The committee met on Wednesday (3^rd June) to consider the content of the agreement, which 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 agreement, to be known as the Lansdowne Road Agreement, provides for engagement and consultation for workplace change, oversight arrangements, dispute resolution and crucial outsourcing protections.

In recommending the vote, the union’s executive acknowledged that the new agreement achieved the essential objective of fairness by taking a flat rate approach to pay restoration. The executive further welcomed the fact that the agreement marked the first step forward on pay in the public service since emergency legislation (FEMPI) was introduced by the Government in 2009.

Phased restoration

Subject to the ratification of the agreement by members of the affiliated unions, the phases of pay restoration will occur as follows:

2016

• PHASE ONE: 1st January – The pension levy threshold (the salary amount above which the levy is payable) increases to €24,750 (from the current threshold of €15,000). This will reduce the pension levy by €600 per annum for all public servants earning above the threshold.
• Annualised salaries up to €24,000 will increase by 2.5% through a partial reversal of the 2010 public service pay cut.
• Annualised salaries between €24,001 and €31,000 will increase by 1% via the same mechanism.
• PHASE TWO: 1st September – Pension levy threshold increases to €28,750. This will further reduce the pension levy by €400 per annum for all public servants earning above the higher threshold.
• The combination of these measures in 2016 will improve all public service full time incomes by around €1,000 per annum.

2017

• PHASE THREE: 1st September – Annualised salaries up to €65,000 increase by €1,000 per annum.

Non-fulltime staff will receive pro rata increases based on the increases in annualised salaries. As the pension levy applies to annual income in each calendar year, the benefits for non-fulltime staff will vary. The effect on take home pay from the reduction in the pension levy will vary depending on an individual’s tax rate. The take home effects arising from increases in pay will vary depending on the individual tax rate, PRSI status, pension contribution and pension levy.

Haddington Road restoration and pensions ‘grace period’

In a covering letter that will accompany ballot papers being sent out to members next week, IMPACT general secretary Shay Cody said it was disappointing that management was unwilling to extend the (2017) €1000 increase to categories of staff earning above €65,000, a development that only emerged at the conclusion of the negotiations. Shay added “An important aspect of the agreement is that it confirms that pay restoration for these staff, negotiated as part of the Haddington Road Agreement (HRA) will apply on 1st April 2017 and 1st January 2018.”

Shay added that the agreement also confirms that the Government intends to provide for a continuation of the ‘grace period’ for this group, which means that both the reduction in pay and any deferral of increment progression under Haddington Road will be disregarded for pension purposes.

Pensions increase

In a separate engagement, the management side confirmed to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions Public Services Committee and the Alliance of Retired Public Servants that pensions will be increased by way of reducing the deduction made from pensions in payment. The threshold for the deduction will be increased from its current level of €12,000 leading to a maximum increase of €900 over the period 2016-17. This means around 80,000 public service pensioners (of a total 140,000) will be exempted from the deduction during this agreement.

Associated issues

The unions used the opportunity of the pay restoration talks to raise a number of issues with management. These are subject to ratification of the overall agreement and include the following:

• Professional registration fees (CORU) – these fees will be frozen at the current rate of €100 per annum until the expiry of the agreement.
• Health sector job evaluation – management has accepted that the principle of job evaluation applies and will meet to conclude arrangements for its conduct and scope in the health sector.
• Flexitime – it was agreed to conduct a pilot scheme in the civil service extending the flexitime carryover period to one and a half days per month. The outcome will be reviewed after six months.

A range of other issues were also covered, and details of these are being communicated to the relevant branches of IMPACT as ballot preparations continue.

Ballot papers will be sent out to branches and individual members of IMPACT from next Friday (12^th June). The ballot will close at noon on Friday 3^rd July.

Peter Nolan, national secretary with IMPACT said “The Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) and Public Appointments Service had commenced a short-listing process based upon psychometric testing. IMPACT objected vigorously to this proposal which was neither discussed nor agreed with the union.”

Peter added that, following IMPACT’s objections, psychometric testing will not be applied to the confined competition for the posts. “Candidates who applied for the posts and who have been notified that they failed the tests will now be advised that they are eligible to go to the next stage of the competition. The LGMA has advised that the tests will be applied to candidates for public competition” he said.

