Connect June 2011

SUMMER 2011 VOL: 13

NO. 2

CWU YOUTH COMMITTEE HOSTS A SUCCESSFUL OPEN DAY FOR NEW MEMBERS

Editorial

Dear Colleague,

Contents Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2-3

Organising Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4-8

Postal Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

9-15

I can say with absolute certainty that the last three years have been the toughest years I have ever had to face as a Trade Union activist, both as a member and as a paid employee of the Union. During that period, your Union has faced many serious challenges, including pay cuts, pay freezes, attacks on basic conditions, attacks on pensions and most importantly, attacks on jobs through outsourcing, off shoring and business closures. During normal times, one would have expected such attacks on an intermittent basis, but without the ferocity that has been the hallmark of many companies’ approaches during these troubled times. As I have previously stated, the situation has been made much worse by the dire economic circumstances within the country, but it is hard not to be convinced that many employers are taking the opportunity to make the best out of the recession by attacking hard won pay and conditions of many workers.

A consistent thread running through this period has been the incessant ongoing attacks on Trade Unions and their leaders with the privately owned media attempting to shift the blame for the state of the country from politicians, bankers and business leaders, on to ordinary workers. Indeed, many of the attacks on Trade Unions have been based on lies and misrepresentation. One of the most worrying aspects for the Unions is that through popular media shows, such as the Joe Duffy show on RTÉ, it would seem that large sections of the public now accept what they read and hear from the privately owned media. Indeed, it is fair to say on some occasions there has been, what can only be described as a feeding frenzy, as individuals with grievances queue up to tell their stories, unchecked and unverified, on the national airwaves.

The employers and their political cronies must also be extremely happy at the reaction to the way they portray the Unions, and indeed, with the public actions of some Union members who leave their Trade Union either for financial, personal or “principled” reasons.

It seems that during a recession there is a recurring historical reaction for working people to allow themselves to be persuaded to turn on each other and to focus their anger on fellow workers in the public service or on working class immigrants.

Since the foundation of the Trade Union movement, Unions have had problems with workers who were happy

Is There a Sponge In Your Workplace? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-17 CWU Group Scheme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

18

CWU Charitable Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

19

Education Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-22 CWU People - Youth Committee Open Day . . . . . . . . . .

23

Equality Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-25 Dublin Postal Sports and Social Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

26

CWU Join Today . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

27

FM Downes & Co Special Offer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

28

eircom Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

29

Spring Seminar Castlebar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30-31 Health and Safety Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-34 FM Downes & Co Family Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Trade Unions & Workers Contributions to Charities in Ireland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36-47 CWU People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48-51 CWU Group Specified Illness Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52-53 Book Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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CWU Membership Application Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55-56

Editor: Steve Fitzpatrick Sub-Editor: Imelda Wall Issued by: Communications Workers’ Union, 575 North Circular Road, Dublin 1.

Telephone: 8663000 and Fax: 8663099 E-mail: info@cwu.ie Incorporating the PTWU Journal, THE RELAY and THE COMMUNICATIONS WORKER The opinions expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the CWU.

Photographs: John Chaney Printed by Mahons Printing Works, Dublin.

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to take the benefits negotiated through the Trade Union movement, while refusing to pay Union subscriptions but it is extremely disappointing to have some of those people supporting the employers through unverified public attacks on Unions. Indeed, further on in this edition of the Connect you will see evidence that these problems have long bedevilled the Trade Union movement as we have reprinted some clippings from previous Union Journals going back to the foundation of the State.

The reality for all Unions is that in extremely difficult circumstances where hard decisions must be made, it is inevitable some individual Union members will disagree with the direction or decisions of the Union as a whole. The democratic structures within our Union allow room for such individuals to change and influence those decisions through their Branches and through their elected representatives. The Union also creates space for all individuals to become involved in their Branch and their Union and to be educated and given the skills to help them make a difference. Every time a disgruntled member leaves the Union or publically attacks the Union, quite simply they weaken the overall impact of the Union and gives succour to the employers, whose ultimate aim is to rid all workplaces of Trade Unions. Therefore, Steve Fitzpatrick, workers who unknowingly assist the employers in that goal, in addition to General Secretary, CWU being sponges, become the allies of the people who would at the drop of a hat abolish worker representation and Trade Unions. Ultimately those non Union people damage their own pay and conditions too.

One only has to see the recent reports from IBEC (The Employers’ Union), where they have publically stated they are appalled at the reversal by the Government of the cut to the minimum wage. They want to see all wage setting mechanisms for working people abolished and they have made it crystal clear that the key issue for them is the maintenance of the legal ban on Trade Unions and the right to collective bargaining. Therefore, the employers, through their Unions, have made it clear they do not believe in our rights as workers to be represented in the workplace by our Unions. If that does not open workers eyes up to the forces allied against them, then frankly nothing will.

During the recent difficult times, our Union has been forced to make many difficult choices. Those choices have always been made in a democratic and open manner and in true democratic fashion, we must also make room for the opinions of people who have on this occasion come out on the wrong side of the vote while ensuring we carry out the wishes of the majority.

It is imperative that all of our members realise, that while we have to debate, negotiate and implement difficult agreements, we do so in circumstances where without your Union there would be no debate or vote on those issues and you would quite simply implement whatever management decided was the right thing for you to do. As an example many members point to the protections they believe they have under the 1983 Postal & Telecommunications Act without ever acknowledging the fact that our Union was responsible for having those protections inserted into the law at that time.

Therefore, I would ask each member to consider what the Union means and does for them and what responsibilities they have to their Union. In my time as a Postman, it was always pointed out to me that the Union was an organisation made up of thousands of individual members. Union Officials were then, and are now, subject to the direction of the democratically elected National Executive Council and their role has always been to advise and to lead, but with no vote on any decisions.

Every two years almost four hundred and fifty delegates representing over one hundred Branches throughout the country elect the National Executive Council, which is made up of thirty-four members from the rank and file of ordinary working Union activists. You, the members, also democratically elect those delegates and all of the Branch Officers and Committees on a yearly basis. I sincerely believe that there are no more democratically accountable organisations in the State and members who view the Union as bricks and mortar on the North Circular Road, do both the Union and themselves a disservice.

Therefore, if you are unhappy with your Branch or Union, if you have ideas as to how things can be improved for you or your comrades, or indeed if you wish to become involved, our Union, the Communications Workers’ Union, needs you and will find room for you.

I would also like to use this occasion to urge people who have not joined the Union, or who have left for one reason or another, to reconsider their position and to fight for change from within rather than be seen to support our opponents from outside.

Finally I wish to thank each and every member who has stuck with our Union through these extremely difficult circumstances. Great credit is due to each of you for withstanding the constant attacks carried out on workers representatives through the employer owned compliant media. Without your continuing support I am convinced we would be in a much darker place.

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Dell Direct Update The preliminary hearing in the continuing Dell dispute took place early in April and, again, the company were attended by an entourage of legal advisers. Those who have been following the dispute will know that the company have consistently refused to engage with the Union, and even deny that any dispute is taking place. The company maintains that it has resolved the issue and that employees in Dell benefit from their ‘Open Door’ policy. They claim that the Labour Court cannot impose any particular model of bargaining on a so-called ‘non-Union’ company. Trade Unionists will recognise that company-run employee forums are not a substitute for real collective bargaining and the Union will continue to assert this position.

Both sides presented their arguments at the hearing and the court has requested further information from the company.

It is hoped that a decision will be reached shortly that will enable the affected Dell Direct staff to have their issue heard at last.

Stream XBOX staff questioned over Union organising Staff working for Stream Global Services’ Microsoft contract have been called in by management and questioned individually about Trade Union organising. This might be a story from the other side of the Atlantic, but it is actually happening in a call centre in Dublin.

Several workers were questioned in a way that is reminiscent of American Union-busting techniques. The employees were singled out in private meetings with HR, and were asked to identify who was handing out membership forms and who was talking to colleagues about joining a Union. Interestingly Stream, an outsourcing company, have a contract with eircom, where the staff are free to join the CWU and are represented by their Union in dealings with the company.

However, Stream have refused flatly to engage with the CWU about representing their staff working on the Xbox contract.

This appalling behaviour cannot be tolerated and the CWU will take whatever action is necessary to help those employees working in such an aggressively anti-Union atmosphere.

CWU Successfully Defends Siemens Workers’ Rights In March, CWU organisers were contacted by workers in the Siemens IT Solutions (SIS) call centre in Blackrock in Cork, regarding a serious issue they were facing at work.

Siemens IT Solutions had advised 24 staff that the contract they worked on – providing IT support for an English based company called Yell – had been lost as Yell had decided to save money by doing their own IT support. Siemens IT Solutions reacted to this news by taking an unprecedented approach. Several weeks before the date that the contract was due to expire, they advised staff that as the work was moving to England, then so were the workers’ jobs.

Staff were told to report for work in Reading and if Yell ‘refused their right’ to claim their jobs, they should then travel home to Ireland and take a case against Yell. This group of workers included employees who had worked for the company for over ten years with mortgages, families and commitments in Cork. SIS stated they would only pay them a redundancy if a subsequent case against Yell was unsuccessful, and then it would only be a statutory payment.

Staff were rightly upset by this as heretofore Siemens had made an ex-gratia payment to staff being made redundant of 3.68 week per year of service in conjunction with the

statutory payment. For these long-serving staff, being denied this payment was simply unacceptable.

Several attempts were made by both the workers and Union Head Office to open communications with SIS, to discuss the very serious implications of what was happening.

The company responded to Head Office by stating that because SIS did not recognise Trade Unions, they were not going to engage with the Union or the staff collectively. At this point, the workers had been asking the company to engage with them for several weeks, to no avail. Staff had no idea what was to become of them on the day the contract was to end – the 2nd May 2011.

As the end of the contract was fast approaching and drastic measures were required, CWU organisers decided to issue a press release. Very soon after the press release was issued, the media started to pay attention to the workers’ plight. Workers were interviewed by journalists and appeared on TG4 news. Articles appeared in the Irish Examiner, the Irish Times and in various other papers. The story was reported on several websites. Most notably, the CWU had its debut in the North Korea Times!

