IMPACT has raised concerns about the likelihood of job losses at Aer Lingus if the third proposed offer, made this week by the International Airlines Group (IAG), is accepted. The union has said that job losses at the airline could be as high as 1,200 if IAG succeed in its bid, as the company would seek to drive a cost cutting programme to justify its proposed €1.3bn spend to acquire the former national carrier.

The Government owns a 25.1% stake in Aer Lingus, and has established an advisory group to consider the proposed offer. Extensive media coverage on Monday focussed on the concerns IMPACT has raised with the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Paschal Donohoe TD.

In a presentation to the Dail’s Transport Committee, IMPACT national secretary Matt Staunton said, “For the purpose of the takeover IAG would have to identify cost and revenue synergies which would justify their investment. One of the primary cost synergies arising would come from a reduction in the Aer Lingus employee headcount particularly in the ‘back office’ where there would be readily identifiable duplication with existing resources in London and, possibly, IAG’s base in Madrid (Iberia). This is also true of some maintenance functions, given the substantial IAG maintenance facilities in London and Madrid.

"Executive and senior decision making would transfer to London, with perhaps a token executive presence in Dublin. Following the IAG takeover of Iberia, the company announced 4,500 job losses. On a like for like basis with Iberia this would represent job losses of between 1,000 and 1,200 in Aer Lingus at Dublin airport. This figure factors in the Aer Lingus jobs lost less than 5 years ago under the Greenfield Plan. The current IAG CEO’s record with Aer Lingus alone speaks volumes as 2,500 Irish jobs disappeared forever when he ran Aer Lingus.

"We’ve confirmed these estimates with analysts in Dublin and London. Following the rejection of the two initial bids, a research note from Nomura (a major international holding company) observes that “Any material bid increase is unlikely to be forthcoming without the ability to drive significant cost synergies” he said.

Risk to Irish economy

In media interviews earlier this week, IMPACT also sought to highlight the risk to jobs in small and medium enterprises across the country that rely on tourism and the strategic connectivity provided by Aer Lingus, and the risk to future inward investment into the Irish economy.

The union highlighted the risks arising if, at the first sign of trouble in a post-takeover Aer Lingus, IAG would have the power to limit Ireland’s air connectivity to London and the US in order to lower its overheads.

Matt told the Dáil committee “IAG’s commercial interests will always come first. I therefore urge you not to stand back and let something happen that can never be reversed.

Related:

RTE Morning Ireland, Monday 26th January 2015 – “Niall Shanahan, communications officer with the IMPACT trade union claims any takeover of Aer Lingus by IAG could result in job losses and have an impact on connections at Heathrow.”LISTEN HERE

IMPACT blog: Decision time at Aer Lingus

IMPACT’s local government division has launched a campaign to highlight concerns about proposals to amalgamate libraries in order to bring the number of library services in the country from 32 to 23. 

The counties set to amalgamate are Cavan/Monaghan, Laois/Offaly, Longford/Westmeath, Carlow/Kilkenny, Cork City/County, and Sligo/Leitrim/Roscommon. This would mean that whilst money is provided for the service by one local authority, another would manage the service.

Peter Nolan, national secretary for the division said “There are legitimate fears about the future of local library services, as the new governance structure would be outside the remit of public representative advocacy and local authority influence.”

IMPACT is concerned that the proposed library amalgamations represents the further steady erosion of responsibilities in local authorities. Peter said “Local authorities have been divested of their responsibilities for Irish Water, higher education grants and driver licensing. We do not want to see another service removed” he said.

Peter explained that the only direct cost saving outlined in the proposals are from the suppression of a county librarian post. Peter said “no cost benefit analysis has been carried out, while the merger of two or three library services in this way will result in a loss of expertise at the highest level and, ultimately, lead to a reduced service to the public. 

“There are a number of back office solutions which could create cost savings and need to be explored. Amalgamation of library services under the banner of two to three counties is not a solution if it risks diluting the service and losing expertise” he said.

Seventeen million visits are made to public libraries each year. Peter added “They are one of the main social hubs of the rural community. We cannot allow the library system to be gutted for the sake of number crunching and minimal cost savings.”

