The general election is now underway, and voters will get to decide who forms the next Government on polling day, Friday 26^th February. 

Where do the parties stand on the issues that matter to IMPACT members?

What are their policies on taxation, spending, pay restoration, special education, job creation, decent work and the Living Wage, housing, water and sanitation services, health, privatisation, childhood care and education?

IMPACT put a series of questions (below) about these issues to all of the political groups running for election. Find out how they responded HERE.

Policy questions - IMPACT general election guide

1. What is your party’s views on the balance between tax deductions and public expenditure adjustments over the next five years?
2. Will your party honour the terms of the Lansdowne Road Agreement, including the partial restoration of public sector pay, no compulsory redundancies and the improved protections on outsourcing?
3. Do you support pay restoration for staff working in the community and voluntary sector? How does your party propose to achieve this?
4. What measures will your party take to improve access to services for children with special education needs?
5. What measures will your party take to continue job creation and reduce unemployment? What are your party’s policies in relation to labour activation schemes such as JobBridge, Gateway and Community Employment?
6. What are your party’s policies in relation to ensuring decent work and terms of employment? Do you support the introduction of a Living Wage?
7. What are your party’s policies regarding housing, homelessness and rent certainty?
8. What measures does your party propose are necessary to ensure that Irish water and sanitation services are retained in public ownership?
9. What will your party do to establish an efficient single-tiered health system, which is free at the point of access?
10. What are your party’s policies in relation to the retention or disposal of state assets and the privatisation of public services?
11. What are your party’s policies in relation to improving the availability of services and working conditions in early childhood care and education services?

See the parties answers HERE.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions revealed last week it had found overwhelming support for its Charter for Fair Conditions at Work among political parties, with Labour, Sinn Féin, Fianna Fáil, the Social Democrats and socialist deputies signing up, while there was little or no support for the Charter from either Fine Gael or Renua.

The Congress Charter for Fair Conditions at Work set out five key principles to help make decent work a reality: a Living Wage, Fair Hours of Work, the Right to Union Representation, the Right to Respect in the workplace and Fair Public Procurement.

Over the last number of months, Congress has engaged with all political parties and groupings, along with many individual TDs, senators and MEPs in order to build support for the Charter.

The Labour Party, Féin, Fianna Fáil, the Social Democrats and Socialist deputies fully supported the Charter and signed up to its principles.

However, just 7% (seven) of Fine Gael deputies agreed to support the Charter and Renua declined.



Support among the Independents/ Technical Group was just over 70%, with many declining to support.

Congress General Secretary Patricia King commented: “These results are quite stark and show a clear left-right divide in our political system in terms of support for the fundamental rights of people at work.

“When we initiated the Charter campaign we did so to raise awareness of what constitutes decent work and to begin a national conversation about how we could make it a reality in every workplace,” she said. 

“We engaged intensively with political parties and groupings over the course of several months, conducting some 130 individual meetings with political representatives.

“For Congress, the results are very clear in terms of where support lies for the creation of decent work in this society – something to which every worker is entitled.

“All parties and representatives were informed in advance that our results would be made public.

"The full results – outlining party support and the support of individual representatives – are available to view here.

“We will now be advising our affiliate trade unions accordingly, in the context of the General Election,” Ms King said.

She said candidates in the current election would also be given the opportunity to sign up to the Charter, if they had not already done so or had not already been approached.

The Charter campaign is now focussed on local authorities and county councillors across the country.

IMPACT has launched a campaign aimed at restoring pay to workers in the community and voluntary sector. The campaign, Caring- At What Cost?, is calling for pay restoration for community and voluntary sector workers, through the gradual restoration of funding cuts in the agencies where they work. The union represents up to 5,000 members in the sector, and is seeking the support of IMPACT members throughout the country to support the campaign.

The grassroots campaign targets TDs. It asks all stakeholders, including workers, agencies, representative bodies and the wider public to sign the petition. 

IMPACT organiser Joe O’Connor explained, “After years of pay reductions across all sectors in the aftermath of the economic collapse, welcome pay improvements are now underway in the public sector and large parts of the private sector as our economy recovers.

“The restoration of income is crucial to the continuing economic recovery. Every worker needs a pay rise, and workers in the community and voluntary sector are at risk of being left out of the recovery. What’s needed is a gradual restoration of funding to the organisations that rely on state funding, in order to restore worker incomes and prevent difficulties for these organisations to retain staff,” he said.

Joe explained that most workers in the sector have experienced a series of pay cuts. In many cases, at the instruction of funding agencies like the HSE, these cuts mirrored those that applied in the public sector under the FEMPI legislation between 2009 and 2013. However, many in the sector experienced further pay restrictions through increment freezes and reduced working hours.

Joe added, “In recent years, successive Irish Governments have increasingly relied on the community and voluntary sector to deliver services to the most vulnerable people and communities, including those who are experiencing homelessness, people with disabilities, older people in care, and those who are marginalised by addiction, health difficulties or poverty.

“However, the capacity of the sector to play a strong role in service delivery has been severely tested over the years of recession. Sustained cutbacks to organisational funding have been accompanied by increased demand for assistance from individuals and communities that find themselves under pressure as a result of the economic crisis.