Shortly afterwards, a local TD, Ciaran Lynch (Labour) 4

treated. The workers looked for reassurances from the company that this situation would not raise its head again and affect the colleagues they were leaving behind. They also wanted confirmation that if issues came up again, the company would engage with them collectively and would allow staff to be represented by the CWU. The company agreed to all the staff conditions and the workers were finally in a position to agree to the redundancy terms.

While, sadly, this outstanding group of staff have now moved on, they serve as a timely reminder to us all that, by standing together and organising a workplace, workers can affect real change in their workplace and achieve solid results. The organisers now intend to continue the strides that have been made in Siemens IT Solutions, by inviting the remaining staff to join and continue the good work their former colleagues started.

contacted the staff and offered to help in any way he could.

Mr Lynch subsequently raised the matter in the Dáil and with Enterprise Minister, Richard Bruton.

Clearly, the pressure of this unwelcome publicity didn’t sit well with Siemens, as staff were issued with letters the next day and advised that the company was prepared to pay the redundancy, including the ex-gratia payment. However the staff were determined to have their grievances heard. They had lodged these on foot of the company’s behaviour.

Initially the company wanted to hear these grievances individually but staff wanted to discuss the issues collectively. Under pressure from the members, the company finally relented and agreed to a meeting with Trade Union representation.

At the meeting, which took place on Tuesday 26th April, the company apologised to staff for the way they had been

Press release issued on behalf of the Communications Workers’ Union:

CWU seeks intervention by Jobs Minister at attempt by Siemens to flout employment laws Tuesday 19th April, 2011 – The Communications Workers’ Union is calling for urgent intervention by Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, Richard Bruton, to prevent Siemens IT Solutions from ignoring its legal obligations to its workforce at its Blackrock call centre facility and compelling them to leave their homes in Cork and move to the UK.

with contempt by claiming that their jobs simply transfer to a location in the UK under a new employer. Furthermore, this “new employer” – Yell – has correctly rejected the Siemens version of what is happening.

“This incredible action by Siemens can only reasonably be interpreted as a blatant attempt by the Company to avoid any obligations it has to make redundancy payments to its Siemens IT Solutions employees.”

Mr. Fitzpatrick said that a collective redundancy situation requires that consultations must take place at least 30 days before the notice of redundancy is given and that employers are obliged to inform the Dept. of Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation of planned collective redundancies. He said, “Siemens has failed to engage staff in consultation as required and in accordance with fair procedures this should include the selection process and consideration of suitable alternative work.”

Mr. Fitzpatrick said that, “workers are entitled to respect and compliance with the laws of the land by their employers.

In this case, Siemens appear to be intent on ignoring both.

While the country is struggling to create and maintain jobs, it is hard to reconcile an employer suggesting this kind of action which seems tantamount to forced emigration.”

Mr. Fitzpatrick called for the early intervention and a clear statement by Minister Bruton that such actions would not be tolerated and that employment rights legislation must be complied with in full.

Siemens IT Solutions has informed workers at its Blackrock call centre in Cork that it will no longer provide customer support services under its Yell contract and that these services will be provided by Yell in the UK. Incredibly, Siemens is claiming that a transfer of undertakings will take place and that the jobs of 24 workers located in Blackrock, Co. Cork will simply transfer to the Yell facility at Reading in the UK. On this basis it is claiming that a redundancy situation for the Blackrock workers does not arise. Staff working on the helpdesk have been advised by Siemens to present themselves for work in Reading to an employer who has made it quite clear that it will not employ them. These employees, with children, families and mortgages have served the company for up to 11 years.

Services under the Yell contract are scheduled to cease on May 2nd and will provided by Yell in the UK from 3rd May. Commenting on the situation Siemens’ workers are facing, CWU General Secretary, Steve Fitzpatrick, said, “Siemens are treating its Blackrock customer service staff 5

Siemens workers seek Government help over jobs

By Eoin English – Irish Examiner – Thursday, April 21, 2011

and is not closing.

Trevor Anderson, 28, who has worked for Siemens for four years, is one of the workers affected by the move. He said another affected worker is a young single mother who simply could not move to Reading. He said they are all “confused, baffled and angry” at the way they have been treated and are very worried about the future. “We just want to be dealt with properly and fairly,” he said.

CWU Organiser, Fionnula Ní Bhrógáin, said this is the first time the Union has come across such a case.

She said the affected staff are direct employees of SIS and must be dealt with fairly by the company.

CWU General Secretary, Steve Fitzpatrick, said, “Siemens are treating its Blackrock customer service staff with contempt, by claiming that their jobs simply transfer to a location in the UK under a new employer.

“Furthermore, this ‘new employer’, Yell, has correctly rejected the Siemens version of what is happening.

“This incredible action by Siemens can only reasonably be interpreted as a blatant attempt by the company to avoid any obligations it has to make redundancy payments to its employees.”

SIS said that it acts responsibly in dealing with all employees.

Mr Lynch called on all sides to sit down and thrash out the issues. “Siemens lost the Yell contract, and they are no longer in a position to employ these workers. The company must now sit down with them and sort out this situation properly,” he said.

STAFF who have been told by their employers to move to Britain to keep their IT jobs, vowed last night to fight for their rights.

The group of 24 workers based at Siemens IT Solutions and Services (SIS) in Blackrock, Cork, pleaded with the Government to examine the issue in detail to protect them, and other IT or call centre workers in Ireland who may face a similar situation.

Labour TD, Ciarán Lynch, said he would try to raise the issue in the Dáil today.

The Communications Workers’ Union (CWU) first raised concerns after SIS, which employs 250 people, told 24 staff providing customer support services for British firm Yell that the contract was being terminated from May 2. Yell plans to provide the service from its own facility in Reading, England from May 3.

Siemens claims the jobs are simply moving under a “transfer of undertakings protection of employment” (TUPE) process, and a redundancy situation does not arise.

Last night, the company said discussions with employees are “ongoing” and SIS will work to reach a satisfactory conclusion in the coming days. Severance terms have been offered to all impacted employees. SIS is of the opinion that the termination of the contract is governed by TUPE regulations. Accordingly, SIS has structured its communications and consultation on this basis.

“SIS will honour all its contractual obligations to its employees.”

The company said it is a significant employer in Cork

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Organising Discussed at the Spring Seminar There were three excellent presentations delivered at our spring seminar by Ian McArdle, Esther Lynch of ICTU and Ethel Buckley of SIPTU. A common theme addressed by each of the speakers was the importance of rank and file members taking a proactive role in the Trade Union movement. Ian gave an outline of progress that the organising team has made; he also gave details of “Organising Month, May 2011”. As part of Organising Month, each attendee at spring seminar was asked to recruit at least one new member in the month of May. Maybe you also know of someone who is working and not a member of a Union? If so, why not give them an application form or tell them about the benefits of joining a Trade Union and the benefits of Trade Union membership. Let them know that by joining a Trade Union, they are giving themselves a voice in the workplace and are arming themselves with the information that they need to navigate these difficult times.

Following Ian’s presentation, Esther Lynch spoke about the legal position of collective bargaining in Ireland. She referred to existing European legislation which the Trade Union movement could use to implement collective bargaining in the workplace. Ethel Buckley then spoke and informed delegates of the challenges that SIPTU encountered moving from a servicing Union to an organising Union. She referred to recent successes that SIPTU have enjoyed in the contract cleaning industry. The approach taken by SIPTU was very different to the standard approach taken by most Unions, including our own.

They have opted to campaign across an industry in order to identify recruitment targets where there might be some chance of neutralising the employer – in other words where they can access and recruit staff without fear of recrimination.

In the current economic environment, where the balance of power has swung severely to the employers’ favour and fear is the single biggest obstacle to recruitment and organising, this strategy is more likely to bear fruit. It is more difficult to implement and requires more planning and support but it stands a better chance of leading to sustainable and long-term recruitment benefits.

Don’t take your employment rights for granted The power of Union membership was demonstrated on two recent occasions. Firstly, as mentioned elsewhere in this journal CWU members in Siemens successfully asserted their rights, which the company attempted to circumvent, thus confirming the power of a Union. The second incident involved SIPTU members who were locked out by their employer at O’ Callaghan Davenport Hotel. Following representations by their Trade Union, the employees were reinstated, with their original pay rates and the repayment of any wages which were deducted. Other employers in the communications industry are using these same tactics. It is essential that we recruit and organise workers into the CWU. We cannot allow employers to exploit nonUnionised workers to undercut the conditions we have already won.

Committee set about its task determined to ensure that every possible option to increase pay was explored. The Company made it clear from the outset that, with heavy losses expected again this year, it would be very difficult to increase pay.

However, the Committee maintained its position and highlighted the fact that the cost of living in Ireland was on the increase again.

Following several weeks of intensive discussions with American Airlines management, an agreement was finally reached that the basic pay for non-management staff would be increased by 1.7% and in addition to this the annual leave allocation for staff would be increased by one day. The Committee, accepting that this was the best that could be achieved in the circumstances, put the offer to the members by way of a ballot with a recommendation for acceptance.

The offer was accepted by a strong majority of the CWU members in American Airlines, which is in itself a strong affirmation for the hard work of the CWU/AA Committee who did an excellent job in improving the working conditions for their colleagues.

CWU Secures pay increase for American Airlines staff The CWU/AA Branch Committee has successfully concluded pay negotiations with American Airlines management for the period April 1st 2011 to March 31st 2012. The Company, which has undergone very challenging trading conditions for the last two years arising from increased fuel prices and the financial markets collapse, had not been in a position to increase the basic pay of nonmanagement staff for the last two years. The local CWU/AA Committee had agreed to a pay freeze over the last two years given these conditions being faced by the Company.

However, at this year’s AGM members made it clear that they could not accept a pay freeze for a third consecutive year.

In circumstances where the Company made a loss of US$432 million in the first quarter of this year alone it was unclear whether it would be possible to negotiate an increase in the basic pay for CWU members. Nonetheless the local

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Money Saving Benefits - Group Schemes require a code. If so, this will be stated on the vendor’s webpage.

The CWU is pleased to announce the launch of a whole range of money saving offers for CWU members, full details are available through our website www.cwu.ie.

