation with additional duties and non-cooperation with service user appointments outside of the normal working week. IMPACT assistant general secretary Padraig Mulligan said the dispute has the potential to escalate to include work stoppages and a withdrawal from transport duties.

Padraig explained that IMPACT has sought to secure the payment of the twilight premium (time and one sixth between 8pm and midnight) for social care workers and leaders in both employments for more than a year. He said that while IMPACT had already succeeded in securing payment from January 2015, the arrears payment remains outstanding despite the HSE’s acceptance that the staff have a legal entitlement to them.

“The Minister for Health, Leo Varadkar, intervened in the dispute when we had previously been on the verge of taking industrial action. There was a proposal at the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) last July that three years back pay would be paid but that deal was taken off the table at the last minute the Department of Health. Staff now have been left with no choice but to take action.

“These are people that never go on strike but because they are decent and dedicated, they are being penalised. This is the last thing they want to do but their backs are to the wall and they are not walking away from it now. Any form of industrial action is the action of last resort, and many of the members involved have expressed their concern for service users, they did not want it to come to this," he said.

Rob Partridge, an IMPACT member working with the Brothers of Charity in Ballybane since 2008, explained, "This is not something any of us want to do. It's the last resort. I'm not happy about it but there is nothing else we can do."

Maura O'Callaghan works in Ability West. "I am feeling disheartened and just frustrated with the whole situation. This is ten years pay that we haven't been paid. It's hands-on work. It's personal care. There are a lot of unsocial hours when most people are at home with their families. This is our money, our salary, our pay, what we are legally entitled to. But we are hopeful we will get an agreement."

Padraig took the case to the Labour Relations Commission in 2013, and secured the payment from January 2015 onwards late last year. “We went to the LRC to try to do resolve this once and for all. In the end three years was agreed on at the LRC. It was being brought to the members for a ballot but the Department of Health withdrew this without explanation,” he explained.

Padraig said that the workers involved would continue to provide care to all service users, but he warned that the action could escalate if the matter remains unresolved.

IMPACT deputy general secretary Kevin Callinan has said that the current refugee crisis demands a pan-European humanitarian response. “This refugee crisis is something that hasn’t happened overnight, it is something that has been building, it needs a pan-European response with members of every European State playing their full part in this,” he said.

In a letter to Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan in May this year, Kevin expressed IMPACT’s concern about the emerging crisis on Europe’s southern borders. “Europe’s position cannot be limited to border management, it must also include a humanitarian response” he said.

Kevin added, “IMPACT is calling on the Irish Government to use its influence in Europe to help initiate a fundamental change in approach. The starting point to a resolution of this crisis is the immediate restoration of adequately-funded search and rescue missions. Beyond that refugees and asylum seekers require safe, legal routes to secure living environments in Europe. Significant commitments are required from nations across the EU to achieve this. IMPACT is calling for Ireland to be proactive in meeting its responsibilities in this regard.”

Dangerous border

Reflecting on the tragedy last April, during which up to 900 people died south of Lampedusa, Sicily, IMPACT organiser Keivan Jackson wrote in the IMPACT blog that the tragedy compounded the Mediterranean’s status as “the most dangerous border in the world.”

Similar tragedies were recorded throughout the summer months, with more than 2,500 people losing their lives as they attempt to flee conflict zones in Africa and the Middle East, most notably from Syria. The human cost was driven home sharply last week as the picture of the three year old Aylan Kurdi was beamed around the globe.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has called on EU members to admit up to 200,000 refugees as part of a binding “mass relocation programme”, while the EU is due to formulate plans to relocate refugees across the EU.

More than 36,000 people signed an online petition calling on the Government “to commit to allowing thousands not hundreds of refugees seek refuge in Ireland.” The Irish Government has announced this week that it is increasing the number of refugees the state will take.

Practical help

With a more focused response now evident in EU states, many people are looking at how they can offer practical assistance to the thousands of families seeking safety in Europe. 