“Within these organisations employees are increasingly expected to do more with less and for less. These services continue to lean heavily on the individual commitment and efforts of staff to keep things going, but that’s not a sustainable approach. Services cannot survive like that, and staff can’t continue working under these circumstances. Better working opportunities are emerging in other sectors, and then the challenge for service providers becomes one of retaining staff. We need the wider IMPACT family to get behind this campaign in order to make sure these workers aren't excluded from the recovery.”

IMPACT has successfully secured the restoration of increments for staff working in one high-profile voluntary agency, in a deal which was agreed late last year. Negotiations have been ongoing with a number of employers in the community and voluntary sector over the last 12 months as part of the union’s overall pay restoration strategy.

IMPACT assistant general secretary, Ashley Connolly, has represented members in a number of agencies in the sector and said that the recent decision showed a welcome breakthrough for staff at the agency. “While negotiations continue in a number of other employments, we decided not to name the specific agency until those negotiations are concluded.

“However, it does represent a significant breakthrough in the community and voluntary sector, and indicates that the years of retrenchment in the sector are finally coming to an end. We still face a very significant challenge in restoring pay elsewhere in the sector, but this signals a welcome change,” she said.

The union’s Caring- At What Cost? campaign follows the report, published by IMPACT last year, which said that state funding for ‘Section 39’ funded agencies needs to be restored to ensure the sustainability of care services. The union said that the terms and conditions of staff in Section 39 agencies should be moved onto terms comparable with their public service counterparts.

SPREAD THE WORD  - caringatwhatcost.ie

“The labour movement in 1916 played a core role in making its progressive, worker-focused ideals central to the Proclamation and continued to work to make those ideals a reality over the last hundred years” – Aodhán Ó Ríordáin TD, Minister of State for New Communities, Culture, Equality and Drug Strategy, launching Four Lives – IMPACT trade union’s roots in the 1916 Rising.

IMPACT has launched a new booklet marking the centenary of the 1916 Rising: Four Lives – IMPACT trade union’s roots in the 1916 Rising. It tells the stories of four participants in the 1916 Rising, each of whom were members of IMPACT’s forerunner organisations.

Four Lives features the stories of Eamonn Ceannt, Seán Connolly, Harry Nicholls and Con O’Donovan. Ceannt, Connolly and Nicholls were workers and trade union members that played distinct roles in the events of the Rising. O’Donovan was a student who later became an activist and was elected to the highest office in his trade union.

The booklet was launched at the union’s Dublin office in January and was attended by members of the Ceannt, Connolly and O’Donovan families.The booklet was officially launched by Aodhán Ó Ríordáin TD, Minister of State for New Communities, Culture, Equality and Drug Strategy.

The booklet was compiled and written by IMPACT general secretary Shay Cody. Mr Cody said the publication was IMPACT’s way to mark the centenary of the Rising. “Members of IMPACT’s forerunner organisations played a central role in the Rising, as part of the wider trade union movement.

“This is not a comprehensive account of every member of every union that preceded IMPACT that was involved in the 1916 rising. The four lives are a sample.

“That said, these are four important and symbolic lives. They represent activists in the trade union and labour movement that were involved in the forerunner organisations before IMPACT – namely, the Dublin Municipal Officers Association, the United Corporation Workmen of Dublin Trades Union and, later, the Institution of Professional Civil Servants.

“In working on this booklet it becomes clear that history is more complex than the simple version often handed down.

“They were participants and witnesses to events that shook the nation and that also laid the ground for the turbulent years that followed. These were the years that would lead, ultimately, to the creation of an Irish state.

“The Rising affected the lives of thousands of Dubliners as the city became a turbulent and complicated battleground. This publication is designed to capture their unique perspective, and to provide an historical context of IMPACT’s roots to today’s union members” he said.

Launching the booklet, Minister Ó Ríordáin said “It is a great honour to launch Four Lives – IMPACT trade union’s roots in the 1916 Rising. The Easter Rising was a momentous moment in our nation’s history and it is right that we both remember and commemorate the movements which came together to advance the ideals of the Proclamation. In particular, the labour movement in 1916 played a core role in making its progressive, worker-focused ideals central to the Proclamation and continued to work to make those ideals a reality over the last hundred years. I commend IMPACT trade union for highlighting their roots in this pivotal moment in Ireland’s history by publishing this booklet.”

Four Lives will be available in all Dublin City Council libraries. Dublin Lord Mayor Críona Ní Dhálaigh attended a special launch event in Dublin City Hall last week, hosted by IMPACT's Dublin City branch, to mark the booklet's distribution in all DCC libraries. The booklet will be distributed to IMPACT branches and will also be available at the IMPACT biennial conference in May.

Four Lives launch - photo gallery

IMPACT Municipal Employees’ and Local Government & Local Services Divisions have voted to accept proposals that will end Irish Water’s policy of replacing permanent jobs with temporary and acting posts. Under proposals worked out at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), a minimum of 100 jobs will be regularised before 30^th June next.

The posts involved will be determined by an independent body. Only union members will have an opportunity to make submissions in respect of the posts.

