An arbitration finding by arbitrator Kevin Foley (who has been subsequently appointed Labour Court deputy chairman) has recommended four separate pay rises of 2.5 per cent for school secretaries and caretakers, who are paid from grant funding, between 2016 and 2019.

Under the proposals school secretaries and caretakers, employed directly by boards of management in State-funded schools, would see their minimum hourly rates increase from €10.25 to €13 an hour over the period. The finding means that these workers, irrespective of their current rate of pay, will benefit from a cumulative pay increase of almost 11% over the next four years. Those earning less than the minimum will benefit by a higher percentage.

The finding comes after a sustained campaign by IMPACT trade union, and follows a commitment to secure a collectively bargained outcome in talks conducted in tandem with the Lansdowne Road discussions in May this year.

Caretakers and secretaries pay rates vary, as they are determined by the individual board of management of each school, and paid from the ancillary grants paid to the schools by the Department of Education and Skills. Almost all are paid below the scale paid to equivalent public service workers, including a minority of secretaries and caretakers who are paid directly by the department.

Responsibility

IMPACT deputy general secretary Kevin Callinan said that the arbitration finding had not eliminated the two-tier pay sytstem but the proposals would end the most exploitative practices.

“Until now we had no collective agreement for staff employed directly by their schools. We had no forum within which to set agreed levels of pay, and employers took no responsibility at all for the erratic and unfair system that was in place.

“This is a significant result because it sets an improving standard over the next four years, and gives us an established rate of pay, with certainty on pay improvements over the period. It doesn't solve the problem, but it does close the gap. As such, it marks a vital first step. Most significantly, the total gain over the lifetime of this deal will be almost four times the amount deducted under FEMPI,” he said.

Kevin added that the union’s campaign to establish a standard rate of pay began at a time when a few individual employers were paying less than the national minimum wage. “These were the most extreme examples, but our own survey revealed that there was a substantial range of payments.

“The economic crisis prevented the establishment of a forum to make an assessment on school secretary and caretaker pay. We argued that the failure to treat these workers in line with others employed by boards of management such as teachers, special needs assistants - and even other secretaries - was deeply unfair. The additional imposition of FEMPI cuts in 2010 added insult to injury. They were only considered to be public servants for the purposes of imposing a pay cut.

"We believe that the proposals will make it easier for the union to tackle the gap between the pay of grant-funded and department-paid staff in the discussions recommended by the arbitrator. Those discussions are due to take place in 2019. We will not rest until parity is achieved," he said.

Binding

The arbitration finding is to be treated as binding by the Department of Education and Skills and by the Department of Public Expenditure & Reform. This was noted by the Education DEC.

The recommendation establishes a ‘floor’ rate of pay which should apply on 1st January 2016, and should be the minimum rate payable to the secretaries and caretakers after that date. The ‘floor’ should then be adjusted on the same date each year up to and including 1st January 2019.

In addition, the arbitrator rules, a pay adjustment of 2.5% should apply to all caretakers and secretaries covered by the claim on 1st January 2016, 1st April 2018 and 1st January 2019.

• 1st January 2016 – Floor rate of €10.25 should be put in place (inclusive of 2016, 2.5% pay adjustment)
• 1st January 2017 – Floor rate of €10.75 should be put in place – pay adjustment of 2.5% on Ist April 2017 leading to a floor of €11.01 with effect from 1st April 2017
• 1st January 2018 – Floor rate of €11.50 should be put in place – pay adjustment 2.5% on Ist April 2018 leading to a Floor rate of €11.79 with effect from 1st April 2018
• 1st January 2019 – Floor rate of €13.00 should be put in place (inclusive of 2019, 2.5% pay adjustment).