You can access this website free-of-charge by logging in through www.cwu.ie. It provides you and your immediate family with the opportunity to avail of hundreds of discounts on day-to-day goods and services, including retailers such as the Body Shop, Halfords and Debenhams. In conjunction with Group Schemes, the CWU use collective purchasing power to secure large discounts with well-known brands to secure savings for our members which would otherwise be unavailable.

How do I get discounts with local businesses?

Each offer states how that vendor wishes its discount to be validated. Some local offers are validated by downloadable vouchers. To use a voucher all you have to do is print the voucher and bring it to the vendor premises in order to redeem the discount.

Are there any restrictions on discounts offered by vendors?

In some cases, there are restrictions. For example, many discounts do not apply on sale goods. Restrictions are noted on the offer page. Restrictions are also noted on the vouchers if there is a requirement for a voucher.

FAQs How do I find out more information?

First visit our own website www.cwu.ie and log in if you have not already done so. Once you have logged in you will be directed to the CWU section of the Group Schemes website where you will find full details of available offers.

Why should I use the sceheme?

The offers and services that you will find have been particularly selected in order to bring as much value and discount as possible to you and your colleagues, to create as many significant savings as possible and to provide you with options and services that will be valuable to you and your family.

The Union continually seeks discounts from suitable partners, and the discounts available through the group schemes web site are in addition to our existing offers such as those provided for at www.fairhotels.ie . You can find full details of all members’ offers at our website www.cwu.ie .

Who is eligible?

The Group Schemes programme may be used by any member and their immediate family.

How do I get discounts online?

Online offers are primarily provided by a special link to the discount which is automatically applied. Some online discounts

Wear your Union Badge

Get into print!

Anyone wishing to submit articles or photos to appear in the Connect journal, please, either email to:

imelda@cwu.ie or post to Imelda Wall Communications Workers’ Union 575 North Circular Road, Dublin 1.

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Postal Update importantly, the group will ensure that full account is taken of the outcomes from the Joint Parcels Workshop which took place in the GPO last year.

An Post plans major reengineering of its Parcels Operation A detailed presentation was made at the recent Spring Seminar of the Union in Castlebar by a team of Senior Managers from An Post. The presentation focused on the challenges currently faced by the Company in what is becoming an increasingly competitive market. While An Post is currently the market leader in the parcel/packet sector, it advises that the overall domestic market is contracting due to the economic climate and customers are becoming increasingly price conscious.

Also as part of the presentation the Company set out in summary its plans for a major reengineering of its entire Parcels Operation. The main points were • • • • •

Grow market share while ensuring profitability Maximise efficiency in terms of parcel sorting Better streaming of parcels and packets Redesign of the distribution network Improve service offering to the customer to include:

Pat Knight Addresses the Postal Conference

o Taking advantage of nationwide rollout of hand held scanners to ensure end to end tracking is available to customers in real time o Added conveniences and flexibilities for customers in terms delivery The Company advised the seminar of its intention to share its detailed proposals with the Union and its wish to engage as soon as possible to identify and address the staff impact issues associated with its proposals.

The Union has tasked the Collection and Delivery subcommittee of the Executive Council to carry out the discussions on behalf of the Union. The Group will be assisted by individual branches where necessary. Most

Dan MacKessy addresses the Conference

transpired is considered that some Senior Managers are abusing this agreement facility by piling more and more work on to DSMs to the point of harassment while attempting to renege on the time in lieu element of the agreement.

Taking into account that DSMs / Working Leaders responsibilities include Budgets, LAMP interviews, dealing with emails, counting of mail, streams, MPMS, wages, annual leave distribution, Training, counting duties daily, customer complaints, staff complaints, Health & Safety, Security, back to work interviews, log sheets, weekly casual/leave reports, cover of all duties daily, duty allocation, and this list is not by any means exhaustive, there is only so much can be done within a normal working day.

To exacerbate matters they are now also expected in

POSTAL MANAGERS The Postal Managers Group representatives convened recently to give consideration to a number of issues of concern to managers and Working Leaders. Set out is their views in respect of these matters which have been presented to An Post for progression.

DSM / Working Leader Workload When Delivery Service Managers became a non-overtime grade it was envisaged Managers should only exceed their 37½ hours weekly liability on occasions, which would merit time off in lieu on an hour for hour basis. What has since 9

Postal Update

Changes to Leave Arrangements at An Post

addition to the workload established from the outset o C&D to perform a wide range of tasks that have developed primarily from the shift in focus to Quality of Service. The Managers acknowledge the necessity for this and are supportive of it. However operational management needs also to accept that they are time consuming particularly if they are to be done properly.

This is regarded to very unhelpful as it serves to undermine the DSMs role as it appears to staff the continual stream of audit inspections with in many cases managers literally pass each other on the way into and out of the office.

The situation has now become intolerable and a sub-group of the Postal Management Group has been set up to deal with the issue and a meet with the Company. It is intended that this sub-group will also conduct a review of Performance Related Pay.

Marriage Leave The Union and the Company held discussions on marriage leave at the Joint Conciliation Council over the last number of months. Arising from the re-introduction of Service Leave the Company set marriage leave to 2 days. They based this on the Official Circular governing Marriage Leave which links the amount of annual leave with the amount of marriage leave to be granted. Staff may be allowed up to 5 days special leave with pay on the occasion of his/her marriage, provided the amount of such leave together with the his/her annual leave allowance in the leave year in which the marriage takes place does not exceed a total of 24 days.

The Company decided that with service leave the annual leave entitlement was 22 days and as such individuals were only entitled to 2 days marriage leave. Following discussions agreement was concluded at the JCC to discontinue the link between marriage leave and annual leave and that 3 days marriage leave will apply irrespective of annual leave entitlement. While this increase is to be welcomed new entrants are not advised to rush up the aisle.

Private Vehicles Inspections Delivery Service Managers were instructed, in some areas, to conduct a search of private vehicles where those vehicles are used for delivery purposes. While the Union accepts there may be a requirement for mail carried in private vehicles available for inspection this does not extend to vehicles being searched in the manner proposed.

The Company approach, in this matter, would appear to be not only heavy-handed and an unwarranted invasion of privacy but designed to create animosity between the Delivery Service Managers and delivery staff.

Bereavement Leave and Bereavement Policy The Union on a regular basis receives requests for information on bereavement leave. On a national level, each year, one in ten workers will be affected by bereavement.

One of the most important factors in coming to terms with grief is social support, which needs to be carried on into the workplace.

Within An Post Bereavement leave with pay of between 3 and 5 days may be allowed on the death of an immediate family member. The definition of a family member is the same as the definition contained within the Parental Leave Act and is as follows:

Cluster DSMs Annual Leave In some instances the Company has attempted to have Cluster DSMs take on responsibility for adjacent Cluster Offices where that DSM is on leave.

There is no agreement in place with the Union which allows for this. Furthermore, it is the Union’s position that acting lists should be in place in all clusters to cover such leave and allow staff in those office access to acting which had been denied to them heretofore.

Automation

• •

A sub-group of the Postal Management Group has also been set up to deal with the implementation of the Framework Agreement on Automation in the Mails Centres. The subgroup consists of a Work Area Manager and a Work Area Organiser from the Dublin Mails Centre and a Process Area Manager from Athlone, Cork and Portlaoise.

• • • •

Child or adoptive child of the employee; The spouse of the employee, or a person with whom the employee is living as husband or wife; A person to whom the employee is in loco parentis; A brother or sister of the employee; A parent or grandparent of the employee; Persons in a relationship of domestic dependency, including same-sex partners.

This matter is the subject of discussion at the Diversity Sub Committee of the Joint Conciliation Council. The Union has sought a review of the Company policy given that this has not been reviewed since the formation of An Post with the exception of the insertion of the above definition.

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Postal Update In addition it is accepted that the Company does address the short term support by providing bereavement leave as outlined above, it must be acknowledged that employees will grieve beyond that and will need support in the long term.

For that matter it can be 6-24 months before the full impact of the grief may settle in. It must also be acknowledged that the death of a work colleague can have a particular effect on fellow employees and that grief at work needs to be managed properly.

Given all of this the Union and the Company have recently commenced a review with a view to issuing a comprehensive Bereavement Policy, which not only includes the various leave arrangements but also highlights the other services that An Post makes available to those suffering bereavement or coping with grief. The Union will keep members informed of developments.

the annual leave year is being changed to the 1st May to 30th April. As Johnny Logan would say, “whats another year?”.

Anyway the impact of the changes is as follows: 1. The period from the 1st October 2010 to 30th April 2011 will be treated as a Transitional Assimilation Period. Pro rata leave allowances will apply for this transitional period.

2. The full pro rata leave allowance for the Transitional Assimilation Period are set out in the following table:

Grades

Amendment to Parental Leave Entitlement

Postal Operatives, 13.42 (14/14.58 POC, Postal Sorter,Postpersons after 5/10 years)

The Union lodged a claim at the Joint Conciliation Council to increase the maximum age of the eligible child from the statutory age limit of 8 years to 13 years. The reason for the claim was that generally up to the age of 13 years children attend primary school and it was our view that it would be reasonable to have all primary school children covered by Parental Leave while they remained in primary school. The Company has agreed to the following amendment with effect from 9th March 2011.

Entitlement to Parental Leave now applies to each qualifying child during the following periods: • •

Transitional Assimilation Period 1 October 2010 to 30 April 2011

Future Entrants Postal Operatives / Working Leaders

Until the child has attained 13 years of age (16 years in the case of a child with a disability) If adopted and under 11 years of age at the time of adoption, the leave must be taken before the child reaches 13 years of age. However, if the child is aged between 11 years and 13 years at the time of the adoption, the leave must be taken within 2 years of the adoption order.

1May 2011 to 30 April 2012 23 (24/25 after 5/10 years)

12.25 (12.83/13.42 21 (22/23 after after 5/10 years) 5/10 years)

DSM 3 (On personal to holder 14 (14.58 after 10 years) basis)

24(25 after 5/10 years)

Inspector (on (14/14.58 personal to holder 13.42 after 5/10 years) basis)

23 (24/25 after 5/10 years)

Future Entrants DSM 3

12.25 (12.83/13.42 21 (22/23 after after 5/10 years) 5/10 years)

DSM 2 (On 15.17 (15.75 / personal to holder 16.33 after 5/10 basis) years) Future entrants DSM 2

26 (27/28 after 5/10 years)

12.25 (12.83/13.42 21 (22/24 after 3/6 after 5/10 years) years)

The Union welcomes and appreciates the agreed changes by An Post.

