This week we bring you the fifth episode of our Audio Bulletin. It features stories and interviews on the PSSA, Brexit, Fórsa and more.

You can listen to it on soundcloud by clicking HERE.

IMPACT members saved an average €30 on each visit to the website of our new group discount scheme last month. The scheme delivered savings of over €133,000 in November alone, on hundreds of well-known brands including asos.com, Debenhams, Argos, the Abbey theatre in a range of categories including travel, consumer, tech, motoring, entertainment, eating out, fashion, health and groceries. IMPACT members can register for a weekly email packed with offers HERE.

There are a number of ways you will save. You will receive a weekly email with the latest offers, with savings of up to 80%. Alternatively you can sign up for specific deals, like a Topaz fuel discount card, or receive up to 40% off Odeon cinema tickets.

There is also a group cashback scheme. The concept is simple. Each time you shop online with one of our cashback partners, they’ll give you back a portion of the money you spend. The money accumulates in your group scheme cashback account, which you can transfer to your own bank account at any time.

Savings on top brands and retailers are available using the discount shopping cards. Purchase your discounted shopping card for these retailers in advance, such as Arnotts, Boots, and B&Q, to use online or in-store, and top-up any time.

The exclusive hotel discounts search engine allows you to find hundreds of amazing rates on hotel and leisure breaks, from a selection of thousands of the best hotels in Ireland.

Matt Staunton, IMPACT’s general manager, has welcomed the scheme. “The new group scheme is in addition to the many benefits IMPACT members already enjoy. As we are currently an organisation of over 57,000 members, we are in a position to negotiate such deals. I would encourage all members to sign up for this scheme. Why not save some money when you can,” he said.

The international trade union federation Public Services International (PSI) has applauded IMPACT’s approach to solidarity with trade unions in the developing world. During a presentation to the union’s executive last week, PSI projects director Jasper Goss said IMPACT’s practice of ring-fencing 3% of membership subscriptions for development work was unique in the international trade union movement.

The union’s developing world fund supports trade union and education projects to the tune of around €500,000 a year. It has distributed funds of over €9 million since it was established. Many of the large initiatives it bank-rolls are managed and developed by PSI, which is able to administer and guarantee the integrity of projects through a network of field officers.

The many projects funded over the years have included helping unions promote gender equality in Brazil, boosting union rights for care workers in Pakistan, encouraging social dialogue in East Africa, enthusing young trade union activists in Chile and central Europe, and helping control the spread of AIDS in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Jasper Goss told IMPACT executive members that the union was making “an extraordinarily generous, important and unique contribution with other unions around the world.” He said PSI currently partnered with IMPACT on 16 projects in 30 countries. “Because of its developing world fund, IMPACT guarantees resources far above what any other union of a similar size can do. It’s a unique form of international solidarity,” he said.

IMPACT deputy general secretary Kevin Callinan said it was recognised internationally that the union “punches way above its weight” on solidarity projects. “As IMPACT members, we should be really proud that we have this resource to support workers in the Americas, Africa and Asia,” he said.

PSI is the global federation of public service unions. It represents 650 unions, including IMPACT, with a collective membership of over 20 million workers.

For more on this story click HERE to listen to our Audio Bulletin (the PSI story begins at 08:43).

Air traffic controllers across Europe have launched a campaign in opposition to European Commission proposals that contradict European treaty articles protecting the right to strike.

The European Transport Workers' Federation (ETF) and Air Traffic Controllers European Unions’ Coordination (ATCEUC) have joined forces to launch an online petition under the banner ‘Our Rights, Your Safety.’  The petition has already gathered over 3,000 signatures.

Helen Sheridan of IMPACT’s Air Traffic Controller branch explained: “This is a campaign to protect the rights of air traffic controllers to engage in industrial action, including the right to strike. This comes in the face of a concerted campaign by airline groups to diminish those rights. We are asking IMPACT members to sign the campaign petition to protect this fundamental workers’ right.”

IMPACT national Secretary Angela Kirk backed the call to support the petition and said that the ATCEUC and ETF firmly believe that the only way to address conflicts is to have proper social dialogue.

For more on this story, click HERE to listen to our Audio Bulletin (the ATC story begins at 13:37).

A comprehensive new publication on employment equality law has been published by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU). Employment Equality Acts 1998-2015: A Guide for Trade Unions outlines changes in procedures and processes in the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court following the 2015 Workplace Relations Act.

The guide, written by former Labour Court chair and ICTU official Kevin Duffy, was launched by equality minister David Stanton last month. The publication was also supported by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission.

The document is available HERE.

The Labour Court has asked IMPACT to put forward a ‘business case’ to support its claim for the introduction of a job evaluation scheme in local authorities. The issue went to the court after local government employers refused to entertain it, even though a scheme has been in place in the health sector since last year.