Information meetings

The union will commence a series of information meetings for secretaries and caretakers. The purpose of the meetings is to inform members of the details of the arbitration findings and to outline the union's pay strategy over the 2016-2018 period. The meetings commence in Dublin this Saturday as follows:

• Dublin - IMPACT head office, Nerney's Court, Dublin 1, Saturday 21st November at 12.30pm
• Limerick - IMPACT office, Roxboro Road, Limerick, Monday 23rd November at 7pm
• Letterkenny -  3A Killashulan Court (above Tobin’s Garage) Port Road, Letterkenny Monday November 23^rd  at 7pm
• Cork - IMPACT office, Fr. Mathew’s Quay, Tuesday 24th November at at 7pm
• Athlone - Athlone Education Centre, Moydrum Road, Athlone, Thursday 26th November at 7pm
• Galway - IMPACT office, Unit 23/24 Sean Mulvoy Business Park, Sean Mulvoy Road, Thursday 26th November at 5pm
• Kildare - Kildare Education Centre, Friary Road, Kildare Town, Monday 30th November at 7.30pm
• Dundalk - Crowne Plaza Hotel, Tuesday 1st December at 7pm

Dáil Éireann has overwhelmingly passed a Bill to give effect to the terms of the Lansdowne Road Agreement. The Bill will go to the Seanad next week.

TDs overwhelmingly backed the Bill. During the debate on Wednesday (18th November), Sinn Féin moved amendments seeking to block the agreed terms of the Haddington Road and Lansdowne Road agreements regarding the restoration of the third round of cuts for those earning over €65,000.

The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin TD, said that these amendments would be in breach of what was negotiated, agreed and voted on by union members. The Sinn Féin motion was subsequently rejected. 

The Bill was passed, by a vote of 110 votes to 16, and supported by the four main political parties. Renua Ireland abstained from the vote, while a number of independent TDs, including Shane Ross, Finian McGrath and members of various left wing groups in the Dáil, voted against.

The Local Government & Local Services and Municipal Employees’ divisions of IMPACT have commenced a ballot for industrial action at Irish Water, following the announcement by the water utility that it will shed 1,500 jobs as part of its business plan published in October.

Only members involved in the direct provision of services to Irish Water, including those who work in non-domestic water billing and water metering, are being balloted. However, IMPACT national secretary Peter Nolan has said that the union will extend the ballot to other workers in the local authority sector if it becomes necessary.

In a letter to members Peter said that Irish Water’s proposals constitute clear breaches of understandings and agreements, negotiated by the union, that have facilitated the transfer of ownership, control and operation of water and sanitation services from local authorities to Irish Water.

Peter wrote that IMPACT and the group of ICTU group of unions (SIPTU, SIPTU/LAPO/, TEEU, UNITE and other craft unions) would not tolerate breaches of collective agreements (service level agreements and the Lansdowne Road Agreement) as a result of the unilateral position of Irish Water. Each of the unions will conduct their own ballot.

“The decision of both divisions to ballot members on a industrial action is a prudent precautionary step. Industrial action will not take place as long as Irish Water and the local authorities abide by these agreements” he said.

Peter explained that annual service plans to determine the appropriate staffing levels each year would continue to be negotiated. He said the union had engaged in these discussions in the first two years of operation, which had led to significant staffing reductions without any breach of existing agreements.

Privatisation concerns

Peter said that while Irish Water maintains that the proposed job cuts will be achieved by improvements in services and efficiencies, the utility had not been able to identify where these efficiencies will arise. “IMPACT and the ICTU group of unions are opposed to any arrangement which will not provide the necessary staffing to allow a satisfactory service to be delivered to the Irish public.

“The union is acutely aware of those interests who wish to privatise water services in Ireland. Any agreements, which provide for staffing cuts without identifying where the efficiencies arise, will only play into the hands of those who wish to discredit public service provision. Equally, the union will not tolerate displacement of public service jobs, which amounts to privatisation by the back door” he said.

