IMPACT says it won’t cooperate with the implementation of new public service working time arrangements where local or sectoral management refuses to allow staff to opt for reduced pay rather than increased hours. It says withholding this option breaches the Haddington Road agreement, which came into force this month.

IMPACT and other ICTU unions have unanimously backed a campaign for the repeal of the Fiscal Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (FEMPI) Act, which imposes pay cuts and other measures on members of public service unions that reject the Haddington Road agreement.

The education department’s latest allocation of special needs assistants is “fundamentally at odds” with the Haddington Road agreement, according to IMPACT.

Applications to a local authority voluntary redundancy scheme, announced earlier this month, will be considered on a case by case basis. Successful applicants will receive the terms of the package negotiated by unions and public service management last year.

IMPACT members get strong workplace protections and can save lots on life assurance, salary protection, pensions, and car, house and travel insurance. Members are also eligible for €4,000 critical illness or death benefit and free legal help with bodily injury claims.

The trade union-backed Nevin economic institute has rejected calls for the Government to raise another €3 billion through cuts and tax increases in the forthcoming budget. The think tank says an alternative approach could save 75,000 jobs and help Ireland reach its deficit reduction target by 2015.

Workers who expose illegal and unethical workplace practices could still lose their homes and jobs under protections set out in the new Protected Disclosures Bill. Although the Bill increases the maximum compensation in whistleblowing cases, it still leaves staff seeking retrospective justice if they’re sacked for revealing wrongdoing.

IMPACT says it won’t cooperate with plans to incorporate local partnership companies into local authorities unless there is early and thorough consultation over jobs and services. The union says up to 1,900 more jobs could be at risk in a sector that’s already endured three years of cuts and redundancies.