Speculation has continued about the possibility of a successor to social partnership, following comments by the Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan, about the need for a process to ‘protect the recovery’ by engaging in a process to “consult the people between elections through representative groups and civic society organisations.”

The respected journal, Industrial Relations News, reported that the Minister for Finance raised the issue at the Cabinet last week. The proposal is also understood to have the backing of the Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, and suggests the Government is seriously considering the proposal.

However, despite the speculation, no approach has been made to the trade unions.

At a press conference last week, the general secretary designate of Congress, Patricia King, said that the Government was “talking to itself” on the proposal for social dialogue, and that no approach had been made to unions on the issue.

Forum

IMPACT general secretary, Shay Cody, said that there’s a growing recognition among stakeholders that issues of national interest will need a forum of their own eventually. “As the economy continues to recover there’s increasing debate about pay recovery, taxation, pensions and other workplace issues.

“Alongside that, there is a growing recognition that some sort of tripartite forum, involving employers, unions and the Government, might be necessary in order to have a place where those issues can be discussed. No such forum exists at the moment, so all of these issues are dealt with in isolation from each other,” he said.

Shay added that there was no appetite in Government circles for a return to the model of social partnership that collapsed in 2009.

Signals

The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin TD, has signalled broad support for renewed talks with the social partners but said the scope of any new arrangement was not settled.

At the same press conference he said that talks on public pay would take place with trade unions before emergency laws to cut pay expired, which suggests that future talks on public pay would take place as a separate process.

In an opinion article published in the Irish Independent last week, Minister Howlin said that there is no ‘bonanza’ in store for public service workers. He added, “But nor should they be excluded from the general improvements in remuneration in the wider economy. Perhaps it is because we have gone through seven years of economic hell that we have forgotten that pay increases are part of a normal, functioning economy.”

Related media:

Due to unforeseen circumstances the retired members vocational group has had to reschedule its AGM to Tuesday 24th February, at 11am in the Gresham Hotel, Dublin.

Brian Burke, the Vocational Group’s chair said “Prospective members should come along to get a feel for the group. We need new people, new ideas, and new energy to take us to the next level.

“The purpose of the group has changed in recent times. The key issues now are around pensions and negotiating rights for retired workers. The social aspect is important too as you’ve finished your working life but kept your connection to the union” he said.

The current issue of Work & Life magazine lists the AGM date as 17th February, we apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Please note the revised arrangements for the AGM:

Date: Tuesday 24th February

Time: 11am

Location: Gresham Hotel, Dublin.

Patricia King has been named as the general secretary designate of ICTU and will succeed the current general secretary David Begg when he steps down in March. The announcement was made at a press conference (video) at IMPACT’s Dublin office last week.

Patricia is to be the first woman to take up the post, although Patricia said “I do not intend to carry that honour onerously.”

Patricia explained that there are three principles that underpin her work. “Every worker is entitled to enjoy fair pay and decent conditions; all workers should be entitled to negotiate collectively with their employer without fear, and every worker is entitled to be treated with respect.”

IMPACT general secretary, Shay Cody, welcomed Patricia’s appointment. “I have known and worked with Patricia for many years. She is an excellent negotiator, a strong leader, and a fantastic role model for the movement” he said.

Shay and Patricia worked closely during the negotiations to establish both the Croke Park and Haddington Road agreements. Shay said “Patricia is deeply driven by the desire to ensure that workers get a fair deal and she has the experience, skills and knowhow to affect positive change.”    

Shay said that there are challenging times ahead for the trade union movement. “Pay recovery across all sectors of the Irish economy is vital for sustained growth, and that is the goal for all trade unions as Ireland gets on to a path of economic recovery. We are fortunate to have someone of Patricia’s strength and ability to lead the trade union movement in Ireland at this time.”

Last year, IMPACT’s biennial delegate conference voted unanimously to support a ‘yes’ vote in a future referendum on marriage equality. A referendum is now due to take place in May this year.

Sinead Costello of the union’s Sligo branch said it was not reasonable to deny same-sex couples the right to marry. “The state is effectively saying it does not value, respect or acknowledge the status of same-sex couples in the same way as heterosexual couples. Opinion polls tell us that the vast majority of the public believe in marriage equality for gay people. This is an issue for IMPACT members whether gay or straight,” she said.