DSM 1 (On 16.33 (16.92 / personal to holder 17.50 after 5/10 basis) years)

Annual Leave Year in C&D Land – BACK TO THE FUTURE

Future Entrants DSM 1

As part of the Collection and Delivery Work Practice Change Agreement the Company insisted upon changing the annual leave arrangements encompassed by the Agreement from the traditional 1st April to 30th March to 1st October to 30th September. Given the difficulties created by this which the Union had highlighted it required an 18 month interim to implement those changes which incidentally did not generate any savings. However, since the introduction of the New Leave Year the Company sought to change it back.

Following discussions between the Union and the Company

Annual Leave Year

13.42 (14/14.58 after 5/10 years)

28 (29/30 after 5/10 years) 23 (24/26 after 3/6 years)

Where the calculation leaves odd amounts of less than a full days leave these amounts will be paid for at the appropriate flat hourly rate.

3. The Main Holiday period will run from 1 May to 30 September. During this period each employee will take a minimum of 10 consecutive working days. Up to 15 days leave may be taken if this can be accommodated within the DSU 11

Postal Update Provision of Defibrillators – An Post has Change of Heart

Privatised mail: a second-class delivery

A defibrillator is a small, portable piece of equipment that can save lives in cases where a cardiac arrest has been caused by disruption to the cardiac heart rhythm and where the heart can be shocked into a normal rhythm.

Every day in Ireland 18 people die as a result of suffering cardiac arrest and not being able to access treatment in time.

The provision of defibrillators could save lives so the Union has held discussion with the Company to encourage it to have them available not leased because of some rather sad experiences in a number of locations. While initially the Company opposed the provision of defibrillators based on the advice of their resident so-called medical expert they have now agreed to introduce defibrillators on a trial basis at the GPO Dublin, Dublin Mail Centre and the Cork Mail Centre. This will be kept under review at the Health and Safety Partnership Group. The Union welcomes the change of heart on the Company’s part.

The government wants to privatise the Royal Mail. But what would the new service look like?

An examination of how the Dutch do it exposes unhappy customers and exploited workers.

Tell An Post what you think – Employee Survey An Post has advised the Union of its intention to undertake an employee survey entitled “Your Voice Matters”. The Company states it wishes to carry out the survey for the following reasons: • • • • •

The Filton sorting office in Bristol – one of Royal Mail’s vast delivery centres. Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images

Somewhere in the Netherlands, a postwoman is in trouble.

When I visited her, bad health, snow and ice and a degree of chaos in her personal life had left her months behind on her deliveries. She rents a privatised ex-council flat with her partner and so many crates of mail had built up that it was getting hard to move around. Twice a week one of the private mail companies she was working for, Selektmail, dropped off three or four crates of letters, magazines and catalogues. She was sorting and delivering the fresh crates but the winter backlog was tough to clear. I counted 62 full mail crates stacked up in the hallway.

The postwoman had a similar problem with the other private mail company she works for, Sandd, a few years back. “When I began at Sandd in 2006, I delivered about 14 boxes of mail every time,” she said. “I couldn’t cope and at Christmas 2006 I had about 90 of these boxes in the house.

By New Year’s Day we had 97. There were even boxes in the toilet.” The postwoman is paid a pittance to deliver corporate mail. She hadn’t done her job well, yet so few people complained about missed deliveries that she hadn’t been found out.

Across the world, postal services are being altered like this: optimised to deliver the maximum amount of unwanted mail at the minimum cost to businesses. In the internet age, private citizens are sending less mail than they used to, but that’s only part of the story of postal decline. The price of driving down the cost of bulk mailing for a handful of big organisations is being paid for by the replacement of decently paid postmen with casual labour and the erosion of daily deliveries.

I agreed not to name the Dutch postwoman or to give

There is a significant link between employee commitment and business performance It is an important element of the Company Transformation Programme The Company is committed to conducting the survey as part of its key strategic projects There is an opportunity for all employees to contribute to An Post’s future by participating in the survey The results will influence the customer focussed business agenda for the next 3 plus years

Towers Watson consultancy firm has been commissioned to undertake the survey. An Post management held meetings with the Group of Unions at the Central Partnership Forum and it was agreed that staff would have input into the development of the Questionnaire, through the members of the Regional Partnership Group.

The survey will be conducted over a three week period in June. In the main it will be paper based and will be issued through Line Managers. There will be some availability on line. All views expressed will be strictly anonymous as the responses will be managed confidentially by Towers Watson. All members are encouraged to participate fully in the survey as it will give you an additional opportunity, which you should not miss, to express your views to the Company which may impact on any decisions they make or policies they set.

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Postal Update

away any detail that would identify her, but a few days after is pulling out of the Netherlands and selling Selekt to Sandd my visit, Sandd rumbled that all was not well, discovered – a company that has never made a profit. Sandd, set up by the mail mountain and dispensed with her services. Even if a group of ex-TNT managers, pioneered the distinctive she hadn’t been sitting on months of undelivered mail, Dutch style of private mail delivery. “Sandd” stands for “Sort Sandd or Selekt could have sacked her in a heartbeat. She and deliver”. In Britain, as in many other countries with big worked, she told me, about 30 hours a week for the two postal networks, private companies can now collect and companies, earning about €5 an hour, although the legal sort mail, but delivery, the so-called “final mile” of a letter’s minimum wage in the Netherlands is between €8 and €9 an journey, is still effectively a Royal Mail monopoly. Mail is hour. She had no contract. She got no sick pay, no pension delivered from distribution centres to local delivery offices, and no health insurance. One of the companies gave her a where salaried Royal Mail postal workers sort it into dribble of holiday pay. Selekt gave her a jacket and a individual rounds and deliver it by van, bike and on foot. sweatshirt but she got no other clothing or footwear and Under the Sandd system, crates of mail are delivered to had to pay to maintain her own bike. The companies are casual workers’ houses. These workers sort the mail, on able to offer such miserable conditions because of whatever flat surface they can find, then deliver it on set loopholes in Dutch employment law. The postwoman was days at a time of their choosing. Besides slashing the mail paid a few cents for each item of mail she delivered. The companies’ overheads, the system has the advantage, from private mail firms control their delivery people’s daily the management’s point of view, that there is little danger of postbag to make sure they never earn more than €580 a the postmen and postwomen meeting each other to swap month, the level at which the firms would be obliged to give grievances or talk about joining a union. them a fixed contract.

Another private postman, Joris Leijten, who quit Sandd in Somehow Selekt never noticed it was getting fewer January, told me he used to sort mail on his bed. In a café empty crates back than it sent full crates out. When I among the grand villas of Bussum, near Hilversum, he followed the postwoman to the kitchen, I saw, like some handed me the flyer that Sandd put through his door after recurring nightmare, 20 more crates filled with letters. he resigned, advertising his job: a picture of four smiling Selekt’s crates are yellow and stamped with the black white people in Sandd blue, striding down the road with hunting horn logo of Deutsche Post, the former German light sheaves of paper, grinning. “Keep busy outdoors, in state mail monopoly that, like its Dutch counterpart, was charge of your own time,” it read. “Ideal for students, privatised long ago. For years the two have been locked in housewives and pensioners.” He showed me a day’s work a struggle for business on the streets of the Netherlands, from just after Christmas: three rounds, sorting and part of a fratricidal postal war across northern Europe from delivering 323 pieces of mail, weighing a total of 81.4kg, to which Royal Mail – soon, if the government gets its way, to 279 addresses. Sandd claimed this should take six hours; be privatised like its Dutch and German peers – is not Leijten said it took eight. For this he was paid a little over immune. €27 – not much more than €3 an hour.

Privatising old state post companies doesn’t While I was in the Netherlands, the Dutch necessarily make it easier for rivals to compete parliament’s pressure on the low-wage postal “The Dutch with them. Privatisation isn’t the same as companies finally forced them to make model is one liberalisation. But in the Netherlands, concessions: 80% of all postal workers in we’ve spoken of privatisation and liberalisation combined have companies like Sandd must be on proper and would altered the post in a way far beyond anything contracts, meaning they gain a degree of social Britain has seen. like to do in the protection, but this will not happen until the end Each week, Dutch households and businesses of September 2013. future” are visited by postmen and postwomen from four In the Netherlands, as in Britain, the postal market has different companies. There are the “orange” postmen of the been liberalised in the name of the consumer. Competition, privatised Dutch mail company, trading as TNT Post but it is said, will benefit everybody. But competition, as Leijten about to change its name to PostNL; the “blue” postmen of noted, only really exists for large organisations. Private Sandd, a private Dutch firm; the “yellow” postmen of Selekt, citizens can’t post letters in Sandd or Selekt mailboxes. owned by Deutsche Post/DHL; and the “half-orange” There aren’t any. Ordinary Dutch people still have to pay 46 postmen of Netwerk VSP, set up by TNT to compete cents to send a TNT letter. The Dutch government, cannibalistically against itself by using casual labour that is meanwhile, has negotiated a deal with Sandd to deliver cheaper than its own (unionised) workforce. TNT delivers some of its mail at 11 cents a pop. “For ordinary people, six days a week, Sandd and Selekt two, and VSP one. From there’s no choice, there’s only TNT,” Leijten said. “The postal the point of view of an ardent free-marketeer, this sounds system is sick.” like healthy competition. Curiously, however, none of the On the eve of my journey to the Netherlands, David competitors is prospering.

Simpson, the earnest Ulsterman who is Royal Mail’s chief TNT is being forced by the hedge funds and other spokesman, took me to one of the facilities the company is transnational shareholders who control its destiny to split most proud of, the Gatwick mail centre in Sussex. It’s a giant up, even as it tries to beautify its bottom line by replacing mail processing plant, built in 1999, that sucks in and shoots reasonably paid jobs with badly paid ones. Deutsche Post out every letter, packet and small parcel posted from or sent 13

Postal Update

by region. Why were there 56? Because there’d always been 56. It turned out that entire man-years of pain and muscle strain, not to mention wasted time, could be saved just by reducing the number of pigeonholes to 15 and cutting openings at the back as well as the front.