Donate

• Concern Syria Programme – you can donate to the Irish charity’s appeal here
• Ireland Calais Refugee Solidarity is raising money here
• Irish group Disaster Tech Lab are sending a team to the islands between Greece and Turkey. Their goal is to establish working internet and communications at the sites. You can donate here, while the group are also looking for Irish volunteers
• The UNHCR can be donated to directly here
• Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), who have three ships operating in the Mediterranean at present, can be donated to here
• The UN’s childrens’ fund UNICEF has a donation page here
• A specific fund named in honour of Aylan Kurdi was set up within 24 hours of the circulation photographs of his body emerging. All proceeds will go to the humanitarian agency Hand in Hand for Syria.
• Red Cross Europe provides support for asylum seekers. Their page is here.

[Donate] Donate goods from a ‘wish list’

There are a number of wish lists that have been set up online to help ease the supplies issues surrounding the crisis. One list directing goods toward Calais and Greece can be accessed here.

Non-monetary donations

Naturally a lot of goods that aren’t readily available and can’t be bought easily over the internet would be especially helpful given the unique nature of the current crisis:

• Books – the Jungle Library have set up a makeshift library at the Calais camp
• Cars – Refugee Action are accepting old cars as donations
• Instruments – Music Against Borders are taking donations of old or unwanted instruments for the migrants at Calais

Support and solidarity

The current crisis is the largest of its kind since World War II. Conflict has displaced millions of people who are taking the ultimate risk of crossing the Mediterranean because it is the only option left open to them. The warm welcome offered by ordinary citizens across Europe in recent days is a profound example of the support and solidarity that these refugees urgently need.

The European Public Services Union (EPSU) is currently researching the position and actions of member unions regarding the ongoing refugee crisis and how budget cuts in services dealing with asylum claims, housing and healthcare are exacerbating the situation, in advance of an emergency Justice and Home affairs Council meeting on 14^th September that will discuss an EU response to the crisis.

IIMPACT has contacted Irish MEPs urging their support for the European Citizen Initiative (ECI) on recognising water as a human right. The European Parliament is due to vote on its report on the ECI today (Tuesday 8^th September) in Strasbourg. IMPACT is also urging the MEPs to oppose two controversial amendments which have been added to the report.

In a letter to all Irish MEPs, IMPACT national secretary Peter Nolan urged them to oppose two amendments to the report because they don’t respect the demands of the two million EU citizens that supported the ECI.

Peter explained, “One of the amendments deletes the demand that the European Commission comes forward with a legislative proposal to recognise the human right to water and sanitation based on the UN resolution of 2010 in the European Union, while another seeks to remove provisions that would ensure that water and sanitation services are not part of the scope of trade agreements such as TTIP.”

ECIs were introduced as a legal tool, as part of the Nice Treaty, which forces European institutions to consider issues that win the necessary public support. The Right to Water ECI was launched in 2012 by the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU) and supported by IMPACT, successfully collecting almost two million signatures across Europe. It aims to exclude water and sanitation services from EU internal market rules, and legislate to ensure water and sanitation assets remain in public control.

Peter added that the ECI enjoyed very broad support across the EU and that to reject the demand for concrete legislative steps to protect water services would be considered by many citizens as proof that their voice does not count. “It will signal that the instrument of the ECI to improve participation of citizens in EU decision-making is not serious. We must also ensure that water and sanitation services are excluded from the scope of trade agreements. We are counting on your support to oppose these amendments” he said.

Peter added that most of the other amendments in the report relate to the question of public versus private ownership. He added that the supporters of the ECI favour public control, operation and ownership of the all water services.

UPDATE Wednesday 9th September:

Following the vote in Strasbourg yesterday, the EPSU issued the following statement, confirming that IMPACT's lobbying efforts were successful:

"Another milestone for the Human Right to Water.

With today’s vote the EP demands that the EC make concrete legislative proposals to recognize the human right to water and sanitation as defined by the UN.