Peter said the union will raise the issue at the next meeting of the Local Authority National Council scheduled for next week.

Paddy Quinn, IMPACT vice president and one of the coordinators of the scheme, said “IMPACT operates this small grants scheme as part of an ongoing contribution to the community in which it is based and the fund supports local initiatives in the areas of education and intercultural development.

“In 2015, the Dublin fund had a budget of €35,000, which will be divided between the two designated areas of education and intercultural development. The maximum grant is €1,000” he said.

“This year the fund has been extended to other parts of the country in which IMPACT is based. Therefore, IMPACT is looking to establish community contacts in the areas surrounding its regional offices in Cork, Limerick and Sligo.

“In Dublin we placed an open call, using an established network of local community activists, to local groups and organisations from the Dublin North East Inner City. Today we agree the recipients of the grant, and we look forward to hearing about the excellent work that goes on locally” Paddy said.

IMPACT vice president Paddy Quinn explained “The Labour Court issued its recommendation in 2008 but the Government refused to implement the recommendation because of the economic situation. Talks resumed last year and unions felt that it would be possible to make progress on the issue.

“However, our claim was again rejected in March this year on the basis that there were implications for other sectors and that pensions should be dealt with by employers. Our employer/sponsor, who is solely funded by the Department of Social Protection, was not involved in the hearing leading to the recommendation” he said.

Paddy explained that a joint meeting of IMPACT and SIPTU officers decided to meet with supervisors, with a view to initiating a campaign of non-cooperation with changes to their terms and conditions. Paddy explained that meaningful consultation and agreement was vital prior to any changes.

The meetings will be held jointly where possible.

Meetings in Cork have already taken place, with further meetings scheduled through the local network group as follows:

• Letterkenny: Donegal: June 10^th
• Naas, Kildare: June 11^th
• Tipperary/Waterford in Clonmel: June 11th
• Tullow, Carlow: to be confirmed

The chair of IMPACT’s Local Government division, Shane Lambert, kicked off proceedings at conference telling delegates that the years of recession has encouraged workers to unite and support each other. Shane said “Attempts to pit private and public sector workers against each other have failed. Workers are coming together to support each other in times of difficulty. We need to value that solidarity and continue to support each other”.

IMPACT delegates voiced concern over the underrepresentation of women at senior management level in local government. Angela Kirk, assistant general secretary with IMPACT said “Figures from July 2014 show that of the 31 chief executive posts in local government only seven are held by women; that is 22%. In 2013 at least ten local authorities had no women employed at managerial level, including county manager posts, director of service and heads of finance posts. Research from the Department of Justice and Equality last year tells us that we have the best educated female population in Europe but we do not use this talent to best effect.

Mick Scully cycled from Portlaoise to Galway to raise funds for the Nepal earthquake relief fund, and arrived into the Local Government divisional conference on Wednesday 20^th May. He was supported by the Ordnance Survey branch of IMPACT and an ordnance survey car accompanied him on his 145km journey. Any IMPACT branches wishing to donate to the cause can contribute by sending a cheque payable to: “UNICEF Nepal Children’s Crisis Fund” and post to Gerry Duffy, Treasurer, Ordnance Survey IMPACT Branch, Ordnance Survey Office, Government Buildings, Hebron Road, Kilkenny City (Ph 085-1610600).

The Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government Alan Kelly TD, addressed delegates on Thursday 21^st May. In his speech he acknowledged the important role public servants have played in the economic recovery. He also made a commitment to engage in discussions with IMPACT on a number of issues including library amalgamation proposals, the future of fire services, social housing and sick leave anomalies.

An emergency conference motion, calling upon the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Paschal Donohoe TD, to oppose the sale of the Government’s stake in Aer Lingus, was passed by delegates in the Services and Enterprise division on Thursday 21st May. IMPACT national secretary Matt Staunton told delegates that the CEOs of both Aer Lingus and IAG had refused to respond to union requests for assurances on worker’s pay, or terms and conditions in the event of a successful takeover of Aer Lingus by IAG.

