Union protects in-house cleaning at two hospitals
25 January 2012
The SIPTU general union has prevented the outsourcing of cleaning at two hospitals following the threat of industrial action. The union had challenged the managements’ plans to privatise the cleaning without consultation. The Croke Park national agreement on public sector pay and restructuring requires consultation with trade unions over any planned outsourcing. The unions have proposed an alternative that involves extra hours of work for home helps.
Read more at > SIPTU (EN)
Trade union reaction to 2012 Budget
9 December 2011
The Impact public services union said that the government’s 2012 Budget will increase the pressure on public services with 6,000 further job cuts on top of the 20,000 that have already been implemented. The public sector pay bill will be reduced by €400 million and this follows the €680 million in cuts in the year to June 2011 that were part of the Croke Park national agreement on pay and conditions and public service cuts. The union acknowledged the fact that despite the job cuts the freeze on recruitment would be relaxed in some key areas including primary health care, child protection and social care.
Read more at > IMPACT (EN)
Annual leave limits negotiated
9 December 2011
The IMPACT public services trade union reports that negotiations have resulted in limits to annual leave but unions have managed to protect the entitlement of public sector workers. Local authority employers had drawn up plans to make drastic cuts in leave but the latest proposal means that workers with between 23 and 32 days’ leave should be protected. New entrants will have a 30-day maximum. It will be mainly senior staff who are affected with some seeing entitlement of 40 days cut back to 32.
Read more at > IMPACT (EN)
Union challenges health service on use of agency labour
11 November 2011
The SIPTU general union has criticized the Health Services Executive for widespread use of agency staff at a cost of €129.9 million in the first eight months of 2011. The union says that the Executive has resorted to agency workers because of the freeze on the recruitment of permanent staff.
Read more at > SIPTU (EN)
Unions work together in campaign against outsourcing
21 October 2011
The SIPTU and IMPACT public service trade unions organized a demonstration on 20 October in protest at plans by Fingal County Council, to the north of Dublin, to outsource waste collection services. The unions highlighted not only the threat to workers pay and conditions but the prospect of a poorer service and higher charges to citizens.
Read more at > SIPTU (EN)
Union rejects calls for further cuts
14 September 2011
The IMPACT public service union has stressed that the current agreement on public sector cost savings (Croke Park) is delivering and is on course to meet the 2011 targets in terms of savings and job reductions, with payroll savings alone of €290 million, 30% ahead of target. The union was reacting to statements by former European Central Bank director Jürgen Stark who also claimed that public sector pay in Ireland was too high.
Read more at > IMPACT (EN)
Health unions challenge recruitment policy
25 August 2011
Both the IMPACT and SIPTU trade unions have questioned the Health Service Executive’s (HSE) current recruitment policy. IMPACT argues that the HSE is not filling a range of specialist posts despite these being exempted from the recruitment freeze. It is also concerned about an increased use of agency staff. Meanwhile, SIPTU has expressed concern about the HSE delaying confirmation of new appointments in order to balance hospital budgets. The HSE claims that too many patients have been treated in the first half of the year!
Read more at > IMPACT
And at > SIPTU
National agreement on public service reforms continues to deliver
25 July 2011
Last year the government and trade unions negotiated the Croke Park agreement. This was a commitment that there would be no more pay cuts or compulsory redundancies as long as the unions and public sector employers worked together to deliver major savings. A joint statement from the government and the unions acknowledges the success of the agreement although notes that further restructuring and redeployment still need to be implemented. The government has said the restriction on recruitment might be more flexible but there is as yet no scope to compensate for the pension levy and pay cuts that were put into effect in 2009 and 2010.
Read more at > Impact (EN)
Unions continue to negotiate public sector savings
22 June 2011
The IMPACT public services union has welcomed the latest report on the savings and restructuring being carried out under the Croke Park national agreement. Staff redeployment, workplace reforms and increased productivity have all contributed to the reduction of costs and the maintenance of services. The unions’ commitment to the agreement means there will be no compulsory redundancies or further cuts in pay.
Read more at > IMPACT (EN)
Union calls for flexibility in redeployment of specialist staff
19 May 2011
The Impact public services union argues that civil service management needs to adopt a more sophisticated policy on the redeployment of specialist staff. The nationally negotiated Croke Park agreement involves reducing staffing to 2002 level on the basis initially of volunteers and then last-in, first out. However, Impact is concerned that specialist staff could end up in the wrong jobs unless civil service management assess skill and training needs and carry out proper consultations with staff.
Read more at > Impact (EN)
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