IMPACT has submitted its returns to the Lobby Register covering the period from 1st May to 31st August 2016. Lobbying organisations are required to publish their returns no later than 21 days after the end of the relevant reporting period.

The Regulation of Lobbying Act was signed into law last year and commenced on 1st September 2015.

The purpose of the Act is to provide for a web-based Register of Lobbying to make information available to the public on the identity of those communicating with designated public officials on specific policy, legislative matters or prospective decisions.

IMPACT has made a total of 42 returns this year, with ten of these returns relating to activity during the most recent reporting period. The returns deal with a wide range of issues, including JobBridge, pay in the community and voluntary sector, staffing of the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) and shared library services.

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‘Europe’ comprises 745 million people living on a continent with its mix of cultures, history and philosophies.  Of these, some 510 million currently live in member states of the European Union (or 445 million if ‘Brexit’ is to happen).  

There is no single language, religion or socio-economic model to describe Europe and, for much of its history, it was torn apart by war over the usual things of land, pride, resources, religion or ideology.

So begins Nevin Economic Research Institute (NERI) director Tom Healy’s latest blog on the future of Europe, in which he argues that the survival of the EU will depend, among other things, on how it manages to bring down youth unemployment and exclusion.

Read more HERE 

Ashling Seely and Yvonne O'Callaghan, of the ICTU Global Solidarity Committee, report on a visit to refugee camps in Calais and Dunkirk, against the backdrop of a disappointing outcome from the recent UN Summit on Refugees & Migrants in New York.

The Work Must Pay campaign hosted a 5-a-side fundraiser on Saturday, 1st October. IMPACT, the Connolly Youth Movement, Sinn Féin Republican Youth, Misneach and the Workers' Party all submitted teams to the event, which took place at the Irishtown Sport and Fitness Centre.

The overall winners were Sinn Féin Republican Youth, with IMPACT turning in a respectable win in three of their four games. IMPACT official Shane Lambert said “We won three out of the four games, coming second.  Sinn Féin Republican Youth turned us over in the second game.  The whole day was great craic and something we hope to do again. Training starts now so we can do the full job next time!”

A special conference ‘Ireland and the Spanish Republic’ will take place in Dublin from 17^th to the 22^nd October, marking the 80^th anniversary of the Spanish Civil War.

Speakers at the conference, which takes place over a series of events at Liberty Hall, Pearse Street library and Unite’s offices on Abbey Street, include Emilio Silva, Harry Owens, and Dr Maria Thomas.

The conference is supported by IMPACT, SIPTU, Unite, the Dublin Trades Council, CWU, Mandate, IFUT and the PSEU.

Download the full programme and details HERE and follow programme updates at facebook.com/groups/IrelandandtheSpanishRepublic/

IMPACT has confirmed a breakthrough in the fight to secure library services in Sligo. It follows a campaign by the union which garnered support from community, voluntary and other campaign groups who gathered in September to protest the temporary closure of Sligo Central Library.

IMPACT official Richy Carrothers said that the union had secured confirmation from Sligo County Council that the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government has sanctioned the creation of six new posts to boost services in the county.

Richy explained: “The Department has confirmed to the local authority that four full time staff will be appointed, in addition to two project staff to work on the library management system for a six month period.

“We very much welcome this news as it means the future of the three libraries in Sligo have been secured. Our library services provide a vital point of connection for young and old, students and jobseekers. This is good news for the entire Sligo community who came together to fight to save these services. This demonstrates just how important it is to work together with local communities to defend, protect and improve our public services,” he said.

Richy added that a question still remained about the reduced staffing levels for libraries sought by the department. “In many respects this is a short term solution because the department is still insisting upon an overall staff reduction of 42%. We’ve seen a drop of 37% here, and the crippling effect it has had on library services. A further five per cent reduction in staffing levels equates to nearly 40 people. So while the future of the libraries has been secured, there are still challenges ahead,” he said.

IMPACT and other groups staged a protest in September against the unilateral decision, by Sligo County Council management, to close Sligo’s central library on a temporary basis for three weeks. The closure is now into its third and final week. At the time it was reported that local authority management was preparing to permanently close one of the three libraries in the county.

Richy said IMPACT members had worked hard to ensure the county library services stayed open, “It was IMPACT members in the Tubbercurry motor tax office who agreed to cover Tubbercurry library on Saturdays and evenings in order to ensure this vital service stayed open. Our members are committed to keeping this service alive in Sligo,” he said.

Related: IMPACT communications officer Niall Shanahan spoke on RTE’s News at One programme (Monday 26th September) about the union’s opposition to proposals for staffless library services.

Cleaning staff at the Garda College in Templemore began industrial action on Monday (3rd October), in the form of a work to rule. The college cleaning staff are the lowest paid civil servants in Ireland, and start work on the lowest possible legal wage. The staff are represented by IMPACT trade union.

The dispute is over a number of issues including management’s failure to hire enough staff to deal with increased student numbers as Templemore College becomes fully operational. IMPACT has also raised health and safety concerns with management, and is seeking a formal Health and Safety Authority inspection of the facility.

Planned industrial action in September was suspended in order to facilitate discussions at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). Notice of the action was served last week in a letter to An Garda Síochána by IMPACT national secretary Andy Pike.