Yet even with such ingenuity and co-operation, even with the closure of post offices and mail centres and the whittling down of the company workforce from 230,000 to 165,000 in nine years, even at relative peace with the union, the Royal Mail is struggling to get in the black. It can’t make more money without modernising faster, and it can’t modernise faster without more money. It’s competing for a shrinking quantity of mail with aggressive competitors, first among them the Dutch TNT. Unlike its competitors, it is still obliged to hand-deliver to every home and business in the country, from Lerwick to Penzance, six days a week.

I wondered what Fehilly thought of the Sandd system. He didn’t see why it couldn’t work in Britain. “We can prepare the mail for delivery,” he said. “We can go and deliver a sack of mail to some mother’s house who’s just dropped her kids at school, she can spend two or three hours delivering mail in her area – it’s a model we’re aware of and would like to use. We’re stuck with a large workforce . . . [the Dutch model] is a model we’ve spoken of and would like to do in the future.”

I sensed Simpson, standing at my shoulder, prickling nervously. “We’d certainly have to agree that with the unions,” he said.

“Of course, yes. But why not?” Fehilly persisted. “I’d say, in the future, why not look at these models if they’re more efficient?”

‘It costs 2p a letter to sort by hand; by machine, it’s 0.1p.

That’s the way it’s going to go’ Mount Pleasant, hunched battleship-grey on a street corner in Clerkenwell in central London, is the Royal Mail’s favourite “before modernisation” exhibit to Gatwick’s “after”. More than 1,700 people work in this decrepit postal Gormenghast, breathing the ancient institutional smell of its stairwells, treading the worn parquet flooring and flicking paper into dark pigeonholes to the cacophony of clashing music stations. Some of the mail centre’s machinery is 25 years old. They used to have 12 letter-sorting machines.

Now they have 11 and use the 12th for parts. “I’ve been here eight years,” said Richard Attoe, the manager who showed me round, “and it’s never had a lick of paint.”

All this is supposed to change. Mount Pleasant is the chosen one: the last mail centre to remain standing in inner London after the south London operation, in Nine Elms, and the east London one, in Bromley-by-Bow, go dark next year.

Royal Mail will spend £32m on the refurb. Already an entire floor’s been cleared, ready for new machinery, Hajime Yamashina and the Safety Mole. The reason Nine Elms and Bromley-by-Bow aren’t getting investment, Royal Mail says, is that there isn’t enough for them to do. Across the country, about a score of other mail centres have been or will be shut, including Liverpool, Bolton and Oxford. In 2006, London posted 861m pieces of mail. By 2014, Royal Mail predicts, that will have fallen to 335m.

to every address in 600 square miles of England, from the M25 down to the south coast. They sort 2.5m items a day.

Michael Fehilly, Gatwick’s manager, strode around in a grey pinstripe suit, brown loafers and an open-necked pink shirt. He’s second-generation Irish. “My dad tells me I’m a plastic Paddy, not a real one,” he said. He grew up on a council estate in Peckham and joined the Post Office as an apprentice postman in 1987, aged 17. He hated the early starts and was ready to quit after a few months. Instead, they made him a trainee manager. Twenty-four years later he is a company star.

Could Royal Mail follow the Dutch system, under which private postmen are paid as little as €3-€5 an hour? Photograph: MJ Kim/Getty Images

Under Fehilly, Gatwick has embraced the philosophy of the Japanese management consultant Hajime Yamashina, which Royal Mail is trying to propel throughout the company. Yamashina visits Gatwick all the time. He was there on the day the earthquake and tsunami struck his homeland. Fehilly’s eyes shone as he preached the Yamashina way. It starts with safety. All over the mail centre there are cute cartoons of an animal in a white coat and glasses: the Safety Mole. “Don’t be safety blinded, be safety minded,” Fehilly said, explaining the mole’s message.

“When I started the programme I could guarantee 28 accidents a year – a knock, a bump or a bruise. Last year, we had zero accidents.”

The vast industrial space, filled with trolleys and sorting machinery, is neat and clean, enabling Fehilly to practise his kaizen powers of vision.

He stopped suddenly and pointed to a bit of floor that looked spotless to me. “I can see three rubber bands and a label,” he said. “That’s a defect to me now. Five years ago, I would just have accepted that. Now my eyes have improved.” Fehilly has worked with the staff to find solutions to problems they didn’t know were problems. The Gatwick workforce saved £1m a year just by hiring an electric truck to replace the laborious heaving of mail trolleys from one side of the plant to the other. They found that, for more than a century, nobody had questioned the number of pigeonholes in the frames that mail sorters use to sort letters 14

Postal Update Besides its huge mail centre operation, Mount Pleasant Times are tougher for the postie. But in the opinion of Royal has a delivery office. It is, in effect, the City of London’s mail Mail’s competitors, not tough enough. room, delivering to all the EC postcodes. One morning I A typical Royal Mail postman outside London earns about joined a postwoman, Denise Goldfinch, on her round. Postal £375 before tax – just shy of £20,000 a year – for a 40-hour workers call them “walks”. week, with diminishing prospects for overtime. “That’s Goldfinch was a petite woman in a skya lot of money in current terms,” said Guy “It costs blue Royal Mail blouse, with a henna bob and Buswell, the chief executive of UK Mail, Royal 2p a letter to gold hoop earrings. She’d got up at 4.50am only big British competitor alongside sort by hand; by machine, Mail’s to start her 6am shift. Her son is BA cabin Deutsche Post and TNT. “My drivers who it’s 0.1p. That's the crew; her husband is a driver. When I met her deliver parcels have to struggle to get £300 in it was not long after nine and she was sorting their pay packets before tax and they work a way it’s her mail down into individual addresses, lot longer hours than postmen do.” Goldfinch is going to go” wrapping them in bundles with red rubber bands, not only better paid than the private postmen of ready to go in her pouch. She had three bags of mail that Sandd and Selekt in the Netherlands: she gets five weeks a day. While she was delivering the first batch, a van would be year paid holiday for long service. She gets a uniform and dropping the other bags off at “safe drops” where she’d service footwear provided free. In the savage ice and snow pick them up later. of last winter, she was given spikes for her shoes. When she retires, it will be with a decent pension.

But it is the private postman model that competition is pushing the Royal Mail towards. The real battle for postal workers and their sympathisers is not so much to save the jobs that are doomed to fade away, as to prevent the degradation of the jobs that remain: to prevent the job of postman from becoming something like a child’s paper round. “In real terms, now, ‘postman’ should be a part-time job,” Buswell said. “If you look at the cost of sorting by hand, it’s about 2p a letter; by machine, it’s 0.1p a letter.

Unfortunately that’s the way it’s going to go. The actual job the postman does in the near future is just delivering. They will deliver for four or five hours and that’s done.”

Royal Mail is in a fight for survival with new media, the world of words not written on paper: weightless electronic words. As with music and newspapers, so with letters. It is In the fight for survival, it will be Royal Mail’s workers who have most to lose, claim critics of privatisation. Photograph: Matt in a fight, too, with competitors who get guaranteed access Cardy/Getty Images to its reservoir of postmen as if they were a water or gas supply. But it is also the subject of a third kind of She went to weigh her pouch. It came in at 9.7kg; the competition, between two utterly different sets of customers maximum is 16. “What it is, because in the Royal Mail with incompatible needs. A few hundred giant firms and everything’s done on seniority, because I’ve got 25 years, organisations that want to send bursts of millions of letters this is what we’d call a good walk,” she said, meaning it was and catalogues every few days are competing for the same relatively light. She reckoned it would take her two hours. set of postal workers with millions of people who want to She skipped her morning break, and we left Mount Pleasant send a few Christmas cards and, once in a while, something at 10; she’d be finished by noon. I carried her bag, and we that needs signing. In this competition the power lies with stepped into the spring sunshine of Farringdon Road. It was the few, whose priority is cheapness, rather than the many, like being in a promotional film designed to show how whose priority is regularity and universality; cheapness wins, wonderful it is to be a postwoman. The leaves were coming and it is the postal workers who suffer. out, the air was mild and old ladies greeted Goldfinch by name, as if they’d been looking forward to seeing her, as if they were lonely and might not see anyone else that day.

Most postmen don’t get to walk straight out of their delivery offices and into their walk, as Goldfinch does. And most walks last longer than two hours. Lower-level union officials and individual postmen such as the pseudonymous blogger Roy Mayall complain that Royal Mail is fiddling the figures and mail volume is going up, not down; that postmen are being loaded with ever heavier bags and being bullied into doing ever longer walks. Denying the fiddling claim, Royal Mail admits to making its postmen work harder.

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IS THERE A SPONGE IN YOUR WORKPLACE? In the last issue of the Journal we published an article entitled “Is there a sponge in your workplace?�. The article dealt with people who refused to join the Union but were prepared to take all of the benefits negotiated by the Union on behalf of its members. The article was the subject of discussion on the Joe Duffy show.

The publication of articles concerning people who will not join Trade Unions, but are prepared to take the benefits, is nothing new. In fact, the Union has been publishing these types of articles in the Journal since its foundation, as is evidenced from the articles below.

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18

CWU CHARITABLE FUND

A DONATION OF â‚Ź5000.00 WAS PRESENTED TO THE DONEGAL HOSPICE Picture L/R Eddie Margey,An Post, Damien Tuohy, CWU Finance, Ken Good, An Post Hospice Committee: Carrie Harvey, Una Mc Glynn, Geraldine Casey, Mary Gallagher Anne Mc Govern, Dr James Mc Daid, President of the Hospice in Donegal (seated): Breege Mulroe, eircom, Charlie Kelly, CWU Finance Grace Boyle, Hospice and Monica Hempenstall, CWU Finance Officer. short or long term. The welcome opportunity of two additional sisters to the homecare team now brings to seven the number of nursing sisters working in this area. The HSE is responsible for the day to day running of the Hospice and the Hospice support movement works in partnership with the HSE. The support group, Donegal Hospice Ltd is responsible for providing up to 20% of the annual running costs of the facility at Knocknamana and this is quite a challenge to meet every year.

