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IMPACT has also said that the Department of Health itself has questioned UHI as a model for funding public health services. A March 2014 Department of Health document says “there is no compelling argument as to why we would move away from our current funding mechanisms.”

Louise said the biggest UHI burden would fall on families that currently have no health insurance and no medical card. “It’s safe to assume that most people in this category, which could be said to typify the so-called ‘squeezed middle,’ simply cannot afford private health insurance. Yet they will now be compelled by law to pay,” said Louise.

She added that people who currently have health insurance would also pay more because of plans to withdraw tax relief on health insurance.

Louise told the Glenties event that structures necessary to change the health service funding model – including hospital and primary care clusters – were “nowhere near working.” Current plans would leave Ireland with a “two-or-more-tier system,” with better services for those who can afford to pay more. Meanwhile, hospitals would continue to struggle to keep on budget while meeting demand.

IMPACT says the recent consultation over UHI was a sham because it did not allow consideration of any approach except the ‘competing insurers’ model favoured by former minister Reilly. “There are many models, including successful models, of funding universal health provision. The ‘competing insurers’ UHI model has been selected without consideration of the alternatives so this rushed consultation has been a sham,” said Louise.

The union wants the Government to look at models from France, Germany and the Nordic countries. “The single-payer social insurance systems adopted in these countries are providing equality of access to what, by Irish standards, are high quality, well-funded and efficient health services,” said Louise.

See a video of Louise’s speech.

Speaking on the theme of internal and external threats to the Irish economy, Shay said these rent hikes would inevitably seep into wage bargaining, as they did between 2002 and 2008. “There is an urgent need for Government intervention in the housing market. Private tenants must be given greater security of up to five year leases, up-rated by the consumer price index,” he said.

Emphasising the need for policies to address the housing shortage and soaring rents, Shay highlighted the National Economic and Social Council’s (NESC) proposals for an off-balance sheet social housing programme.

Separately, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions has called for a huge boost in public housing investment in its pre-budget submission, which was published last week.

Wage policy forum

He also said the absence of a national wage policy, and a forum for wage policy discussion, were threats to Ireland’s economic wellbeing. “Despite the terrible mistakes made by the Troika and the Government, we are now seeing the first indications of recovery translating into the beginnings of pay movement in parts of the private sector. This is happening company by company. It is too early to consider any national agreement but we will eventually need a national framework for productivity and wage movement in the environment of a single currency and global competition,” he said. 

He repeated IMPACT’s demand that the EU deal with the unfair debt burden placed on Ireland by the bank bailout, which had saved the European banking system. “The absolute priority of our Government should be to continue to redress the burden. Less than five million Irish people shouldered 42% of the cost of the European banking crisis. A modest recovery in our domestic economy will not overcome the monster of this unjust debt,” he said.

The full text of Shay’s speech is available to download HERE.

See a video of Shay’s speech.

Staff at five hospitals have refused to report to, or cooperate with, the manager since Monday of this week.

The work-to-rule means staff are refusing to acknowledge instructions from the manager, provide data to him, co-operate with changes directed by his office, or agree to relocate, redeploy or change assignments if instructed. IMPACT says the action will not affect service delivery, but has warned that it could escalate if staff are penalised for refusing to work with the consultant.

The action was supported in a ballot by 90% of the IMPACT members in Ennis general hospital, Limerick regional hospital, Limerick maternity hospital, Croom orthopaedic hospital and Nenagh general hospital.

IMPACT assistant general secretary Andy Pike said the action was designed to highlight the opposition of hospital staff to the excessive and unwarranted salary payments being made through a management consultancy.

“The HSE director general has said the mid-west hospital group needs additional administration staff to provide vital services to patients. The money spent employing just one management consultant would cover the costs of at least five clerical staff to help the hospitals cope with increasing demands. In these circumstances, staff very much resent reporting to a senior manager who is being paid at least twice the correct rate for the job,” he said.

Andy said the union had written again to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which is investigating the engagement of the manager through Starline, a private sector management company. “While the hospitals group is expected to take steps to fill the chief operations manager post, it still appears that they are intent on retaining this consultant on a salary way above the proper rate for the job. Our action will continue until we get confirmation that the Starline contract is finished,” he said.

IMPACT first wrote to PAC chairman John McGuinness in May, setting out its concerns on corporate governance and senior staff salaries in the hospital group. Mr Pike said any proper investigation would show the expenditure was unjustified.