The issue of library amalgamations was high on the agenda at the Local government conference as branches from Dublin, Laois, Louth, Meath, Monaghan, Cork, and Cavan brought motions about the proposal to bring the number of library services in the country from 32 to 23. National secretary with IMPACT Peter Nolan said “no cost benefit analysis has been carried out, whilst the merger of two or three library services in this way will result in a loss of expertise at the highest level and ultimately lead to a reduced service to the public”.

A motion to oppose the amalgamation of veterinary services was also passed. Rita Gately, County Veterinary officer for Galway, spoke to the motions and said “The proposals would mean that the county veterinary posts would be regionalised and there would be a direct reporting structure to the lead authority, of which there would only be three in the whole of Ireland. This would result in lost autonomy and a lessened ability to interact with and support local abattoirs and meat manufacturing premises”.

These conferences concluded conference season for 2015. IMPACT will mark the 25^th anniversary of the union at the biennial delegate conference next year.

IMPACT national secretary Matt Staunton commented, “We face a mounting challenge to secure the jobs and pay for existing and future staff. Too many questions remain about what management will look to extract from its workforce when the inevitable restructuring phase commences under new ownership.

“For the staff at Aer Lingus, genuine concerns about compulsory redundancies, the prospect of a further erosion of their terms and conditions, and the fallout from future restructuring under IAG all remain” he said.

Matt added that written assurances about compulsory redundancies and outsourcing, sent by Aer Lingus to the Government prior to the Dáil vote, are contingent upon achieving further efficiencies. “The employer will look to extract these from Aer Lingus staff. In other words, the employer is saying to staff that they have a choice between their job or a further erosion of their terms and conditions of employment” he said.

Matt said the union would now concentrate on using the system of registered employment agreements (REAs), legislation for which is due by the middle of the year. “Our approach will be to have the commitments we sought built into a future REA, which will be legally binding. There is no doubt in our minds that IAG will seek to avoid having a newly acquired Aer Lingus bound by such an agreement, so nobody is underestimating the scale of the challenge” he said.

Related items:

• IAG has failed to address staff fears at Aer Lingus – The Irish Times, Friday 29^th May 2015
• Talk of ‘opportunity’ for IAG leaves many questions unanswered – The Irish Examiner, Thursday 28^th May 2015

Patricia Fanning is equality officer for IMPACT and worked closely on the campaign representing IMPACT, organising campaign literature and badges, and facilitating debate through updates and lobbying.

Patricia said “it was an honour to get to work on this campaign for IMPACT, and it really opened my eyes to what can be achieved when people band together for a good cause.

“The atmosphere of jubilation which soaked the country for days afterward is a real testament to how far we’ve come as a country, and how much this change was wanted by so many.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who supported us in this campaign. The activists who gave up their evenings and weekends to canvass, the Sligo branch for putting up signs and proposing the motion, the Dublin city branch for the bus posters, and to everyone who took part in activities big and small, I would like to say a massive thank you.

“When history is written on this momentous event unions, and IMPACT members in particular will not be found wanting for the part that they played in winning marriage equality” Patricia said.

On the 12^th of June this year’s World Day Against Child Labour emphasises the importance of free and compulsory education up to at least the minimum age for employment. A good standard of relevant education prepares children to go on and make the most of the labour market in adulthood, preventing a cycle of poverty and underage work.

Recent figures suggest that approximately 168 million children around the world are engaged in child labour. 120 million of these are aged between 5 and 14.  Along with a failure to keep children in school long enough, poverty, a lack of decent work for adults and inadequate social protections lie at the root of the problem.

Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest incidence of child labour with extreme poverty and armed conflicts seeing the phenomenon thrive. The issue is most acute in the developing world, but Europe is far from immune to the problem. In fact, thousands of children are forced to work in dangerous conditions across the continent.

The international community is currently considering its failure to achieve a range of education targets in the lead up to 2015. As the process of devising new strategies develops it is essential that decision-makers acknowledge the importance of aligning education and child labour policies.  For our own part, we can try to ensure that our consumer choices and the campaigns we support help to end the abuse of children as child labourers, furthering the objective of securing for them their most basic of human rights.