Growth, change and improvement of service always cost money which the Donegal Hospice would find it difficult to maintain and develop the service without your generosity, so a heartfelt thank you to all the CWU members contributing to this very worthwhile Fund.

Donegal Hospice is to be found in a modern purpose built building situated in restful grounds at Knocknamana in Letterkenny. Here a multi disciplinary team of professionals support the Medical and nursing staff in providing palliative care to the residents of its six bedrooms and two apartments.

The needs of resident families are also catered for at this local Hospice.

Although a palliative home care service has been provided in Co Donegal since 1989, the Hospice itself was not opened until February 2003 and since then the service has been in great demand from people throughout the county.

Recently the service has been expanded with the introduction of Hospice Day Care. Volunteers continue to provide complementary therapies to all residents whether 19

Education Update

Chairpersons Training Course March 29th -31st In attendance at the course were: Daniel Harnett Tommy Ward Bob Weldon Patrick Reilly Anthony O’Neill Paul Crawford Bernadette Kavanagh Gerry Coss Gerry Clerkin Miriam O’Brien Denis Keating Gerry Fox Ronan John Lynch Seamus McAnaw

Sligo Section Roscommon Postal Waterford Section Drogheda Postal Galway Section Donegal South West Drogheda Section Drogheda District Drogheda District Ennis Postal Limerick No 1 Letterkenny Postal Navan Postal Sligo – Donegal Sec

Portlaoise Mails Centre Committee Training Course May 6th & 7th The training course was well attended by the Branch which was held on May 6th & 7th. The Union is looking forward to working with the Branch in future.

Back row L-R: Tom Prendergast, Ray O’Sullivan, Michael Delaney, Anthony Maher, Eline Walshe and Joseph Smyth.

Front row L-R: Kathleen Coss, Ellen Moore, Annette Doyle, Mary Walshe, Helen Dunne Phelan and Caroline Daly.

Branch Officer Training Course A Branch Officer training course was held on April 27th and 28th, with a full turn-out.

The following completed the course: Breda Bradley (Athlone Postal), Conor Waldron (Westport Postal), Michael Crudden (Cavan Postal), Gareth Daly (Athlone Postal), Enda Smith (Cavan Postal), Eline Walshe (Portlaoise Postal) and Kieran Keenan (Monaghan Postal).

We wish the group well on their new roles going forward.

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Education Update

Branch Secretary Stage 1 Trade Union Studies FETAC Level 5 April 5, 6th, 18th, 19th & 20th

Back Row L-R: Tim Clifford Bantry Postal, Breege Mulroe Eircom Letterkenny Section, Joe Sheridan Westport Postal, Pat Hickey Eircom Limerick No 2, Michael Helly Galway C&A, Kevin Molloy Gorey Postal, Matthew Feenane Birr/Roscrea Postal, Ollie Sammon Athlone Postal & James Quail, Kells Postal.

Front Row L-R: Jer Harnett Tipperary Postal, Michael Crowe Meteor/Rigney Dolphin, Ann Marie Fadden Eircom Galway District, Helen Dunne Phelan Portlaoise Postal & Thomas Deegan Kilkenny Postal.

New Trade Union Studies Course The Union was very pleased to roll out its new course on Trade Union Studies FETAC Level 5. We recognise the important role that our Branch Secretaries play by giving them the opportunity to avail of a FETAC course so that they can achieve a recognised certificate for their attendance and course work.

We wish our Branch Secretaries well into the future.

Pictured right: Michael Crowe Meteor/Rigney Dolphin

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Education Update

Branch Secretary Stage 1 Trade Union Studies FETAC Level 5 April 5, 6th, 18th, 19th & 20th

Tim Clifford, Bantry Postal

Michael Helly, Galway C&A

Presentation of FETAC Certificates The first group of participants on the FETAC Accredited Trade Union Studies Course was awarded their certificates at the Spring Conference in Castlebar.

Pictured l-r: Willie Mooney (Dublin Postal Clerks), Mick Smith (Dublin C&A), Carol Scheffer (National Officer), Anne Casey (Course Coordinator), Ivor Reynolds (Dublin No 1), Denis Douglas (Dublin No 3) and John Egan (Dublin No 1).

Treasurers’ Training Course, May 10th & 11th Newly elected Treasurers attended the CWU course on May 10th & 11th.

The following were in attendance: Brian Crowe (Carrick On Shannon Postal), Padraig Conway (Navan Postal), Sean Morrissey (Kilkenny Postal), Helen Fleming (Limerick Postal), John Campbell (Cavan Postal), Paul Cox (Cavan Postal), Leslie Hayden (IO Systems), Sylvia Smyth (Monaghan Postal), Catherina Collins (Roscommon Postal and Mark Gilmore (Dundalk Postal).

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CWU People followed covering a broad range of topics. The members ended the day in enthusiastic form and there was a real sense of optimism.

Youth Committee hosts successful Open Day

The Youth Committee would like to thank those who attended for their energy and initiative on the day, which made the whole event a great success.

On the 20th May the Youth Committee held its Open Day in Mandate’s excellent training facility in Distillery Road.

The Youth Committee is a vibrant group of CWU members and an important forum for our younger members to express their opinions and views on issues as they relate to young workers. It is hoped that young members will continue their involvement in the Youth Committee after the event and can participate in the many events and training sessions planned for the future.

The Youth Committee understands that it is essential to the future of the CWU to engage with younger members of the Union on issues that affect them and to re-vitalise the membership to build a new generation of activists. It was decided to hold an event with the aim of energising young members and discovering the subjects that mattered to them.

There was a great turn out on the day, with no seats left unfilled! Young members came from across to the country and there was a good mix from both the postal and telecoms sectors. The day started with a brief outline of the structure of the Union and how it operates together with information on the role of activists and Branch officers. A very positive sign on the day was the high proportion of young members who had recently been elected to their Branch Committees for the first time, and this training in particular was felt to be very useful.

If you would like to get involved, or you know someone who would, please contract Fionnuala at fnib@cwu.ie.

The afternoon was more interactive with participants encouraged to identify issues that they felt affected young people at work and in society in general. A lively discussion

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Equality Update

INTEGRATED WORKPLACE SEMINAR, MAY 12TH The CWU recognises the important role that our members of various nationalities play in our Union. We have our own guidelines to support our members of different backgrounds in their places of employment and have conducted surveys and research on diversity issues. We have also mainstreamed courses on cultural awareness and diversity as part of our overall training offering.

In our policy, we identified an action plan for the Union, and all of our members so as to integrate our Union structures and to strive for an inclusive Union that welcomes and represents all members equally irrespective of their country of origin. Our diversity approach recognises the differences and experiences of our members and how they can enrich and contribute to Union activities. We are building on that work through the Integrated Workplace Strategy Project. “The Action Strategy to support Integrated Workplaces is a social partner initiative organised by representatives of Congress, IBEC, the Small Firms Association, the Construction Industry Federation, Chambers Ireland, the Office of the Minister for Integration and the Equality Authority. Funding for his strategy has been provided by the Office of the Minister for Integration and the Equality Authority”.

(www.equality.ie) The Equality Authority is implementing the Workplace Diversity Initiative through a follow on project to the Action Strategy for Integrated Workplaces. More information can be found on the website of “Office for the Promotion of Migrant Integration” (www.integration.ie) and also through the Equality Authority (www.equality.ie).

For their part, Congress is supporting a ‘Challenge Fund’ for Trade Unions to develop activities in support of workplace diversity. The CWU was fortunate to be part of this funded project. The Union held a one day seminar on May 12th in conjunction with representatives from CWU Northern Ireland entitled “The Integrated Workplace”. By holding our seminar, we aim to increase the awareness of equality and diversity issues for minority ethnic workers and we would also hope to provide an avenue for more members of different ethnic backgrounds to become active in their Union.

Our seminar consisted of 4 modules as follows: 1.

2.

3.

4.

“The strategy aims: – To manage a culturally diverse workplace, – To contribute to and develop an integrated workplace.”

Back row l-r: Michael O’Neill, John Ojeisekhoba, Eamon Cooke & John McLaughlin.

Equality and Diversity as a Trade Union Issues Equality Rights at Work Cultural Awareness Developing a Diversity Action Plan

Siva Kadismetty and Michael O’Neill in discussion at the seminar.

Front row l-r: Carol Scheffer, Lawrence Huston, Kerry Fleck & Siva Kadismetty.

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Equality Update From CWU Ireland the following were in attendance:

From CWU Northern Ireland the following were in attendance:

• • • •

• • • • •

Siva Kadismetty, Capita Jimmy O’Connor, National Officer John Ojeisekhoba, Capita Carol Scheffer, National Officer

Kerry Fleck Lawrence Huston John McLaughlin Eamon Cooke Michael O’Neill

“Research has shown that businesses enhance their efficiency and effectiveness when they have appropriate policies which reflect the diversity of their workforce and customer base. Integration is a dynamic process of mutual accommodation which affects everyone irrespective of their nationality, and the representative organisations are actively promoting integration by their support and participation in these initiatives.

Conor Lenihan, TD The CWU Northern Ireland and the CWU Irl. has a long established relationship and have worked together very closely over the years on various cross border initiatives. We are delighted to be once again working together on this new project “The Integrated Workplace Strategy” so that we can share experiences on issues to support our members. Both Unions see this as an ideal opportunity to develop further cross border links and to support our members of different nationalities.

Overall the CWU wishes to create an ethos of greater equality and diversity within our Union and we will continue to review and enhance our activities in this area. Furthermore we hope that the seminar will provide us with a focus to improve our policies and practices in terms of diversity

awareness.

Trade Unions have a role in being advocates of workplace diversity. All members can play their part and we welcome feedback, recommendations and suggestions from our members on diversity and cultural awareness an ongoing basis.

Next Steps It was agreed that we would draft a report for the group on foot of the seminar and that we would now formulate a joint working group to continue our action plan and activities in this area. It is intended that the next meeting will take place in Belfast during the summer.

John Ojeisekhoba, Capita

John McLaughlin, CWU Northern Ireland.

