The Ethical Workplace initiative is taking place throughout the month of March and members are invited to take part in the initiative by responding to the question: What does an Ethical Workplace Mean to You? 

The central aim of the project is to ensure that the voice of workers is heard in this crucial debate. You can add your voice to the discussion by visiting the Ethical Workplace website.

You can submit your response by writing, or you can post a picture, upload a video, and get involved on Twitter using #ethicswork.

The Ethical Workplace initiative will run until Tuesday 31^st March. All the submissions will be collated and presented to President Higgins, at a celebration event in Liberty Hall in April.

IMPACT general secretary Shay Cody said “this is a wonderful opportunity for members to share their views on the ethical workplace. President Higgins has opened up a valuable debate.

Shay said that members now have the opportunity to get stuck into the discussion. “Trade unions have been working, since the beginning of the labour movement, to shape and influence the workplace as an ethical environment. As Ireland emerges out of its economic crisis, we need to talk about how we shape the next phase of development in the workplace. IMPACT members are well placed to make an informed and valuable contribution to this discussion” he said.

For further information about the project and to receive campaign materials please contact Helena Clarke at IMPACT’s Communications Unit.

The four SNA branches of IMPACT have commenced a ballot for industrial action on the issue of the fragmentation of SNA posts in schools. The ballot will close at 12 noon on Wednesday 25^th March 2015.

In a covering letter to members, IMPACT assistant general secretary Dessie Robinson said that there is growing evidence that the work of SNAs is being casualised, leading to a loss in working hours and income for many.

“This is a clear breach of the Haddington Road agreement, and the union has expressed this view to the Department of Education and Skills” he said. Dessie explained that the department continues to avoid getting into a discussion about the problem, and has instead pointed the finger of blame at the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) which oversees the annual allocation of the SNA service.

Dessie said the experience of SNAs was in stark contrast to other areas of the public service, where job protections have been maintained. “SNAs must wait every year to find out if they will have fulltime work in the year ahead, or if they will have their work reduced to just a few hours a week. Can the Department of Education and Skills say, in all honesty, that SNAs are afforded the same protections of job and income security as agreed under Haddington Road?”

 “As long as the department and the NCSE believe they are dealing with a casual and part-time workforce they will not invest in the professional development of the vital service that SNAs provide. Without investment, children with special educational needs will be disadvantaged in participating fully in their school environment. That is why we are asking members to take the necessary action to protect the future of the profession” he said.

Fragmentation

Responding to last year’s Budget announcement that 365 new SNA posts were being created, IMPACT deputy general secretary Kevin Callinan said he hoped that the increase in numbers would help guard against a growing trend for the fragmentation of existing posts. “While these new posts are a great addition to the service, individual SNAs have really suffered in the last couple of years as their posts are broken down into, in some cases, just a few hours a week. That’s not a good development for children who rely on the service, and it has made it impossible for many SNAs to make any kind of living from their work. I hope that the additional posts announced today can contribute to reversing this type of harmful work pattern” he said.

Members have started to receive their ballot papers in the post, and are encouraged to return them before the closing date. The ballot motion seeks “A firm commitment from the Department of Education and Skills that no SNA will have their working hours or income reduced once there is work available in the school, as determined by the NCSE allocation, prior to any new member of staff being recruited for that school.”

Irish economic recovery has kick-started a series of pay improvements in the private sector, further upward pay movement will happen this year and the public service needs to keep in step, IMPACT has said.

Speaking at the annual Industrial Relations News (IRN) conference yesterday (Thursday 12^th March), IMPACT general secretary Shay Cody said “Pay movement is not just a sign of economic recovery. It’s one of the elements that really drives recovery. Wage rounds are clearly underway in the private sector. The public service needs to keep in step with those developments.”

Shay was taking part in a panel discussion on “wage bargaining prospects for 2015 and beyond: private and public sectors”, scheduled as part of the IRN conference. The panel included Danny McCoy from the employer body Ibec and Patricia King, general secretary of Congress.

He said that pay rises in the financial, retail, construction and multinational sectors were early indicators of wage recovery, and that pay improvements of between two and three per cent would have a beneficial effect on the economy as long as it was replicated wherever employers could afford to do so. Shay added “Pay improvements across all sectors are key to boosting domestic demand. Most of that money goes straight into Ireland’s small and medium businesses because extra cash in workers’ pockets is more likely to be spent locally. This will be a key driver of job creation and the improvement of living standards generally, workers need to be able to spend more in the domestic economy” he said.