IMPACT’s local government divisional executive will discuss the Labour Court recommendation at a scheduled meeting next week.

Used widely across the economy, job evaluation (JE) is a standard way of measuring whether or not specific posts are correctly graded. It works by independently assessing the skills and responsibilities required of particular posts.

The union argued that the introduction of a scheme similar to that won by IMPACT in health would increase flexibility and goodwill while providing an independent methodology for agreeing the correct rate of pay for any given job in the local government sector.

For more on this story, click HERE to listen to our Audio Bulletin (the job evaluation story begins at 15:02).

IMPACT already has one eye on Budget 2019 as it launches its renewed campaign for the reinstatement of tax relief on trade union subscriptions in the New Year. The union fought hard for the introduction of the relief, which was finally conceded by the Government in 2001. But the benefit, worth €70 a year to every trade union member, was abolished ten years later.

The union has produced a document setting out the case for reinstatement of the relief. It points out that businesses can claim tax relief on fees for membership of employer bodies like IBEC and ISME. Similar reliefs for fees paid to professional bodies are available to the self-employed. But the old trade union tax relief is still being withheld.

Tax relief on union subs is available in many countries including Germany, Belgium, Holland, Norway, Canada and Australia.

Read our document HERE

IMPACT has secured a shift working arrangement for agriculture department technical officers working in Western Brand Chickens in Ballyhaunis, county Mayo. The plant operates three shifts a day, which means the technical officers have to be on site outside of normal working hours.

IMPACT official Brian Gorman said all shifts had to be covered to ensure that regulations and standards are maintained, and the integrity of the food chain secured. “The payment is a fair reflection of the flexible nature of the work, which plays a vital role in ensuring the safety and quality of our food,” he said.

IMPACT has submitted a claim for an employment control framework to introduce standardisation of pay and working conditions for ministerial drivers employed by the civil service.

Drivers’ contracts are currently agreed within guidelines issued by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER). But the guidelines are not followed consistently by all departments, which leads to variations in pay and other payments. The union says issues have also arisen over working hours, rest periods, holidays and the payment of a Sunday premium.

IMPACT national secretary Andy Pike said there was also confusion surrounding claims for subsistence in exceptional circumstances. “IMPACT wants a clear and unambiguous employment control framework to address the current inconsistencies, and to bring clarity to all sides on the role, entitlements and accompanying terms and conditions of ministerial drivers,” he said.

A special event for IMPACT members and their families has marked the start of the Christmas season and raised donations for the Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP). The event, organised by the union’s Cork branch, took place at Rumley’s pen farm at the end of November.

The celebration, now in its third year, was established to thank members who support the work of the union throughout the year. This year the branch allocated 150 family passes through a lottery system. The event provides a welcome opportunity for members to meet socially and catch up with their union colleagues from across the county.

The Cork branch partnered with SVP, and members who attended gave generous donations including baby and personal care products, toys, clothes, food, and cash for the charity’s fuel fund, which will help ensure that families keep warm this winter.

Rumley’s open farm provided a truly enchanting setting for the annual member event. The children met Mrs Claus as she was preparing Santa for a magical ride on Christmas Eve, and wrote their letters to Santa. They also met the main man himself, and he had presents for them all.

The event catered to more than 600 adults and children, and was made possible with the vital assistance of workplace reps from the branch, who gave up their Saturday to act as stewards and ‘elves’. Their hard work ensured the day ran smoothly and successfully, and we owe them a special debt of gratitude for their efforts.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions’ annual disability seminar will take place at the Midlands Park hotel in Portlaoise on 1^st and 2^nd March 2018. Full details of the event will be circulated in the coming weeks.

Fears that pay restoration agreed under the new Public Service Stability Agreement (PSSA) would be delayed by an early general election were allayed last week. The Public Service Pay and Pensions Bill, which enables the implementation of PSSA pay adjustments including a 1% increase from 1^st January, passed its second stage after the political crisis over former Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald abated.

Earlier, IMPACT has warned that any delay in the implementation of public service pay adjustments, or social welfare increases set out in the recent budget, would be unacceptable. The union’s head of communications Bernard Harbor told journalists: “It’s inconceivable that politicians would be knocking on doors to seek votes while telling social welfare recipients and public servants that their income restoration was on hold.”

Harbor also said the political class should be focussed on bigger issues. Speaking from an IMPACT-Siptu conference on Brexit and the Irish border, he said: “With a crucial EU summit in less than a month’s time, it’s incredible that our elected representatives are focussed on elections rather than the future of free movement across the border, with all it means for the Good Friday Agreement and the economy across the island of Ireland.”

For more on this story, click HERE to listen to our Audio Bulletin.