This victory is for the supporters of the Right to Water and also for democracy in the European Union. This vote adds support to the 1.9 million signature collected, backs up what the candidates to the Presidency of the European Commission previously agreed, and the report of the Economic and Social Committee as they all call on the Commission to act. The European Commission can’t ignore the demand for concrete legislation.

The European Parliament rejected all the amendments that were watering down the spirit of the demands of the ECI.

Jan Willem Goudriaan, ECI vice president, comments "The explicit exclusion of water services from concessions Directive and from Trade negotiations is a long standing demand that the EP has supported". He adds "It is very important that the members of the EU Parliament have taken the citizens demand into account. Water matters to them.

The ECI right2water will continue to work until the European Union recognizes water and sanitation as a human right. Today is a day of joy.”

A commemoration ceremony to remember Carmel Kirwan was organised recently by IMPACT’s school secretaries’ branch. A beautiful stone chair was unveiled in Carmel’s honour at the Three Sisters marina in New Ross, County Wexford. Carmel’s husband Frank, and her children Dymphna, Mark and Garreth along with family, friends and IMPACT representatives attended the event.

“It is nice to think there is a little bit of IMPACT in New Ross. This memorial is fitting tribute to Carmel and to her tireless work on behalf of school secretaries throughout Ireland over many years, was the driving force behind the school secretaries’ branch from the very beginning. She was a tireless advocate for the recognition of the work of school secretaries nationwide”, said IMPACT president Jerry King.

Carmel made an immense contribution to organising and supporting school secretaries countrywide over four decades. She worked in St. Mary’s Secondary School, New Ross, from 1978 until her retirement in 2006. She established a network of school secretaries in the South East; in the early eighties became involved in the precursor to IMPACT, the LGPSU, school secretaries’ vocational group and actively promoted membership of the union for this isolated group of workers.

She was chair of the vocational group from 1989 until its dissolution in 2007 when the IMPACT school secretaries’ branch was formed. She acted as chair of the new branch for eighteen months, she was also a member of her local Wexford branch for some time.

Patricia Whelan, a long term colleague of Carmel’s in the vocational group and the school secretaries branch also spoke at the event. “Carmel was a true champion for school secretaries. She was a strong advocate for continuous up-skilling and constantly campaigned for training to be provided and funded centrally for all school secretaries. When the IMPACT branch was formed in 2007 she prepared a handbook for the new branch committee which has been a tremendous help and assistance to them for many years.”

Photo credit: Jim Campbell Photography Wexford

This news item was amended on Wednesday 9th September.

The Labour Court has made a recommendation on a disputed assault and injury scheme for staff working on the Oberstown campus in North Dublin. The Court recommended two amendments to an existing set of management proposals presented to the union last April.

The dispute arose after a number of different work practices were identified among the various schools that amalgamated in 2009 to establish Oberstown. One of the issues that emerged was the four year rolling period for the assault and injury scheme.

IMPACT assistant general secretary Tom Hoare said the amendments provided a significant improvement on the original management proposals. He explained, “The core issue here was that staff could be unduly penalised by a four year rolling scheme because they are in a workplace with a higher risk and instance of serious assault.

IMPACT argued that the four year rolling period was not part of the existing terms and conditions for the staff who had been moved as part of the amalgamation. The matter was referred to the Labour Court in June following a conciliation conference at the Labour Relations Commission.

The new proposals formally incorporate the use of management discretion to determine whether or not to extend the scheme to an employee, who has exhausted their benefits under the scheme, within a four year period. The Court noted that management had exercised discretion about the extension of the scheme on a number of occasions in 2013.

The Court’s amendments call for an appeal mechanism, where an employee is denied an extension of benefit, and that the scheme should be reviewed after 12 months in operation.

Tom added, “This is a workplace that needs a robust and adequate assault and injury scheme in place. We’ve seen a very significant number of staff out of work due to assault-related injury this year. The amendments provide better safeguards by providing for an appeal mechanism where an extension of the scheme is denied, and the 12 month review gives all parties the opportunity to ensure that the scheme meets the needs of staff affected by assault-related injury.”