The agreement follows a ballot of nearly 1,000 IMPACT local authority members working on service level agreements (SLAs).

IMPACT national secretary Peter Nolan said the proposals recognise the neccessity to engage with unions representing local authority staff providing services to Irish Water under the SLAs. "Irish Water's business plan was produced with no consultation with the unions, and the utility was unable to say in what areas it proposed to reduce staff as part of its business plan."

Peter said the union's objective at the WRC talks was to prevent the casualisation of the workforce, and added that the new proposals were significant in that they commited to establishing permanent posts.

"Irish Water will have to provide a rationale acceptable to the union if they want to take jobs out of the system. Under the terms of the agreement, no existing jobs will be displaced to contractors and an additional 100 new local authority posts have been agreed to accelerate the leak detection programme ("Find and Fix").

"While these posts will be temporary for an initial two years, the union will continue to put pressure on Irish Water to make the posts permanent, and IMPACT will co-operate with the “Find and Fix” programme and the rollout of the "Maximo" system.

"Our agreement on the backfilling of local authority posts will also be honoured, while arrangements around non-domestic water billing will be subject to a separate process using the same principles," he said. The proposals also commit to improvements in the transport fleet.

Peter added "These proposals put a constraint on job reductions. The overwhelming response from our members was crucial in achieving a settlement, which means that 95% of the workforce will be in permanent posts."

IMPACT’s Institute of Technology branch is holding a symposium on mergers in higher education on Friday 12^th February.

The purpose of this symposium is to have informed and open discussions about the challenges ahead, as many of Ireland’s Institutes of Technology prepare for mergers. Participants will learn from the experiences of other European higher education settings that have gone through similar processes.

This event is open to anyone interested in hearing further about mergers in higher education settings.

There are a limited number of places remaining for those who wish to attend the symposium. Contact IMPACT organiser Lisa Connell.

A full programme is available here.

Eighty grants of €150 each are available to assist children of IMPACT members to attend Residential Irish Language courses in Gaeltacht areas in summer 2016.

The grants do not apply to any Irish language courses held outside of designated Gaeltacht areas or to daytime-only attendance at Irish colleges in Gaeltacht areas.

The grants apply to children of IMPACT members who are aged between 11 years and 18 years of age on 1st July 2016.

For more details, download the application form here.

Renua Ireland president, Eddie Hobbs, launched another in a series of scathing attacks on public service pensions at a seminar held by the Irish Association of Pension Funds (IAPF).

IMPACT representatives attending the seminar report that Hobbs claimed current policy makers will not change the public service superannuation system and that there would be no reform as long as the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform is run by Minister Brendan Howlin ‘or people of similar views.’

It’s reported that he went on to claim that RTE would not broadcast an ‘exposé’ on Public Sector pensions because RTE staff benefit from similar Direct Benefit (DB) schemes themselves and have, therefore, a ‘vested interest’ and would not air a pensions debate. He also claimed that the outgoing Government was composed of ‘25% teachers and senior Civil Service management’,  and therefore had no desire to change the current public sector pension system.

Hobbs is reported to have acknowledged that public sector workers do contribute something to their own pensions ‘but not much’. He added that if a worker dies in the public service, they receive ‘what amounts to free life insurance from the state’. Hobbs said that powerful vested interests needed to be ‘taken on’ to ‘tackle the gilded cage of public sector pensions once and for all’.

However, Hobbs appeared lost for words when he was challenged by IMPACT national secretary Matt Staunton, who told Hobbs that civil and public servants do contribute to their pensions. Matt said, “In many cases they contribute substantial amounts and many IMPACT members receive very little by way of pension, and in some cases none at all.”

Matt said that Hobbs refused to accept that public sector pension reform was already ongoing, with 25,000 public servants (close to 10% of all public servants) now in a ‘career average’ pension scheme. Matt added “Hobbs claims the actuarial cost of public sector pensions is €130bn and refused to acknowledge that pay restraint had decreased this to €100bn while a further €80bn in cost reductions will occur because of the change to career average pensions.”

Matt also gave details of the challenges that were faced by members of the Irish Aviation Superannuation Scheme.

Hobbs is reported to have stared blankly at Matt, ‘unwilling or unable to offer any response.’

It has emerged that Carlsberg is ruthlessly exploiting its female employees in Cambodia. When the women, members of The International Union of Foodworkers, stood up for their rights the company sacked 11 of them. All were prominent union members.

Labour Start said “Workers are fighting the company's attempt to impose short-term employment contracts and late working hours. After two years on the job, workers have a legal right to a permanent contract, which gives paid maternity leave and other benefits. Carlsberg/Cambrew refuse to comply with the law.”   

These women are among the most vulnerable workers. They are employed to promote sales of Carlsberg in restaurants. The company refused the union’s request for talks on the contracts and escalated the conflict on 15th January by extending working hours to 11pm, which put the women at greater risk of harassment from customers and transport difficulties at late hours. Management then claimed their current contracts had expired and that the striking workers had to accept new short-term contracts.

The International Union of Foodworkers (IUF) has launched an international protest campaign on its website. Please show your support by signing the petition and help to curb this blatant attempt of union busting.