The Government has published the legislation to give effect to the Lansdowne Road Agreement. The Bill, published last week, is expected to be enacted in November. When enacted, the new legislation will amend previous FEMPI Acts to begin the phased restoration of public service pay as agreed in the Lansdowne Road Agreement (LRA). The Bill also makes provision for the partial restoration of pension reductions to public servants.

The Public Services Committee (PSC) of ICTU voted by aggregate ballot to approve the Lansdowne Road Agreement in September. The agreement extends the main provisions of the Haddington Road Agreement until September 2018, restoring around €2,000 to the pay of most public servants in 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.

The Bill also provides for the repayment of a small amount of pension levy (€62.50 gross) that was deducted in 2013. IMPACT general secretary Shay Cody explained, “This will apply before the end of 2015 and, in technical terms, the exemption threshold for the Pension Related Deduction (pension levy) in 2015 will increase from €15,000 to €17,500.

“This arises as the Haddington Road Agreement (HRA) provided for a reduction in the rate of the pension levy in the second half of 2013, but was not possible due to administrative and legal difficulties at that time” he said.

Shay added that during discussions with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) Public Services Committee, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin TD, confirmed that this would be paid during the lifetime of the HRA and has now confirmed this will be paid in December 2015.

Deal approved

Individual unions balloted their members on the terms of the LRA through the summer months. The agreement was endorsed by members of the BATU, CPSU, IFUT, the Irish Nurses & Midwives Organisation (INMO), SIPTU, the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO), MLSA, TEEU, PSEU, UCATT and IMPACT.

Shay said that the Lansdowne Road Agreement marked a significant step forward for workers after seven years of pay cuts, and reflected a growing trend for wage improvements across many sectors of the economy since 2014.

“Workers in the public and private sectors have faced huge challenges during the economic crisis. Pay improvements across all sectors are a crucial element of the country’s continuing economic recovery. More money in workers hands will largely be spent in the local economy, improving living standards and, most importantly, contributing to the job growth which has now developed,” he said.

Public sector pensions were the subject of a separate engagement with the ICTU Public Services Committee and the Alliance of Retired Public Servants during Lansdowne Road talks last May, as pensions are not directly covered by the agreement. Pensions will be increased by way of a reduction in the pensions related deduction (Public Service Pension Reduction – PSPR) made from pensions in payment.

The Government announced in yesterday's Budget that a review of trade union subscriptions for tax purposes will be carried out next year.

Tax relief on union subscriptions was abolished by the previous Government and the relief has not been in place since the end of 2010.

Following lobbying by IMPACT, the Government has now committed to a review on the appropriate treatment for tax purposes of trade union subscriptions and professional body fees. The process, due to be carried out next year, will include a public consultation.

Congress says low pay changes in budget must be first step on road to Living Wage and decent work

Responding to the Budget yesterday (Tuesday 13th October), the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) said that Budget 2016 included some positive measures that will see lower paid earners make measurable gains, with the rise in the minimum wage together with adjustments to the PRSI system and changes to the Universal Social Charge (USC).

Congress general secretary Patricia King said  “We see the increase in the minimum wage as but a first step towards establishing the Living Wage and decent work across the economy. We also reiterate our call for a refundable tax credit, in this regard.

“Congress has campaigned over recent years to boost the living standards of very low earners and we acknowledge that the Budget has delivered progress on this.

“However, middle income earners appear to have benefited less and Congress had proposed a Universal Social Charge tax credit that would have ensured greater equity and fairness.

“It is also troubling to see that the high earning self-employed appear to have gained significantly in the budget, which now introduces a greater inequality into the tax system.”

Ms King said that the childcare measures outlined will offer improved provision and are a first step, “But the key issues facing the sector are high cost and low pay, combined with accessibility and capacity.”

Ms King said that the measures announced in relation to housing have the potential to help resolve the crisis, if realised and brought fully to fruition, but she said the issue of rent regulation needs to be addressed urgently.

IMPACT, which represents local authority staff providing services to Irish Water, has said that the new Irish Water business plan, which was published last week, raises a number of questions as to how the national water utility can continue to operate following the elimination of 1200 posts over the next five years.

IMPACT national secretary Peter Nolan said that the plan does not indicate how Irish Water proposes to maintain its operational capacity following the shedding of a significant amount of the workforce, and rejected claims that the utility is overstaffed.

Mr Nolan said “What is not yet clear is how Irish Water will continue to meet the demand to provide a service, including the continuing upgrading and integration of the water network. The absence of information raises concerns that it would look to outsource or privatise some elements of its operation in order to boost its capacity.

He said that the key issue for staff and for the union is that the workforce arrangements would be managed through existing service level agreements, as well as the protections against compulsory redundancy contained in the Lansdowne Road agreement.

Mr Nolan added that existing service level agreements require that staffing levels have to be agreed each year, and that there are now 356 fewer staff working under the service level agreements than two years ago. “We have worked closely with the employer to ensure that the skill and expertise of local authority staff would be fully utilised under these agreements, in order to meet the substantial challenge of integrating and upgrading a national water network.

“Over the lifetime of these agreements it is envisaged that the number of staff required would be reduced, but this latest plan seeks to arbitrarily reduce the number without considering the operational issues that are likely to emerge.