Members of the Irish Nurses & Midwives Organisation (INMO) have balloted in favour of the Lansdowne Road Agreement by a margin of 71%. The ballot result, announced at the end of August, adds to the number of unions that have balloted in favour of the agreement. Siptu, the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO), MLSA, TEEU and IMPACT have all balloted in favour, and the executive of the CPSU has recommended a ‘yes’ vote to its members.

The agreement is subject to ratification by an aggregate ballot of the Public Services Committee (PSC) of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. The PSC is due to meet next week.

The Lansdowne Road Agreement extends the main provisions of the Haddington Road Agreement until September 2018, and restores around €2,000 to the pay of most public servants in three phases between January 2016 and September 2017. The pay restoration will be achieved through a combination of adjustments to the public service pension levy and a partial reversal of the 2010 public service pay cuts. In July, IMPACT members backed the agreement with 75% voting in favour.

IMPACT members working at the Irish Aviation Authority have voted to back a new industrial relations agreement that includes a 6% ‘cost of living’ pay arrangement over four years, as well as new pay scales, ‘career averaging’ and a new internal binding dispute resolution system. The IAA is to formally consider the agreement at a meeting in early October.

The deal is known as the ‘New Industrial Relations Collective Agreement’, and covers 290 air traffic controllers, 52 radio officers and 46 safety inspectors. All are members of IMPACT. The agreement is designed to achieve cost stability and industrial peace.

Assistant general secretary Johnny Fox negotiated on behalf of all three IMPACT branches at the Authority, who have all backed the deal. Johnny said the deal provides “certainty on salary movement, salary protection and incremental progression over the next four years and beyond.” Johnny added that a reduction in incremental scales will enable a majority of members to access additional salary movement.

Last week the respected journal, Industrial Relations News(IRN), reported that the new binding dispute resolution system will be chaired by former IMPACT general secretary Peter McLoone. The employer nominee is Brendan McGinty, formerly of Ibec, and the union nominee is former general secretary of the CPSU, Dan Murphy.

IRN reported that the new internal dispute resolution board would ensure the proposals will be implemented and prevent the company “from arbitrarily either altering or undermining the terms of the agreement or indeed any current or future agreements.”

The ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation) is celebrating the first victory for staff rights at Qatar Airways (QR) after the airline admitted that it has removed its contractual pregnancy and marriage prohibitions.

The company had previously imposed ridiculous rules on women working at the airline, requiring that anyone becoming pregnant had to notify management, at which point the individual was likely to lose her job. The company also forbade marriage for the first five years of employment, after which time permission to marry still had to be sought from the employer.

The two bans were exposed by the ITF. The airline was forced to review its working practices following the exposure and their inclusion in a complaint made by the ITF and ITUC (International Trade Union Confederation) to the International Labour Organization (ILO) in June 2014.

The complaint was upheld by the ILO in June 2015 in a judgment that found the airline guilty of systemic workplace sex discrimination, particularly in relation to the marriage and pregnancy prohibitions. The airline subsequently admitted that it has changed the offending policy. 

ITF general secretary Steve Cotton commented: “Since we first made these rules public in September 2013 we have made it clear that they had to go. By exposing them we unleashed a torrent of stories of what it is like to work for the airline. These show that it still has far to go and much to learn about treating its personnel as human beings, but, under pressure, it has made some progress. We congratulate everyone, including those who bravely and secretly spoke to us from inside the airline, those in trade unions, in the wider aviation industry and in the media who helped us decry these abuses and force the airline into this action.”

ITF president Paddy Crumlin added: “Qatar Airways has been shamed into action, and that’s a tremendous advance. No amount of hiding behind ‘best airline’ awards has kept the truth about how staff are treated from emerging. We, along with everyone who works for the airline, hope that they will now address what many of those workers call the ‘climate of fear’ at Qatar. There’s much to be done but the airline has made one step towards it.”