The union’s equal opportunities officer Patricia Fanning said the union would work with other civil society groups on the issue: “Marriage equality is a trade union issue, and we welcome the opportunity to campaign in support of equality,” she said.

In this special poll, we’re asking readers of the IMPACT ebulletin how you intend to vote in the referendum. Taking part in the poll is anonymous and is hosted via the Survey Monkey website.

Take part in the poll here (via Survey Monkey)

Fundraiser

IMPACT’s youth committee is organising a fundraising event, ‘The First Great Annual IMPACT Quiz’ in aid of Marriage Equality, which will take place on Thursday 16^th April at 7pm in Dublin. A city centre venue will be confirmed shortly and we’ll have more details in the next edition of the ebulletin.  

The trade union campaign for Marriage Equality will be launched by Congress on 13^th February at 6pm in Liberty Hall. The launch event, entitled ‘Love and Pride’, will include a screening of the feature film Pride,  based on the true story about a group of lesbian and gay activists who raised money to help families affected by the British miners' strike in 1984.

The Minister for Education and Skills, Jan O’Sullivan TD, has accepted an invitation to attend the union’s Education divisional conference in April. It’s the first time a minister from the department will attend the conference since the division was formed in 2012.

An IMPACT delegation met with the minister last December, and covered a wide agenda that included Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) hours and income, school secretaries pay and conditions, Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) policy, the future role and structures of Education and Training Boards (ETBs), the implications of merging IOTs and technological universities, and the effect of cuts on the School Completion Programme (SCP).

IMPACT deputy general secretary Kevin Callinan commented, “We outlined the breadth of the IMPACT membership in education, gave a briefing on the main issues currently exercising the minds of our executive, and sought the minister’s intervention to address a number of key concerns.

“The minister commented very positively on both the scope of the IMPACT membership in education, and the emphasis the union places on the delivery of quality services, alongside the needs of our members” he said.

Kevin was accompanied by IMPACT official Dessie Robinson, and DEC members Gina O’Brien, Dave Sexton, Michael Smyth, and Majella Carew.

The Education Divisional Conference will take take place between 8^th and 10^th April 2015 in Galway.

The CSO published its Survey on Income and Living Conditions in December, which showed that while the rate of poverty in Ireland has stayed roughly the same, the rate of deprivation rose dramatically from 13.7% in 2008 to 30.5% in 2013. The statistics also show that almost one in eight children now live in consistent poverty.

The figures reveal that more than a million people suffered enforced deprivation in 2013, more than double the rate prior to the economic crash. “Enforced deprivation” is defined as being unable to afford at least two basics, such as replacing worn out furniture or an afternoon or evening out in the past fortnight.

Patrick Foley of the CSO said people across all income groups were reporting increases in deprivation each year since 2008.

The survey also showed that disposable income dropped for most groups, and the group that showed the largest drop in income were adults aged under 65 living alone (-13%). However it was single parents who had the highest deprivation rate at 63.2% in 2013.

The chief executive of children’s charity Barnardos’, Fergus Finlay, said, “The high rate of poverty for children, and the startling increase in deprivation figures for all families shows that Government choices have fundamentally failed to protect children and families.”

Joe O’Connor, organiser with IMPACT’s Boards and Voluntary Agencies branch commented, “These figures demonstrate the devastating effect of our economic crisis. Wage stagnation is one of its legacies, and that’s why IMPACT has been campaigning for widespread pay recovery across all sectors of the economy. Decent work and decent jobs are a key part of any recovery, so that dignity can be restored to peoples lives.”

Applications are now open for the 2015 IMPACT Gaeltacht scholarship scheme.

Eighty grants - of €150 each - are available to assist children of IMPACT members to attend Irish Language courses in Gaeltacht areas in summer 2015. The grants apply to children of IMPACT members who are aged between 11 and 18 years of age on 1st July 2015.

The completed form must be received by the General Services Committee, IMPACT before 5.30pm on Friday 20st March 2015.

Click HERE to download an application form, which includes details, terms and conditions of the scheme. A list of approved colleges can be downloaded HERE.