Shay said that talks with the Government on how to unwind pay cut legislation appeared to be getting closer. “The deficit target is on course to be achieved this year and our borrowing costs are lower than a lot of EU states, including Britain and France. These are all signs that something positive can be done on public service pay. We can achieve this in a way that’s keeping in step with what’s happening in the private sector. Wage movement is just one vital ingredient of economic recovery, and public service pay improvement is just one element of that” he said.

Shay added that it was technically possible to start unwinding the FEMPI Acts “from the bottom up which would generate pretty much the same cash amount for everybody. On this occasion, in theory, it is doable and I think we need to have a consensus as far as we can across the trade unions that we should go after that.”

Ictu general secretary Patricia King said real life needed to be injected into the economy but that this could not be achieved from tax reductions, and that all workers needed a pay increase. “We won’t be able to achieve that by tax reductions. Reducing tax reduces the State’s ability to provide quality public services and supplements the profits of companies by decreasing their need to dip into their own increasing profits and provide a reasonable pay increase” she said. 

Expectations

Speaking at the conference, the assistant secretary of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, Oonagh Buckley, said the Government’s capacity to pay and the expectations of unions in forthcoming talks “might be very different”, and added there is no certainty that a deal can be reached between the Government and trade unions on pay restoration for public service staff.

Ms Buckley said she wanted to caution that there was “a finite amount of money, a very finite amount of money available.”

Ibec director Danny McCoy said that, economically, the country was at the “cusp of something exciting” though it still had not returned to 2008 levels of economic activity. He added that Ireland does not have an oversized public sector, and said it was important that the Haddington Road Agreement (HRA) was opened up “sooner rather than later, but without unrealistic expectations.” 

An independently chaired joint forum, to discuss the future of the Dublin Fire Brigade (DFB) ambulance service, was established this week. This followed disputed proposals for the HSE’s National Ambulance Service (NAS) to take responsibility for all emergency calls in the Dublin region.

Members of the Haddington Road Agreement (HRA) oversight body, including IMPACT general secretary Shay Cody, met city manager Owen Keegan last week, to emphasise the necessity to comply with the terms of the HRA regarding any potential changes. Following these discussions, proposals were agreed for an independently chaired joint forum to discuss the future of the DFB ambulance service.

The forum will be chaired by former Dublin Chief Fire Officer, Stephen Brady, and all matters arising from the Control Centre Reconfiguration Project, as recommended in a recent HIQA Report, will be addressed by the forum. It was agreed that Dublin Fire Brigade will continue to be fully involved in emergency ambulance service delivery as part of the reconfiguration project.

IMPACT national secretary Peter Nolan said the union welcomed the appointment of Mr Brady who he said “has a deep understanding of the role of the Dublin Fire Brigade Emergency and Ambulance Service.  We firmly believe the people of Dublin are best served by the continued involvement of the Dublin Fire Brigade in emergency and ambulance provision.”

IMPACT assistant general secretary Andy Pike said the union has been discussing the changes for over two years.  “Council management has had ample opportunity to develop an organisational structure for the delivery of services that provides staff with certainty over the nature of their role and location.  While senior management have maintained regular contact with trade unions throughout the period leading to the amalgamation and since, they have not yet been able to formulate a final service structure for the new authority” he said. Andy has described the atmosphere at the local authority as “poisonous”.

Survey

Andy explained that a recent survey of IMPACT members highlighted the difficulties caused by the ongoing situation.  “Members reported that the lack of definite information around the structuring of departments and location of staff was a cause of uncertainty and anxiety. The vast majority of those surveyed believed that the information they had been given was incomplete and unsatisfactory” he said.

The survey response showed that the overwhelming majority of members said the level of information given to them about changes after the merger was average, poor or very poor. Of the almost 100 respondents to the survey, only six described the information as ‘very good’, with nobody suggesting it was excellent. Sixty-two people surveyed suggested there was not adequate consultation on the changes.

A total of 71 people said staff briefings with the change management team were not considered to be helpful, with 83 people saying they do not feel their concerns were taken seriously by management at the council. Seventy five respondents said they would support the withdrawing of co-operation.

Ballot

Andy said the branch committee decided it was necessary to ballot members following the survey. The work to rule would mean that union members would be instructed not to comply with any further changes to services, departments or locations until such time as adequate information is provided.

