IMPACT is stepping up its campaign to win pension provision for all school completion programme (SCP) staff. About two-thirds of SCP staff have no occupational pension rights at all, despite a commitment given during the 2015 Lansdowne Road talks.

IMPACT is now taking its campaign for pension justice to national and local politicians in a concerted lobby. And the union’s school completion branch has also achieved an overwhelming mandate for industrial action to underpin the campaign if necessary.

Ireland’s school completion programme has been widely applauded – including in a major study by the Economic and Social Research Institute – for providing effective supports to troubled young people. And it has contributed strongly to improving school attendance and completion among pupils, predominantly in DEIS areas.

There are currently 124 SCP programmes across the country, each with a modest number of project workers managed by a single coordinator. Approximately a third of these programmes are funded directly through Education and Training Boards (ETBs), which means staff have access to the public service pension scheme.

The remaining two-thirds are funded through management committees, and the staff have no occupational pension provision at all.

IMPACT has been highlighting this injustice for a number of years. In 2015, the union won a commitment that it would be addressed through negotiations under the Lansdowne Road agreement. But no progress has been made.