Ballot terms

The ballot of members seeks support for industrial action, up to and including strike action, to:

• Ensure compliance with the terms of the agreement on annual service plans and to secure an agreed headcount for 2015
• Ensure compliance with the terms of the agreement on annual service plans for the years 2016-2026
• Ensure that vacant posts in the local authority water sector are filled as full-time permanent positions
• Ensure that vacancies arising in local authorities from transfer to water services are subsequently backfilled with permanent posts
• Ensure the protection of the conditions of employment of IMPACT members who work in non-domestic water billing and metering

The ballot will close at 12 noon on Friday 11th December, and a Frequently Asked Questions document is available to download here. 

IMPACT has described reports this week that the Government is to drop its proposed model for Universal Health Insurance (UHI), as inevitable.

IMPACT national secretary Eamonn Donnelly said that IMPACT had previously warned of the likelihood of prohibitive health insurance costs under the Government’s UHI proposals. “When the white paper on UHI was published last year we described it as fundamentally flawed, as it would place an impossible financial burden from the very start, particularly for the growing number of people without health insurance who don’t qualify for a medical card.”

Eamonn said that IMPACT’s criticism of the original UHI model has been proved correct by the research commissioned by the Minister for Health, which has estimated that almost half the population would end up paying annual health insurance premiums in excess of €2,000. The union was also critical of the public consultation process which was restricted to considering the “competing insurers” model.

He added, “Sadly, this leaves us back at square one, with no alternatives to the original flawed proposals, and no immediate prospect for the delivery of a single-tiered health service. The opportunity has been lost and it must fall now to the next government to tackle,” he said.

The union commissioned a report by Jane Pillinger in 2012 - The Future of Healthcare in Ireland - which said that the proposed competing insurers model should not be adopted before all options had been evaluated in terms of quality, equity, access to services, and medium and long term value-for-money.

The report said the principle of universal health care, based on equal access for all, needs to be developed in line with a funding model “that would genuinely provide universal and equal access to health services”. It stated that a social insurance model, rather than a model based on competition between private insurance companies, would be more likely to achieve this.

Eamonn said that the report was disregarded by the Minister for Health Leo Varadkar, and his predecessor, Dr James Reilly, who had introduced the original proposals.

Related: Health insurance plans just don’t add up – Work & Life magazine Spring 2014

The Public Services Committee of the ICTU has approved a measure to resolve an anomaly where increment measures, introduced as part of the Haddington Road Agreement (HRA), could have left some workers disadvantaged compared with those employed after 30th June 2016.

The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, in a letter sent to to the Committee last week, said that public servants recruited up to 30th June 2016 would be subject to the various increment measures of the HRA, while a colleague recruited the following day (1st July) would not be subject to the same measures and this would be “anomalous and counter-productive.”

The Department recognised that the majority of public servants will have already been subject to the increment deferrals or freezes under the terms of the HRA by the time the deal expires. However, some - such as some long service increments or where there was to be a three year incremental freeze - will not have been discharged by the agreement’s expiration date.

In order to address this, the Department have proposed that 1st July 2017 would be the final date to which any remaining increment measures incurred under the HRA would apply. The date was chosen because this is the earliest date a new recruit would attract an increment that would not be subject to any increment measures. “In effect where an increment measure provided for under the Haddington Road Agreement has not been discharged and serves to extend the date for the award of an increment beyond July 2017 it will not have effect” he said.

The Public Services Committee, which is chaired by IMPACT general secretary Shay Cody, has approved the measure.

Information meetings

The union will commence a series of information meetings for secretaries and caretakers, and all are welcome. The purpose of the meetings is to inform members of the details of the arbitration findings and to outline the union's pay strategy over the 2016-2018 period. The meetings commence in Dublin this Saturday as follows:

• Dublin - IMPACT head office, Nerney's Court, Dublin 1, Saturday 21st November at 12.30pm
• Limerick - IMPACT office, Roxboro Road, Limerick, Monday 23rd November at 7pm
• Letterkenny -  3A Killashulan Court (above Tobin’s Garage) Port Road, Letterkenny Monday November 23^rd  at 7pm
• Cork - IMPACT office, Fr. Mathew’s Quay, Tuesday 24th November at at 7pm
• Athlone - Athlone Education Centre, Moydrum Road, Athlone, Thursday 26th November at 7pm
• Galway - IMPACT office, Unit 23/24 Sean Mulvoy Business Park, Sean Mulvoy Road, Thursday 26th November at 5pm
• Kildare - Kildare Education Centre, Friary Road, Kildare Town, Monday 30th November at 7.30pm
• Dundalk - Crowne Plaza Hotel, Tuesday 1st December at 7pm

The annual general meeting of IMPACT’s Connacht/Ulster Special Needs Assistants (SNA) branch will take place in Cavan this Saturday (21st November) at the Errigal Country House Hotel, Cootehill, Co. Cavan, at 10.30am.

IMPACT organiser Eimear Ryan said the branch is delighted to welcome Senator Mary Moran (Louth/East Meath) as a guest speaker at the meeting. "The senator has a strong track record as an advocate for SNAs and recently carried out a survey as reporter to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protections, looking at the role of SNAs" she explained.

Senator Moran is the Labour Party spokesperson on Education, Disability, Equality and Mental Health.

In the afternoon the guest speaker is Sean Patrick Foley (from RTE's 'Living with Autism') who will give a presentation entitled Autism and Me.

Eimear added, "Sean's presentation will include his experiences within the education system, providing an excellent opportunity for SNA members to get a real understanding of the effect of their role within the education system, and the immediate effect on a person's experience of education."

To book a place or request further information, please email Eilise McGarrell.

Unemployment has fallen below 9% for the first time since the end of 2008, giving one of the strongest indications of this year’s economic growth. According to the latest CSO figures, the total number of people on the live register has now fallen to below 200,000, while 56,000 people have joined the workforce in the last 12 months.

The latest figures were welcomed by IMPACT general secretary Shay Cody. “Employment is the biggest determinate of income for most individuals and their families, which is why IMPACT committed itself to prioritising job creation as a core economic policy at our conference last year. These latest figures are a positive sign, and employment must remain a top priority across the union movement, including among public service unions” he said.

The figures also show that the long term unemployment rate has fallen from 6.4% to 5% in the past year. Jobs minister Ged Nash said the long term unemployment figure is still too high, “We need to do more to ensure that those who have been without work for a year or more are assisted in gaining the skills and confidence to reap the benefits of our jobs recovery,” he said.

The CSO figures also show that;

• The unemployment rate has reduced from 15.1% in February 2012 to 8.9%
• Jobs have grown in all eight regions. The strongest growth is in the South East (14.4%), the Midlands (13.8%) and the Border region(12%)
• Part-time employment fell in the past 12 months and full time employment increased by 59,400
• Employment grew in 12 out of 14 economic sectors, with the largest increases recorded in construction and industry
• Long term unemployment has declined from 204,300 in early 2012 to 109,800 - a decrease of 46%.

The Minister for Public Expenditure and reform, Brendan Howlin TD, has responded to concerns raised about the state pension by Siptu’s general president Jack O’Connor. The concerns raised by Mr O’Connor are about workers forced to retire at 65 but who do not get the state pension until they are 66.

Mr Howlin wrote to Mr O’Connor in October committing to "comprehensively" address the problem, and acknowledged that Mr O’Connor had raised an important issue.

"There would appear to be a disconnect between policy and practice here that needs to be examined," he said, adding that he was conscious that the state pension age is set to increase to 67 in 2021 and to 68 in 2028. He said that this could exacerbate the problem outlined by Mr O’Connor.

"In light of this, I think we need to move now to address this issue in a comprehensive and sustainable way, including through legislation as required.” Mr Howlin said that he will present a memo to the Cabinet to bring the matter to the attention of his ministerial colleagues.

He said that he was recommending that his officials and officials from other relevant departments "work together" to scope out the issues involved, define appropriate solutions and report back to him "as soon as practicable”.

You can read the full letter here.