In his letter Andy said that the lack of engagement on the part of management was highlighted by the fact that no senior members of the college management team attended the WRC talks which took place on 23rd September. He said management’s only contribution to that process was to propose a staffing review, despite the fact that an independent review, commissioned by college management under its own terms of reference, had already taken place.

IMPACT has said it may also take an equal pay case against the State because male staff doing similar work in other parts of the public service are paid significantly more than the female college cleaners involved in this dispute.

Andy said: “Pay for college cleaning staff is the lowest in the civil service, with a starting salary at the national minimum wage, and well short of the recommended €11.50 living wage. Staff are also expected to carry out a wide range of extended housekeeping duties without receiving any additional reward.

“The work to rule will mean that cleaning staff will revert solely to cleaning duties instead of working as housekeepers or hotel services staff.”

The union hosted a pre-budget briefing in September focusing on the community and voluntary sector, and presented the findings and recommendations contained in the union’s Caring- At What Cost? research document.

IMPACT national secretary Eamonn Donnelly warned that while household costs – including rent, motoring and insurance – continued to climb, community and voluntary sector workers were still coping with the effects of salaries that were severely reduced since 2008, and were increasingly unable to meet mounting costs.

He added that the Programme for Government includes a commitment to improve funding in the sector, and that delivering on that commitment needed to get underway in this month’s budget.

Eamonn said: “Short-time working, pay cuts and unpaid overtime are just some of the measures used to cut costs in the face of reduced funding for this vital sector. These are workers providing a wide range of services to older people, people with disabilities and people living with addiction. They are, by their very nature, people who go the extra mile to ensure the job is done, and we cannot allow them to be left behind on pay restoration as the economy continues to improve.”

Michelle Grehan, a worker from the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, explained that continuing cuts meant that some of her colleagues were struggling to pay for healthcare “as mortgage repayments come first.”

Annemarie Shalloo, who works in homeless and domestic violence services in the western region, said: “We have faced pay cuts, increment freezes and huge demands working on the front line of homeless services. After six years without our situation improving, I don’t at all feel valued as a social care worker today.”

IMPACT organiser Joe O’Connor explained that these comments fairly reflected the challenges and frustration faced by workers throughout the sector: “A small number of employers in the community and voluntary sector have begun the process of restoring pay, but in order for pay restoration to become a reality in the sector, state funding needs to be restored.

“We know the services these workers provide are valued by the state, but the state has a responsibility to ensure these workers see that value reflected in real pay restoration. It’s absolutely essential that the sector is adequately funded in order to ensure workers in the sector are not unfairly left behind, and that process must get underway in this month’s budget,” he said.

IMPACT’s report makes a number of recommendations, including:

• Levels of funding for organisations currently funded under Section 39 should be gradually restored to ensure sustainable delivery of services and to retain staff. Organisations cannot continue to ‘do more with less’ without this having a negative effect on service delivery;
• The restoration of pay and conditions for staff in Section 39 organisations without additional productivity demands;
• Staff in Section 39 funded organisations should progress onto scales comparable with their public service and Section 38 counterparts;
• In some cases, in order to address evident disparities between organisations of comparable size and function, re-designation as Section 38 funded organisations may be relevant in the short term for organisations with service level agreements and annual funding of at least €250,000;
• Ultimately, the Section 39 funding model should be replaced with specific funding mechanisms that make provision for multi annual funding, provision for funding for core operations as well as service delivery, and national level funding for national organisations to enable economies of scale and to eliminate unnecessary administration.

IMPACT official Ian McDonnell explained: “The parties have agreed to the appointment of an independent actuary to forensically assess the pension scheme. This review will examine the shortfall in accrued benefits affecting active and deferred members, as well as examining the benefit gaps on the public service scheme. This process should provide us with the necessary information to seek specific resolutions on both issues.”

Ian said that the funding deficit could be bridged, albeit over a number of years, and that staff are willing to make their contribution to ensure the scheme is properly funded. He said the union has agreed to postpone any industrial action until the process is complete. IMPACT had served notice of limited industrial action last month. The action was deferred in order to facilitate talks at the WRC.

Oberstown review agreed

In a separate WRC process, IMPACT, SIPTU and management at Oberstown detention centre have agreed terms of reference for an independent health and safety audit on the Oberstown campus. The agreed terms of reference means the audit will specifically focus on:

1. Injuries to staff and young people over a five year period, the relationship between these injuries and the management of young people’s behaviour, considering the Behavioural Management Policy and practices used on campus.
2. The environs at the Oberstown campus considering the new building developments, the historical buildings and suitability to meet the behavioural challenges of young people.

The review will be carried out by an agreed independent external assessor. All parties agreed the review should be carried out as soon as possible.

The health and safety audit is separate to the operational review of the Oberstown campus announced by the Minister for Children, minister Katherine Zappone, last month.

Comhairle na nÓg  is the child and youth council in the 31 local authorities nationwide. The Comhairle is designed to enable young people to have a voice on the services, policies and issues that affect them in their local area.

Comhairle na nÓg have asked youth workers who are members of IMPACT to take part in a survey, as part of their 2016 working topic, The Education System and Emotional Counselling.

A video about the working topic is available here and the survey is available here.

The Coalition for Publicly Funded Higher Education, a group comprised of IMPACT and the USI, SIPTU, IFUT and TUI, has urged all political parties to support the publicly-funded third level education option put forward in the Cassells report, and to avoid an income-contingent loan scheme option.

Read more HERE