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THE DUBLIN POSTAL SPORTS CLUB was founded in 1971 and is situated on Kiltipper Road in Tallaght.

The aim of our club is to provide sports and recreational activities for all employees of An Post and their Subsidiary Companies.

Full membership of the Dublin Postal Sports & Social Club is available to An Post & Subsidiary Company employees.

The membership fee for all employees is €2.54 per week, which is deductable from payroll. Previous members of the club who have retired and were full members on their last day of service, can now rejoin the club for the same fee as listed above, which is deductable from your pension.

For further information on the Dublin Postal Sports & Social Club, please visit our website www.postal.ie or send an email to info@postalsportsclub.com

✽ Sports Bar Opening Times ✽ Monday to Friday 8pm ~ Saturday 12.30pm ~ Sunday 12.30pm All Sporting Events Show ~ Large Screen & Plasma TV’s

✽ Function Room ✽ Available for Parties, Christenings, Weddings ~ Catering provided by in House Chef

✽ Fitness Studio ✽ Full range of Fitness & Exercise Equipment ~ Circuit, Aerobics & Step Classes Sauna & Steam Room Full & Associate Membership Available ~ Classes open to Non-Members

✽ All-Weather Astro Pitches ✽ Available for Hire Monday – Sunday ~ Single or Block Bookings Catering & Bar Services Available for ~ Children’s Parties ~ Corporate Day Events

✽ For further information ✽ Contact Reception 01 4626323 ~ Email info@postal.ie ~ www.postal.ie

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FM Downes & Co Brokers is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland 28

eircom Update

eircom Fibre Trial

Note: It will not be possible to release employees who are assigned to NGA Pilot on any incentivised exit option for the duration of the pilot.

In line with previous commitments given to the CWU on the future investment in and development of high speed broadband through fibre, it has been agreed to conduct a Fibre Trial in a number of locations.

Those trials will consist of fibre to the home in Wexford and Sandyford and fibre to the cabinet in Dundrum and Priory Park encompassing approx 16,000 homes.

The Fibre Trial will be a commercial pilot and offered on an open-access basis to all interested operators. A customer acquisition period of 6 months will be followed by a 12month operational period.

The Telecoms Executive has set up a Sub-Group to oversee this project. The Group comprises of F King, G Nolan, K Donnell and W Tyrrell. It is expected that this Group will issue regular reports on the pilots operation.

The Key Principles: •

•

• • •

The NGA Pilot is an opportunity to carry out assessment of the capability of internal resources to deliver the project.

It has been agreed to separate NGA deployment from legacy work which will lead to the identification of new work practices Define and assess new practices and structures for any potential wider roll out Avoid any conflict with the business as usual programme delivery Contractor requirement for Civil works

Andy Kerry CWU UK addresses the Telecoms Conference

Detail Resource Requirements •

• •

The resource requirement for Fibre Cabling/Splice/ Test/Operation is 40 people comprising of 24 from Dublin and 16 from Wexford.

Flexible resource requirements due to peaks of activity may be required to achieve timelines Skills = New skills and practices will be needed for the deployment and operation of the FTTX Networks

Delegates at Telecoms Conference.

Field Operations Selection Process • •

The following grades will be considered: COT1, CTL, TO, TTL NGA Application form to be submitted

Duration full time (Mon – Fri) for minimum period of 6 months (may be reviewed)

Locations Dublin –It is expected that pilot roles will be filled from existing Dublin resources.

Wexford – A maximum of 5 individuals from existing business areas can be released and further discussions are required on the Resourcing of (11 F.T.E.)

Mike O’Connor Vodafone addresses the Conference

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SPRING SEMINAR – CASTLEBAR

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Health & Safety Update

Personal Protective Equipment then PPE must be used to protect against the hazards that are unavoidable.

There are strong arguments for attempting to control hazards on a general or collective basis before resorting to PPE:

Background The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 applies to employers, employees in all employments and to the self employed. The Act contains provisions for improving the safety, health and welfare of all workers. Section 8 of the Act sets out the General duties of the employer under the act which includes a duty of care to the employee. One of these duties provides for the provision and maintenance of suitable Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) where risks cannot be eliminated or where such equipment is prescribed.

In addition Section 13 of the Act places responsibilities on employees one of which is to correctly use PPE provided for use at work for his/her protection taking account of the training and instructions given by the employer. Section 14 prohibits any person from intentionally or recklessly interfering with, misusing or damaging anything provided under health and safety legislation, or provided to protect the safety, health and welfare of persons at work which includes the misuse of PPE. On a regular basis the Union receives queries about the provision and use of PPE at work and set out below is the answer to some common questions received. This is not intended to be a legal interpretation of the legislation.

• • •

•

It only protects the wearer The use of PPE will restrict the wearer to some degree e.g. movement and may be uncomfortable to wear The psychological effect of PPE may be such that that the individual wearing it feels more protected than he or she actually is Theoretical levels of protection are seldom reached in practice and actual levels of protection are difficult to assess.

Provision of Personal Protective Equipment Under Regulation 62 when risks cannot be adequately controlled by other means, there is an obligation on the employer to supply PPE. In circumstances where the risk are sufficiently low and can be considered to be adequately controlled, the provision of PPE is not necessary. An example of this would be office workers who would rarely have to handle heavy objects manually and so would not be issued with safety footwear.

In addition, when selecting PPE employers must comply with relevant European Community Directives regarding design and manufacture of PPE with respect to safety and health.

Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007 The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations compliment the Safety Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 by including all of the specific safety and health laws in one text. The text is user friendly and is designed to assist anyone making reference to safety and health regulations.

Part 2 of the regulations refers to the Workplace and the use of Work Equipment and Chapter 3 refers to Personal Protective Equipment.

Assessment of Personal Protective Equipment Regulation 63 requires the employer to make an assessment of the hazards in the workplace to identify the correct type of PPE to be provided so that it is appropriate to the risk.

Care must be exercised in selecting PPE as certain types of PPE give reasonably high levels of protection while others, that may appear almost the same, give relatively low levels of protection. The level of risk must be assessed, so that the performance required of the PPE can be determined.

When assessing whether PPE is suitable, the following should be considered:

Chapter 3 of Part 2 – Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) PPE should only be used as a last resort. The safety and health of employees should be safeguarded by measures to eliminate workplace risks at source, through technical or organisational means or by providing protection on a collective basis.

A risk means the likelihood, great or small, that someone will be harmed by a hazard together with the severity of the harm suffered. It also depends on the number of people who might be exposed to the hazard. Collective protective measures covering a number of employees has priority over individual protective measures. If these are not sufficient

•

• • 32

Is it appropriate for the risks involved and the conditions at the place where exposure to the risk may occur?

Does it prevent or adequately control the risks involved without increasing the overall level of risk?

Can it be adjusted to fit the wearer correctly?

Health & Safety Update •

•

• •

Special care should be taken where persons suffering from certain medical conditions e.g. certain types of respiratory protective equipment may not be suitable for employees with asthma, bronchitis or heart disease. Where situations such as these occur, the employer should seek medical advice as to whether the employee can tolerate the use of PPE. In sourcing PPE, the employer must, therefore, select appropriate PPE which is user-friendly and which fits the individual employee correctly, if necessary after adjustment.

Have any relevant medical conditions of the wearer of the PPE that the employer is aware of been taken into account?

What are the needs of the job and the demands it places on the wearer? For example, the length of time the PPE needs to be worn, the physical effort required to do the job and the requirements for visibility and communication.

Does the PPE causes discomfort. PPE that is uncomfortable is less likely to be used appropriately If more than one item of PPE is being worn, are they compatible?

Personal Use Regulation 65 requires that PPE should normally be provided for personal use only. On occasions it may be necessary, particularly for more complex and expensive PPE such as respirators or diving equipment, to be used by more than one person. In those circumstances arrangements should be made by the employer to have the PPE cleaned and disinfected before use by another individual.

The PPE selected should be capable of achieving the level of protection required. Selection must also take account of the proper wearing and fitting of the equipment. The employee using the PPE must be consulted and involved in the selection of the equipment.

The assessment of the PPE selected must be periodically reviewed, particularly if there is reason to suspect that any element of the assessment is no longer valid or there has been a significant change in the matters to which it relates.

Replacement PPE must be provided where the assessment reveals this to be necessary.

Cost of PPE Under section 8(5) of the 2005 Act, no charge may be made to a worker for the provision of PPE, which is used at work.

Section 8(5) states:

Conditions of Use and Compatibility

Every employer shall ensure that any measures taken by him or her relating to safety, health and welfare at work do not involve financial cost to his or her employees ”

Regulation 64 provides that where PPE must be used, the employer is obliged to examine the seriousness and frequency of the risks present in the workplace and to reduce, as far as possible, the times necessary for the employee to wear PPE without risk to his or her safety and health.

When selecting PPE there are certain ergonomic, physical and health factors which need to be taken into account.

These factors also reinforce the fundamental principle that PPE must only be used as a last resort.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

An employer may not ask for money to be paid to them by an employee for the provision of PPE whether returnable (e.g. a deposit) or otherwise.

Maintenance and Replacement Regulation 66 provides that an employer shall ensure that any PPE provided by the employer is maintained at all times in good working order and in a satisfactory hygienic condition by means of any necessary storage, maintenance, repair or replacement.

PPE maintenance programmes will vary with the type of equipment and its use. Respiratory protective equipment (RPE) requires a very high degree of regular examination and necessary maintenance, whereas protective shoes or gloves may require inspection only. The level of inspection and maintenance will normally be indicated by the manufacturer's instructions. The frequency of use must also be taken into account in the maintenance programme.

Movement: Some forms of PPE may be heavy and cumbersome thereby restricting mobility and frequent short rest periods may be necessary.

Visibility: Many types of safety goggles may restrict the area of view and cause tunnel vision. Misting of lenses also arise particularly where the operation involves hard physical work. Ventilated goggles may reduce this problem.

Breathing: Breathing ability may be restricted when using PPE, especially if particulate filters are being used. Breathing difficulties may arise as filters become clogged. Frequent change of filters may be necessary.

Irritation: Employees with sensitive skin may suffer from irritation when wearing PPE. Health: Employees with chronically discharging ears (from chronic infection of the middle ear) or with "itchy ears" (otitis externa), may have great difficulty inserting ear plugs and ear muffs may be more suitable.

