Public sector workers look set to return to shorter working week
Under Haddington Road, most public sector workers saw working hours increase by an average two hours and 15 minutes per week.
Civil service unions have welcomed a recommendation that working hours for civil servants be restored to pre-Haddington Road levels.
The change will take effect from July. The recommendation is being made by an independent body chaired by Kieran Mulvey, which was charged with resolving the issue under the Building Momentum public service agreement.
Under Haddington Road, most public sector workers saw working hours increase by an average two hours and 15 minutes per week.
Pay cuts in the deal were largely temporary, but the additional hours remained. The Government has estimated that unwinding the working hours would cost €600m, but unions have disputed this.
The additional working hours were imposed from July 2013, when the standard working time of civil and public servants increased to 39 hours for those who previously worked between 35 and 37 hours, and to 37 hours for those who previously worked 35 hours or less.
The hours of those working 39 hours or more per week remained the same.
The independent body’s recommendation would see a return to the pre-July 2013 hours, albeit with a minimum working week of 35 hours.
While Mr Mulvey's recommendations haven't been published in full, unions have welcomed the news.
Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan said the recommendation would "remove a longstanding and debilitating drain on morale and productivity across the civil and public service".
“The additional hours introduced under the HRA fell hardest on women with caring responsibilities, and they have been increasingly counterproductive in terms of service delivery, morale and productivity," Mr Callinan said.
“The acceptance of the recommendation by Government would also significantly enhance the prospect for continued stability in public service delivery and quality, not least by removing a huge obstacle to the successful negotiation of a public service agreement to replace Building Momentum when it expires later this year,” he said.
INMO General Secretary, Phil Ní Sheaghdha said: “The recommendation by the independently chaired hours body is one that will benefit the retention of nurses and midwives. The additional hours have disproportionately impacted our largely female workforce.
"The additional hours have pushed many nurses and midwives into part-time work due to the additional pressure that was put on caring responsibilities.
“We know that since 2013, the additional unpaid hours have had a considerable negative impact on morale, and the retention of nurses and midwives within the public health service."
Psychiatric Nurses Association General Secretary Peter Hughes said the imposition of additional hours since their introduction in 2013 had impacted negatively on the morale of nurses in the mental health services and had been a further barrier to the retention of nurses.
“The recommendation by the independent body will help restore morale particularly after the extraordinary demands that mental health nurses have faced, and the dedication they have shown, over the past two years," Mr Hughes said.
"The recommendation will be important in the efforts to retain nurses in the mental health services where we are already seeing evidence of nurses being attracted to take up posts abroad in places such as Canada and Australia.”