As part of a wider set of commitments over the establishment of Irish Water, IMPACT won agreement that unions would be involved in the service plan process which, among other things, will determine staffing levels.

It has been agreed that posts vacant in 2014 will be filled, but it has emerged that departmental sanction has only been given for 18 months or two years in some cases. IMPACT says this goes against the agreement and will have to be addressed by the Irish Water Consultative Group (IWCG), a national forum involving unions and management.

IMPACT national secretary Eamonn Donnelly said the IWCG has agreed that 2014 staffing levels would be the starting point for discussions on annual service plans. “We do not intend to allow local management or the department to move off that position,” he said. 

A joint committee is to be established to look at shared benefit schemes, while executive committee representatives who represent similar grades in each union will meet to discuss issues of common interest. Meanwhile, each union will assign an official to discuss the possibility of sharing responsibilities in negotiations. The intention is to develop an agreed paper on future collaborative steps.

Meanwhile, there will be further joint meetings of the executives of the five unions.

The initial meeting was called in the context of a report of a commission on Irish trade unions, established by ICTU, which found that the structure of the trade union movement – including the number of trade unions – was reducing its effectiveness. The report was unanimously adopted by the ICTU conference last year.

IMPACT has given €10,000 to an ICTU support fund established to help 70 Dublin workers locked out by Greyhound waste management. The workers, who are members of Siptu, are surviving on €200 a week strike pay after the company refused to let them work unless they accept a 35% pay cut.

IMPACT’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) approved the donation yesterday (Thursday). The CEC noted that IMPACT had strongly opposed the privatisation of Dublin’s refuse collection, correctly predicting that it would lead to higher charges, poorer service and an erosion of workers’ rights. The CEC agreed to explore possible campaigns to bring privatised services like this one back into public control.

James Burke, one of the Siptu members on the picket line in west Dublin, was seriously injured after being hit by a van at the depot on Wednesday. Siptu says this was the third such incident since the dispute began.

In a letter to unions, ICTU general secretary David Begg said that the company’s treatment of its workers was intolerable. “For the sake of workers everywhere this behaviour must be effectively opposed. It is imperative that the whole trade union movement should join this cause,” he said.

Members of all unions in the Dublin area have been encouraged to complain directly to Greyhound about how it’s treating its workers, and to sign a petition calling on Greyhound to stop using strikebreaking tactics and negotiate with staff.

By the end of next month, unions will be in a position to accurately inform each individual employee about how the expert group and company proposals will impact on their pension benefits at retirement age. IMPACT believes it would be unfair to workers to leave a huge cloud over their retirement income without informing them of the facts and giving them the chance to vote.

The pension fund covers most staff in Aer Lingus and the Dublin and Shannon airport authorities.

IMPACT said all unions had agreed a recommendation from the expert group to establish a joint communications steering group, which has been chaired by a former Siptu official. The communications group – which includes reps from all the unions concerned, including Siptu – has agreed to provide each employee with an individualised information pack, which will be available for distribution next month prior to a ballot.

It has also been agreed that helplines and information websites will be established for staff in the three companies – Aer Lingus, Dublin Airport Authority and Shannon Airport Authority. Information meetings are also being organised.

Meanwhile, meetings between unions and management will take place shortly to discuss the final proposals received from Aer Lingus and the Dublin Airport Authority.

A Budget for Jobs, Homes and Growth says spending cuts of €2 billion are not necessary to meet Ireland’s deficit reduction targets. Research by the union-backed Nevin Economic Research Institute suggests a €800 million adjustment is sufficient. ICTU says this should not come through spending cuts, and instead argues for a wealth tax, increased employers’ PRSI on incomes over €100,000, reform of capital acquisitions tax, and higher duties on tobacco, sugar, salt, saturated fat and online betting.

ICTU says increasing the standard rate tax band or reducing in the marginal income tax rate would not benefit the majority of PAYE workers. Meanwhile, the current system of tax credits has a limited impact for many low-paid workers because they don’t earn enough to use their full tax credit.

“The introduction of refundable tax credits would tackle this issue as the unused portion of their tax credits would be refunded to such workers. A study undertaken for Social Justice Ireland identified that 130,000 low-paid workers and their families would benefit from refundable tax credits,” said ICTU general secretary David Begg.

Water

The submission also says household water charges should be limited to households with a combined income of over €80,000. “Access to water is a human right. Moving to a system of regressive user charges risks plunging vulnerable households into water poverty. The announced system of free allowances is insufficient to prevent households from falling into water poverty, as well as being an inefficient and expensive policy tool,” said Begg.