Andy added “It is unusual for the branch committee to ballot members on a local issue such as this.  However, given the strength of feeling expressed by members at recent general meetings and through the survey of all members, we believe that steps need to be taken to ensure that staff are provided with certainty as to what the future might hold for them and their service.”

The branch committee is urging members to vote yes in the ballot, which will close on Thursday 26th March.

IMPACT and Siptu will host a series of meetings in Galway and Roscommon over the issue of €7.5 million in unpaid premium payments to 400 social care staff working in the Brothers of Charity and Ability West services in both counties. The unpaid premium payments have accrued over the last ten years.

IMPACT assistant general secretary Padraig Mulligan explained that both unions have been endeavouring to secure the payment of the twilight premium (time and one sixth between 8pm and midnight) for social care workers and leaders in Brothers of Charity Services and Ability West for some time. He said the unions had already succeeded in securing payment from January 2015, but the arrears payment remains outstanding.

Padraig said the HSE accepted the legal entitlement of staff to the payments at a Labour Relations Commission (LRC) meeting last week. But he said the health body “equivocated over their liability to pay the historic arrears accruing to these staff since the entitlement arose. They have told us that they do not have the monies to pay these arrears and that paying twilight premium time going forward is the best they can do.

“This is not an acceptable position as far as we are concerned, particularly in light of the fact that last week they just paid all back monies to agencies in Dublin. If they can pay it to staff in Dublin they can pay it in Galway and Roscommon” he said.

Padraig explained the unions are holding a series of meetings to take direction from members on a response to the developments.

 
The meetings take place as follows:

For all social care workers/leaders members in the Brothers of Charity Services, Galway & Ability West:

Venue: The Clayton Hotel, Dublin Road, Galway

Date: Thursday, 26th March, 2015

Time: 12 noon to 3.00 p.m.

For all social care workers/leaders members in the Brothers of Charity Services, Roscommon & Ability West:

Venue: The Abbey Hotel, Roscommon

Date: Wednesday, 1st April, 2015

Time: 12 noon to 3.00 p.m.

IMPACT national secretary Peter Nolan welcomed the minister’s comments. “We campaigned vigorously against the proposals in relation to reducing the number of local councils in Ireland. The abolition of town councils has reduced the capacity of towns, for example Ennis and Newbridge among many others, to act as economic generators for their communities and this is a disappointment.

“Ireland has the weakest system of local government in Western Europe, with the fewest councils enabling direct participation by the public. The decision to abolish town councils was a retrograde step. We would welcome an honest discussion with government in relation to the effects of their policies with a view to ensuring greater participation in local government” he said.

Peter also criticised successive governments for stripping local authorities of responsibility for refuse collection, driver licensing, education grants, direct responsibility for water provision, and other services.

“Local democracy badly needs some champions in Irish society. If central authorities continue to take away local government responsibilities, local authorities will become empty shells. It will become impossible to demonstrate the need for local elections, or to justify local taxes, including the property tax.”

IMPACT has outlined a series of commitments from Aer Lingus, which the union has said would be required if the Government agrees to sell its stake in the company to IAG, following a formal bid. The Government has rejected a proposed bid by IAG, and has invited the airline group to improve its offer.

IMPACT national secretary Matt Staunton wrote to the Aer Lingus CEO Stephen Kavanagh this week in response to a letter from the CEO to all staff, which Matt described as a “selective and upbeat” account of a meeting that took place between unions and management of both airlines last Friday (6^th March).

In the letter, Matt outlined the commitments the union would seek in the event the state share was sold to IAG, but said these were communicated to the airline “without prejudice to the fact that it remains IMPACT’s view that we don’t believe that the proposed takeover is a good idea for jobs, for Aer Lingus workers or for Ireland’s connectivity and economic development.”

Matt said the commitments he described would need to be processed into a suite of collective agreements, with all terms incorporated into contracts of employment.

The full text of Matt’s letter was issued to IMPACT members in Aer Lingus in a special bulletin.

Labour briefing

A delegation from IMPACT met with a group of Labour deputies on Wednesday (11^th March) in order to give a briefing on the union’s position on the proposed takeover by IAG.

IMPACT re-stated its opposition to the proposed takeover, and supplied a copy of Matt Staunton’s letter outlining the commitments the union would seek in the event of a sale of the state’s share in the airline.