IMPACT and other health unions have criticised the Government’s failure to allocate funds for a planned expansion of primary health care services. In a submission to the Oireachtas health committee, the unions warmly welcomed the initiative, but said it would fail unless a dedicated capital programme and adequate staffing – including almost 1,300 additional health and social care professionals – were funded.

The submission also criticised the lack of workforce planning and staff consultation on the plans which, over time, are meant to replace the current two-tier system with universal access to primary care including GP services, enhanced services for people with disabilities, and expansions in diagnostic, home care and palliative care.

The unions also say that enhanced health professional and GP services should be delivered by directly-employed staff, not contracted out to private providers.

And they say projected demand in the years up to 2030 means that expanded primary care services must be accompanied by enhanced hospital-based acute care. A recent report from the Economic and Social Research Institute predicted that demand for inpatient bed days would rise by up to 37% by 2030 – a period in which demand for home help hours, practice nurse visits, and GP visits would increase by up to 54%, 32% and 27% respectively.

IMPACT national secretary Eamonn Donnelly expressed disappointment that Budget 2018 contained no provision to start implementing the plan. “IMPACT has warmly welcomed the planned expansion of primary care, and the commitment to end two-tier provision. This will require hefty investment, and nobody expects that to happen overnight. But we need to start spending now – and increasing that spending over time – if we are to develop high quality health services equally available to everyone who needs them,” he said.

Read the trade union submission HERE.

For more on this story, click HERE to listen to our Audio Bulletin (the primary health care story begins at 12:24)

Precarious work has now spread across the economy, and the Government needs to act to bolster job security and decent pay, according to a new report from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. Insecure and Uncertain: Precarious Work in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, which was published yesterday (Monday), reveals that 8% of the Republic’s workforce – or 158,190 people – see significant variations in their weekly or monthly working hours, while 7% of workers are in temporary employment, often because they can’t find permanent work.

The alarming growth in precarious work since 2008 has prompted ICTU to urge the Government to legislate to address the problem. It wants new laws to eliminate zero-hour contracts, guarantee the right to a minimum number of working hours, and provide workers with a written statement of their terms and conditions from day one of their employment.

The report shows a dramatic 34% rise in part-time work and self-employment, which ICTU says is “indicative of significant growth in bogus or false self-employment.”

The number of people in permanent full-time work is still over 100,000 lower than in 2008, despite significant growth in the total number of people in work. And over half of those in temporary employment says it’s because they can’t find permanent jobs – a 179% increase on the 2008 figure.

The study found that female and young workers were most likely to be stuck in precarious or insecure jobs. And, while precarious work is most common in distribution, hotels, catering, retail and construction, it also features increasingly in public administration, health and education.

ICTU general secretary Patricia King said the research confirmed the urgent need for legislation. “As the study clearly illustrates, the impact of precarious work extends well beyond the workplace and its unchallenged growth raises profound questions as to the type of society we wish to live in,” she said.

The study found that official policies like reducing employers’ PRSI on low-paid work had made it easier and more profitable to hire workers on insecure contracts. Yet these practices impact negatively on workers’ health, living standards, and ability to access secure accommodation. They also hit productivity and innovation, while reducing tax revenues for the state.

The civil service is struggling to recruit staff because salaries are not keeping up with those available in alternative private sector jobs, according to IMPACT. In a submission to the Public Service Pay Commission (PSPC), which is examining recruitment and retention problems in parts of the public service, the union identified a range of grades where it is now difficult to hire. They include cleaners, solicitors, meteorologists, radio officers, technical agricultural officers, valuers, Oireachtas researchers, translation staff, and special education needs organisers.

The submission said a recent competition for permanent established posts within Dublin Garda stations attracted so few applicants that it has to be repeated. IMPACT national secretary Andy Pike also said the starting salary for cleaners working in the Garda training college in Templemore was €9.10 – below the legal minimum for private sector contract cleaners.

“Further difficulties have been reported recruiting cleaning staff for the Department of the Taoiseach. The low starting salary is not competitive with pay rates in the private sector,” he said. The submission also points to ongoing problems recruiting meteorologists. A recent panel for forecasters led to just three posts being filled, while eight candidates refused positions because of low starting salaries.

A 2016 competition for special education needs organisers (SENOs) was equally unsuccessful. It saw all but one of 20 qualifying candidates walk away because better deals were available in schools.

The PSPC’s examination of recruitment and retention issues was one of the measures won by IMPACT and other unions in the recently-endorsed Public Service Stability Agreement (PSSA). The commission has been asked to establish the extent and nature of recruitment and retention problems and, where they exist, to recommend measures to address them.

“Across the state’s laboratories, law offices and many specialist agencies, the current starting salaries are no longer competitive when compared to the private sector labour market for specialist staff,” said Andy. He added that the length of the engineer pay scales is proving to be a barrier to retaining staff who are no longer prepared to wait for close to two decades to reach the top of their scale.