ICTU also urges the Government to allocate an extra €400 million to social housing, household benefits and mental health services next year. Launching the submission, Mr Begg welcomed a €300 billion EU-wide investment package, announced by incoming EU President Jean-Claude Juncker, which will be delivered through public-private partnerships, the EU and the European Investment Bank.

“There has been a private investment strike in Europe and the public sector has been unable to fill the gap because of debt. Public sector capital expenditure has all but disappeared in Ireland and we urgently need to reverse this trend,” he said.

"Nothing less than a reversal of these cuts will prevent future shortfalls in these vital services. We are in the midst of a crisis on homelessness, and Government action needs to reflect that. The social housing strategy, due to be published by the Government, needs to commit to the level of investment required," he said.

Earlier this year, the union welcomed the decision of Dublin City Council to reverse planned cuts of €6 million in the 2014 homelessness budget. “Our recent campaign to protect Dublin City Council homelessness budgets  was widely supported with over 100 local election candidates pledging to protect funding for the next five years. That pledge needs to be met with a commitment from central government," said Joe.

IMPACT assistant general secretary Ashley Connolly said housing provision should top the Government’s priorities for the remainder of its term. “To meet the commendable objective of eradicating homelessness by 2016, we need to commit to a substantial programme of investment in social housing to meet current demand and prevent against future crises of the scale we are witnessing now," she said.

The latest IMPACT intervention follows a report that Dublin City Council has sought over €25 million from the Department of the Environment to increase housing stock. This would see over 1,300 extra dwellings being allocated to homeless families between now and 2016.

IMPACT has pushed hard for the exercise, which has been a long time in preparation. It’s expected to examine staffing levels, including shortfalls and disparities between different areas. It will also look at the roles and responsibilities of clerical and admin staff.

A small number of pilot exercises will be carried out by former IMPACT general secretary Peter McLoone and former HSE HR official Nuala Clarke from next month. The IMPACT meetings have been organised to take place in advance of these formal meetings.

ICTU legal affairs officer Esther Lynch said the ratification was a major step forward for domestic workers, and the unions and campaign groups that supported them. “Our coordinated campaign has moved the Government to back this important convention, which gives domestic workers a right to decent work. The Government can now be held accountable for upholding that right at the ILO,” she said.

The Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI) described the ratification as a "landmark day for workers" and said it would give increased protection for thousands of vulnerable domestic workers in Ireland. Aoife Smith of MRCI said: “In this hidden sector, working conditions are generally poor and exploitation is rampant. By ratifying this convention, Ireland is recognising the value of this work and promoting the rights of workers in private homes.”

Smith said the MRCI had seen cases of extreme exploitation, trafficking and abuse of domestic staff, as well as underpayment and widespread disregard for basic employment rights. “Domestic workers provide essential support and care to households and families all over Ireland. We believe this ratification gives us the opportunity to create a care sector that provides quality jobs and quality care,” she said.

The ILO is a United Nations body made up of representatives of unions, employers and governments.

In a joint statement, Public Services International and the European Federation of Public Service Unions expressed particular concern at reports of hospitals and emergency services being over-stretched and unable to cope with the high number of casualties. “The European Union, UN Security Council and international community must step up their efforts to ensure a ceasefire,” it said.

The two organisations said a democratic, inclusive and non-sectarian solution to the ongoing conflict had to recognise the fundamental rights of Palestinians, including refugees, and include an immediate end to the Gaza blockade and Israel’s illegal settlements.

Meanwhile, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions has called on the Irish Government to summon the Israeli Ambassador to Ireland and demand that Israel ceases its bombardment of Gaza.  The Irish Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, which is supported by ICTU, has organised a demonstration in Dublin tomorrow (Saturday). It will start at 2pm at the Spire in O’Connell Street and march to the Israeli embassy.

These messages of support – and calls not to forget the girls – will also be sent by the UN Special Envoy for Global Education to Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan. Messages can be sent from this link.

The University of Limerick’s department of personnel and employment relations, together with an IMPACT member working in the health services, are carrying out a survey exploring the issue of bullying in detail. IMPACT members are invited to complete the survey HERE. It takes about ten minutes to complete. Participation is voluntary and the survey remains open until 31^st July 2014. Bullying affects the wellbeing and work effectiveness of victims, as well as observers and the organisations they work in. The direct impact of bullying on individual wellbeing – reduced job satisfaction, stress, anxiety, and so on – have been extensively reported.