The group of Labour deputies had tabled a motion at their party conference in Killarney two weeks ago, which was overwhelmingly passed and called on the Government to reject a bid by the IAG for shares in Aer Lingus if concerns about the sale are not addressed.

Following the meeting with IMPACT, a number of Labour TDs told the Irish Independent newspaper that they thought IMPACT was “warming” to a possible takeover. This claim was firmly rejected by IMPACT, and said the reported comments were a misinterpretation of what was said at the meeting.

The Pillar Room in the Rotunda hospital was packed, with a strong trade union presence, including the newly appointed general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) Patricia King and  Seamus Dooley, general secretary of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), who chairs the Trade Unionists for Civil Marriage Equality campaign.

Politicians and a wide variety of civil society organisations also attended, and the launch was chaired by former RTÉ journalist Charlie Bird.

Chairwoman of Marriage Equality, Grainne Healy gained a standing ovation for her speech in which she said that “The referendum gives Irish people the chance to secure true equality for lesbian and gay people, who are our sons, daughters, brothers and sisters. We are the family values campaign. We value love, commitment and family security.”

Joe O’Connor, organiser with IMPACT, attended the launch and was impressed by the positive energy and enthusiasm at the event. He said “This is an amazing opportunity for people to get involved in a campaign that would bring joy and happiness to people’s lives if there’s a positive result. I urge members to become actively involved where they can, be it fundraising, campaigning or simply wearing the badge.”

Readers' Poll

We’re asking readers of the IMPACT ebulletin how they intend to vote in the marriage equality referendum on Friday 22nd May. IMPACT is supporting the campaign for a ‘YES’ vote in the referendum, following a motion to IMPACT’s biennial delegate conference last year from the Sligo branch.

Taking part in the poll is anonymous and is hosted via the Survey Monkey website. You can take part in the poll HERE.

The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin TD, has published the first Annual Progress Report on the implementation of the Government’s Public Service Reform Plan 2014-2016. The report can be viewed on this link.

The Report details 150 examples of public service reform, including a 20% reduction in the public service pay bill, a new public service ICT strategy, a centralised procurement model for public services, improved property management, the merging of state bodies and the implementation of the Civil Service Renewal programme. The report states that the Haddington Road Agreement (HRA) continues to play a critical role in improving productivity, reducing costs and enabling reform.

Mandate launched their Decency for Dunnes Workers Campaign in May (2014). As part of the campaign Dunnes Stores workers want a number of issues addressed including:

• The implementation of banded hour contracts which would give workers security of hours and earnings
• Fair pay for all workers in Dunnes Stores
• A review of Dunnes’ excessive use of temporary contracts of employment
• Individual and collective representational rights for Dunnes workers

In November last year, a survey of 1,200 Dunnes Stores workers found 76% were on a part-time flexible contract and 98% wanted more stable hours. Almost 90% of workers said they thought the hours were unfairly distributed, with 89% saying it is common practice that new employees on lesser terms and lesser rates of pay receive more hours than longer-serving staff on better terms.

Mandate briefed IMPACT members and staff in the IMPACT head office last week and called on all workers to support this campaign.

Gerry Light, Mandate assistant general secretary said: “Despite Dunnes Stores threatening job losses and cuts in hours, our members have taken the remarkable and very brave decision of voting in favour of industrial action.

“The close result of this ballot is a reflection of the nervousness felt by staff members over their security of income and security of their jobs.”

Gerry added, “Lest we forget, Dunnes remains a highly profitable retailer with an estimated turnover of approximately €2.2bn in the Irish grocery sector alone. It won’t cost them anything but pride to sit down and negotiate a banded hours framework which would afford their employees the same security of hours and income which is commonplace in all of their main competitors.

To support the campaign like their page on facebook here, or sign up for updates on the campaign website here.

You can register here, and choose Special Olympics as your chosen charity for any fundraising you may do. After registering you will receive a fundraising pack, which includes a free Special Olympics Ireland t-shirt.

Emma Horgan of Special Olympics Ireland said “The Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon is the biggest all women's event of its kind in the world and an integral annual event in our fundraising calendar. By taking  part you’re helping to change the lives of thousands of athletes across Ireland and having fun.

“Team Special Olympics will be running, jogging and walking the 10km to help raise much needed funds for Special Olympics Ireland. It is a day full of fun and this year, we need your support more than ever. In 2015, our goal is to raise €10,000 and have 300 women signed up to Team Special Olympics. Every euro literally counts”she said.