The Simon Communities in Ireland have launched a campaign asking for the public’s support in urging the Government to put the homeless and housing crisis at the top of the Cabinet agenda. Simon Community states that the Government response to the current situation is inadequate. The Simon Communities also launched their Pre Budget Submission, ‘Changing the forecast – addressing the homeless and housing crisis.’

Niamh Randall, National Spokesperson for the Simon Communities, speaking about the Homeless Forecast campaign, expressed concern that the Government were not addressing the crisis with the measures and urgency it needs.

“People who are homeless are being failed time and time again by the state. It is unacceptable to expect people in emergency shelters or sleeping rough now to wait two years to have a place to call home. People need homes now. The Simon Communities are working to change the outlook for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. But to do so significant and urgent Government action is required. This crisis requires a whole of Government response – it is not possible for one Minister or one Government department to do this alone.

“Our campaign, www.simonhomelessforecast.ie, urges people to send a letter to An Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Tanaiste Joan Burton demanding that they bring this critical situation to the top of the Government’s agenda. They have the power to make the changes needed. Urgent action must be taken because the future for people who are homeless in this country is very bleak,” she said.

Congress motion

In July, IMPACT trade union’s motion to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions conference called for a coordinated plan to ensure housing provision, an end to homelessness and adequate security of tenure, including the regulation of rents through an indexation system similar to systems in use in other EU countries.

The motion received the unanimous backing of delegates at the conference, and follows IMPACT’s Roof is a Right campaign. IMPACT represents staff working in homeless services across the community and voluntary sector.

Kieran is a civil rights activist and also played a pivotal role in securing decriminalization of homosexuality in Ireland in 1993. He has been a champion of human rights and equality over the years, particularly for lesbian, gay and bisexual people.  He is the current Chairman of GLEN, the gay and lesbian equality network and has worked closely with successive governments on the development of legislation in the areas of equality for lesbian and gay people.

Arthur Leahy is director of Southern Gay Men's Health Project based in Cork. He is also a founder of Cork Gay Community Development Project and has had long term involvement in Cork's Quay Co-Op initiative. He is also centrally involved in a substantial Sheltered Housing initiative is also a board member of GLEN.

Kieran and Arthur were nominated for the honour by Jerry Buttimer TD, and their names will now go forward for possible selection as Cork Persons of the Year at a Gala event next January.

Kieran is featured in the current edition of Work & Life under Inspiring Public Servants.

IMPACT’s Cork branch has made a donation to a fund set up to assist Jason Cierans, who was put into an induced coma after suffering a brain injury following an assault in Sydney, Australia.

While he was taken out of intensive care this week, he is likely to need more treatment, and his family don’t yet know how long it will take him to recover. Jason’s mother Stephanie is a member of the Cork branch executive and represents members in the Mercy University Hospital.

IMPACT organiser Linda Kelly said, “Stephanie is our colleague and friend and hopefully we can support Stephanie and her family at this incredibly difficult time. We are keeping Stephanie, Jason and their family in our thoughts and prayers at the moment.”

Linda added that donations can be made to the fund via this link.

The Combined Services Third World Fund (CSTWF) has published its annual report for 2014. The fund awarded 68 grants for projects in 16 developing countries during the year under review. €172,900 of the total amount granted went to educational projects.

The fund was established in 1980 by trade unions representing staff in the Civil Service, An Post and other state agencies. The fund relies on voluntary contributions of employees and pensioners that join the fund. The contributions (roughly 1 or 2 cents in every €10) are deducted at source from pay or pension. Since its foundation, the fund has made in excess of 1,800 development grants and over 40 emergency aid grants totalling €8,000,000.

Joe Maher, formerly of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) explained, “The Fund places a high value on education as it is central to development, enabling people to overcome poverty. It is the “helping hand” rather than the handout.”

The report shows that €41,400 in grants were given to health projects. Other sectors to benefit from grants made were agriculture, community development, and the provision of water and sanitation.

The full annual report is available here.