“We do not see how the proposed level of staff reductions can be achieved within existing agreements. We will engage with the employer but we cannot rule out industrial action if agreement can’t be reached,” he said.

In a subsequent radio interview, Ervia group CEO Michael McNicholas revealed that he did not know what jobs would be targeted under the plan.

AUDIO: The Last Word, Today FM, Wednesday 7th October, Eamonn Donnelly, IMPACT national secretary, interviewed about the Irish Water plan from 52 minutes.

IMPACT suspended industrial action in the dispute over unpaid premium payments to 400 social care staff working in the Brothers of Charity and Ability West services in Galway and Roscommon at the end of September.

The work to rule action had been in place since early September.

IMPACT trade union’s School Completion Programme (SCP) branch has welcomed the long awaited study by the ESRI into the SCP which was published last week.

The SCP was established in 2002 and provides strategic support to vulnerable children, enabling them to complete their second level education. The programme is made up of 124 local projects, which work in 470 primary schools and 224 secondary schools nationwide.

IMPACT’s SCP branch chair, Cáit Ni Mhurchu, said that the ESRI report clearly states the success of the programme. “This report highlights, as one of our strengths, that SCP has added a whole new dimension to the way schools operate, and acknowledges this new dimension of community that the service provides to schools.

“The study recognises the value of being able to access vital information about the family and home life of children in the programme, the opportunities arising from a less formal communication with children and parents, and the immediate support from the SCP counselling service. These are all key components of the service we provide,” she said.

Ms Ni Mhurchu, who works with the programme in Kilkenny, said that the ESRI’s findings were an important milestone for SCP, as the programme had suffered very significant cuts since 2009. Initial funding in 2002 was set at approximately €32 million. This has now been reduced to around €24 million, and has forced many SCPs to suspend some elements of the programme.

The ESRI study found that expenditure cuts have curtailed SCP provision at a time of growing need at school level, and was identified as a significant weakness in the study. The study states that the pattern of funding cuts was at odds with international evidence that early intervention is likely to have a greater impact, and be more cost effective, than remedial intervention after disengagement and drop-out from school.

The study also cites governance as a weakness of the programme. James Kavanagh, a member of the union’s branch executive who works with the SCP programme in Swords, County Dublin, said that the union has campaigned for necessary reforms to address SCP governance issues since 2006, and that the union welcomed the fact that this issue had been highlighted in the ESRI study.

Mr Kavanagh said that the study recommends that all coordinators and project staff should be employed centrally for reasons of accountability and equity, a view shared by the union. The study also suggests that SCP is a crucial complement to DEIS provision in schools.

The union said that the publication of the ESRI study will add further to the current debate as to which government department or agency should develop SCP into the future.

SCP was devised by the then Department of Education and Science in 2002 and moved to the newly formed Department of Children and Youth Affairs in 2011. It was subsumed into Tusla in 2014.

Responding to recent calls in the Dáil for the programme to return to the Department of Education and Skills, Minister for Children, Dr. James Reilly, said, “With regard to the current location of the programme, I do not have a closed mind, but it is a very important programme and one that I strongly support. Its value is very much proven.” [Questions to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Dáil Eireann 6 May, 2015].

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) has begun a campaign for an effective solution and is currently carrying out a survey of trade union members. IMPACT members have been invited to take part in the survey which is available HERE.

Your participation in the survey is entirely anonymous. Participants have the opportunity to enter a draw for €100. If you choose to enter the draw, your contact information will only be used for the purposes of the draw and will not be shared with any third party, nor can it be used to identify your survey answers.

A pilot scheme, which will enable civil servants to accrue 1.5 days flexi-leave per month, will commence in November.

The introduction of the scheme follows discussions with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform under the terms of the Lansdowne Road Agreement to restore the maximum flexi-leave of 1.5 days per flexi period.

National secretary for IMPACT's Civil Service division Andy Pike explained, "These arrangements will commence in the November flexi-leave period and 1.5 days leave can be taken within the November period if staff have built up sufficient credit.

"The pilot will be reviewed in six months, within the context that the average amount of flexi-leave taken across the service should not exceed 13 days per annum. The current average is approximately seven days per annum" he said.

Andy added that a management circular will issue shortly to confirm arrangements for the pilot.

IMPACT members at Dublin Fire Brigade have withdrawn their industrial action, following proposals to address the staffing complement following discussions facilitated by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).

DFB members had balloted in favour of industrial action over what they described as management’s ongoing failure to maintain the number of firefighters sufficient to ensure their safety.

It’s estimated that Dublin Fire Brigade is currently 70 firefighters below the full complement of 963, with upcoming retirements expected to create a deficit of 120 firefighters by June 2016. IMPACT and Siptu have said that many firefighters are working unsustainable levels of overtime because of the current staff shortage. Siptu members have also withdrawn their industrial action.

IMPACT assistant general secretary Phil McFadden said that the union has sought a timeframe on recruitment from management that would confirm when new recruits to the fire service will have completed their training and be appointed to duty. A copy of the proposals is available here.

Public Procurement represents some 18% of EU GDP and EPSU has emphasised the importance that this money is well spent to provide quality goods and services with quality employment.

Read more here.

The ETUC elected its new leadership, which includes former ICTU Legal Affairs officer Esther Lynch, who has taken up her post as confederal secretary with the ETUC.