Read the full submission here.

The Irish Government must be prepared to veto the start of EU-UK post-Brexit trade talks at this month’s crunch European Council meeting if adequate progress on Irish border issues has not been achieved, according to IMPACT. The call was made at a major Brexit conference organised by IMPACT and Siptu last month, just as the border issue moved centre-stage in the debate over Britain’s future relationship with the EU.

Speaking at the event in Letterkenny, IMPACT deputy general secretary Kevin Callinan expressed fears that Ireland’s economy could be sacrificed if movement on the Brexit ‘divorce bill’ convinces EU member states to concede on the issue of commencing trade talks before the border issue is satisfactorily tied down.

Kevin predicted that the resolve of many EU countries would be tested, despite a pledge by EU leaders that “sufficient progress” on avoiding a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic must also be achieved before trade talks open.

“Any significant divergence in EU and UK trade arrangements would make the maintenance of a frictionless border impossible. With movement likely on the ‘divorce bill,’ our Government must be prepared to veto a shift into trade talks before the border issue is adequately addressed. It will have the support of trade unions and their members if it becomes necessary to take this approach,” he said.

The symposium, on Brexit, the free movement of people, public services and the economy, featured speakers from unions, civil society organisations, business, farming and politics. It explored the potential economic, political and social impact of a hard border on the island of Ireland.

Callinan also warned against “levelling down” to weaker British standards on the environment, consumer protection, equality and workers’ rights after Brexit. “We will hear voices in Ireland saying we must level down as far as the UK – on workers’ right, citizens’ rights, public services, equal opportunities and environmental standards – in order to meet a new competitiveness challenge. Trade unions and other progressives will resist this siren’s call,” he said.

IMPACT’s north-western official Richie Carrothers said the British government was in the process of “dismantling the rights and entitlements of EU citizenship and all that brings.” He told the symposium that “the open border on this island was “a practical expression of the normalisation of politics, which was reflected in Northern Ireland’s majority referendum vote to remain in the EU.”

For more on this story, click HERE to listen to our Audio Bulletin (the Brexit story begins at 04:26).

IMPACT’s Health and Welfare division has launched a campaign to defend the ‘hidden heroes’ of our health services. The idea is to educate and inform the public about the vital behind-the-scenes contributions of staff, in a culture where so-called ‘front-line’ workers get most of the attention and acknowledgement.

A series of campaign videos, featuring a range of professions including an A&E administrator, a pharmacist, a physiotherapist, a clinical engineer, and a senior cardiac physiologist, have been produced as part of the initiative.

IMPACT national secretary Eamonn Donnelly said the union wanted to explain that all staff play an important part in delivering quality health services. “It’s often suggested that the health service is awash with backroom staff who are surplus to requirements. That’s simply not the case, and we are trying to develop awareness about the important contribution of all staff,” he said.

Eamonn points to the popular view that health service delivery only involves so-called ‘front-line’ workers. “There are no front-line services without proper backroom teams and support. Many of our members work in those critical backroom teams. They are the hidden heroes of our health services and it’s time to acknowledge that,” he said.

Jackie Brown provides administrative support to medical staff in a busy Dublin emergency department. “We are the front line. When people arrive at the emergency department, we are there at the start of their journey, and we are determined to ensure their journey starts well with positivity and support. It’s not just about being an administrator, it’s being there to empathise and observe. Nurses, doctors and the support and admin staff are all vital to the services,” she says.

Deirdre Whelan is a senior cardiac physiologist in the south east, where she undertakes diagnostic testing in respiratory, vascular, gastroenterology, and neurophysiology. “As cardiac physiologists we perform a vast array of tests, because there are all different aspects to the heart. Our work is of utmost importance, as patients need the correct tests so they can get the right medical treatment. Without our diagnostic testing, doctors would be working blind,” she says.

Noel Gilligan is a pharmacist in a large Dublin hospital. “I’m working in cancer services. I work in an ascetic compounding unit, where we manufacture or compound chemotherapy and release chemotherapy to the wards and day clinics. We also work in the haematology oncology wards as a clinical pharmacists, plus the oncology day ward. We screen chemotherapy prescriptions and plan in-patients for chemo,” he says.

Maura Cahalan, who chairs IMPACT’s Health and Welfare division says there are many more hidden heroes too. “We have a lot of members working in medical records, accounts, central referrals, and many other vital areas. The public don’t see them, but they are essential cogs in the service,” she says.

Watch the ‘hidden heroes’ videos here:

Noel Gilligan; Andrea Fottrell; Karie Murray; Rebecca Maher; Jackie Brown; Deirdre Whelan; Niall Geoghegan; Siobhan O'Curren