Information, Training and Instruction As part of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act the employer has a duty to inform, instruct and train employees regarding the risks to safety, health and welfare at the place of work and the protective and preventive measures to be taken under the relevant statutory provisions.

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Health & Safety Update Regulation 67 requires that where PPE is provided employees must be informed of the risks against which they are being protected by the PPE. Employees must also be provided with suitable information, instruction and training (including training in the use, care or maintenance of PPE) to enable them to make proper and effective use of any PPE provided for their protection. PPE users must be trained as regards wearing, proper use and any limitations of PPE. Managers and supervisors should also be aware of the reasons for providing PPE, its proper use and, in particular, the level of protection afforded. The level of training provided will vary with the level of risk involved and the complexity and performance of the equipment.

Practical training should include: (i)

practice and familiarity in putting on, wearing and removing PPE, (ii) inspection and, where necessary, testing of PPE before and after use, (iii) any maintenance of PPE which may be carried out by the user.

Must employees wear PPE? There is a duty on employees, having regard to their training and instructions, to make correct use of PPE. Employees should:

Where theoretical training is necessary it should include:

• •

(i)

•

knowledge and understanding of types of risks present in the workplace and why it is necessary to use PPE, (ii) knowledge and understanding of the characteristics of the PPE which could limit the performance and the protection given to the individual by the PPE, (iii) knowledge and understanding of other factors which may affect the protection afforded by the PPE such as personal factors, working conditions, improper fitting, defects, damage and wear, (iv) knowledge and understanding of factors which may affect the storage of PPE such as sunlight, humidity and temperature etc.

•

Use PPE properly whenever it is required to be used.

Report any defects in or damage to the PPE immediately.

Participate in any training or instruction provided on PPE. Inform their employer of any medical conditions they have that might be affected by the use of the PPE provided to them

Under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, there is a duty on employees to wear PPE provided. Where this is not being adhered to, employers can ask the employee why the PPE is not being worn in case there is a genuine difficulty being encountered by the wearer. If employees persist in not wearing PPE then they can be the subject of disciplinary action.

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TRADE UNIONS AND WORKER CONTRIBUTIONS TO CHARITIES IN IRELAND Commissioned by the Communications Workers’ Union Compiled by Dr. Tim Hastings NCI, Dublin

October 2010

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY TRADE UNION AND WORKER CONTRIBUTION TO CHARITIES IN IRELAND Irish Trade Unions and Irish workers are hidden contributors to global aid needs via a collection of funds whose activities are invisible to the wider public. New research highlights the significant contribution made by Irish Unions to aid, through a unique collection of funds and charities which rely on the unrecorded generosity of Irish workers, the majority working in public service organisations.

Operating through a myriad of check off systems in different employments, Unions and workers have provided over €3 million on an annual basis to the less well-off.

Research commissioned by the Communications Workers’ Union reveals the network of ‘giving’ and the dynamic role played by charity committees in different employments to foster and support the charitable process. In addition to the collecting and administering role, many of the funds charge little or no administration costs while at the same time monitoring their spending in conjunction with bodies like Irish Aid. Unions in major public sector employments, together with workers in companies like the ESB, RTÉ and Bank of Ireland, have been to the forefront of work-based charitable activity.

General Introduction Trade Unions in Ireland have enjoyed an enviable reputation for representing people in all walks of Irish life.

In the main their public image has been built around defending members’ interests and interacting with government and employers on the pay and social agendas. But behind these ‘front of house activities’ there exists a significant aspect to Union activity and 36

engagement with members which goes unreported and has remained hidden from view. It does not attract headlines or produce publicity and is not generally associated with normal Union day-to-day activity. It is far from the world of industrial action or workers’ rights, yet it connects with the core values of collectivism and working for the less well-off.

A Hidden Area This hidden or under exposed area of Trade Union activity is engagement with and the funding of charitable work mainly abroad and occasionally at home. Irish Trade Unions and key groups of workers have been to the forefront of such activity over the last number of years, well away from the spotlight of normal Union activity.

The Communications Workers’ Union (CWU) has been proud to commission a study on this area, its breath and range of activities from the National College of Ireland, which itself has a long association with industrial relations and worker education. The Union intends that this paper will be the first of a series looking at key connections and exchanges between Unions and wider Irish life.

In addition to offering information, insight and data on charitable and fundraising activities of Union members and the wider Union world, it is hoped that this summary report will serve as a source of information for students and people interested in the wider remit and activities of Trade Unions in Ireland today.

A total of over €3 million a year in funding is being generated by Union and worker-led funds each year with the bulk of it going to Third World and African charities.

Format of this Report This report will first consider the national picture and the role of the Irish government in supporting Overseas Development Aid (ODA) Programmes and its key achievements to date, despite a recent downturn in funding linked to the impact of the global economic crisis.

The aim and scale of activities will be considered as well as the recent findings from a review carried out by the OECD. Secondly, we will consider the role and activities of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), the umbrella body for Trade Unions in Ireland and the scope of its activities. Following that we will look at Trade Union engagement with ‘once-off’ activities abroad and the significant impact and organisation that supports Union and work-based activities. Data for this report was collected by the author from the individual Unions and employments directly over a two year period.

The CWU and its officers and staff are honoured to be part of this endeavour in exposing the work carried out by Unions and employees in the area of giving.

Background and the role of the Irish Government

Development Goals require the international community to:

The current scale of Trade Union members’ contributions and workers generally of over €3 million a year has to be seen in the light of the overall Irish government’s contribution to Third World Charities and to Irish Aid. While Irish Unions, together and separately, and individual groups of workers have maintained and expanded their charitable activities and giving, the Irish government has rowed back on several commitments it has made.

The most glaring of these is the government Official Development Assistance (ODA) target of 0.7 of GNP by 2012. Due to the economic crisis this target, which was well ahead of the EU target of 2015, has been shelved. The decision was made in the context of the government’s decision to bridge the gap between income tax and expenditure (Irish Aid, 2009). The Minister responsible for ODA at the time, Peter Power, argued at the time that borrowing for development cooperation was unsustainable.

The government’s argument at the time was that even allowing for reductions, Ireland was still the sixth largest donor in the world in per capita terms (Irish Times, Sept 9th 2009).

Ireland has had an official development assistance programme in place since 1974. This programme has grown steadily over the years from modest beginnings to its current size and scale. The total ODA spending in 2010 is estimated to be €671.4 million.

Ireland’s development cooperation policy is an integral part of Ireland’s wider foreign policy commitments.

Responsibility for Irish foreign policy, including assistance to developing countries (Irish Aid) lies in the first instance with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, a senior cabinet role in the Republic of Ireland.

• • • • • • • •

Key Planks of Irish Aid The Irish Aid programme has as its absolute priority the reduction of poverty, inequality and exclusion in developing countries. The reduction of poverty is seen as a “complex, challenging and controversial matter” requiring a strategic, multi-faceted and sophisticated approach by the agency. According to the programme, anti-poverty strategies should seek to break the vicious cycle of poverty through support for sustainable indigenous development. The programme believes that all of Irish Aid’s policies and activities must be measured against their contribution in this respect and against the progress they achieve towards the development targets set by the international community.

Irish Aid works in cooperation with governments in other countries, other donors, NGOs and international organisations as part of the global effort to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

The Millennium

Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; Achieve universal primary education; Promote gender equality and empower women; Reduce child mortality; Improve maternal health; Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; Ensure environmental sustainability; Develop a global partnership for development.

The Development Aid Committee (DAC) Peer Review of Ireland - Main Findings and Recommendations Ireland’s 2006 White Paper on Irish Aid provides the framework for the development programme. Irish Aid’s Operational Plan 2008-2012 lays out the roadmap for managing and implementing that plan. The White Paper reaffirms Ireland’s priorities in development: poverty reduction, reducing vulnerability and increasing opportunities for the poor, particularly in Africa. Its key features included: a phased approach to achieving the United Nations target for spending 0.7% of gross national income on ODA by 2012; setting development cooperation in the context of wider foreign policy and as a policy priority across the Irish government; respecting developing countries’ leadership of their own development; and ensuring effectiveness and quality assurance of the development programme, using the Paris Declaration as the roadmap.

The OECD’s DAC Report found that public engagement with the aid programme was strong in Ireland: “Irish Aid maintains high levels of public support by combining activities to increase awareness of global development issues with activities to promote its own work” (OECD, 2009). One example it cited was the recently established Volunteering and Information Centre. The DAC commends Irish Aid for its comprehensive development education strategy backed by a dedicated budget and encourages it to adopt a strategic approach for communicating development results, as well as the less visible and more complex aspects of development cooperation, such as aid effectiveness.

The White Paper acknowledges the interconnection of government policies on development, trade, agriculture, investment and migration, and the Programme for Government 2007-2012 commits the government to an integrated approach to development across departments.

The DAC however is concerned that the move of Irish Aid’s headquarters away from Dublin could make it more difficult to ensure that all government policies are 37

considered for their coherence with development objectives. It noted that the move poses challenges in terms of maintaining close linkages with other government departments, embassies and other organisations and NGOs based in Dublin. Ireland is encouraged to find innovative ways to address these challenges by the Report.

Irish Aid’s approach to mainstreaming its priority issues – namely gender, environment, HIV/AIDS and governance – is a strong, though evolving, feature of its aid programme, which already provides lessons that could be shared with other donors. Irish Aid is encouraged to improve reporting on mainstreaming and focus on measuring development impacts to enhance its own learning as well as that of other donors.

To maintain public support for the aid programme, Ireland was encouraged to enhance its efforts to communicate the development results achieved by working with other donors and partner countries.

The OECD Report urges that Ireland should ensure that the Inter-Departmental Committee on Development has sufficient political backing and institutional support to effectively address any inconsistencies and potential policy conflicts between government departments that might adversely affect developing countries. To support the IDCD it should identify a policy coherence focal point with the capacity to analyse potential areas of policy conflict; commission longer-term studies; coordinate research; and monitor and champion policy coherence for development among government departments on the IDCD’s behalf. The focal point will also need to find innovative ways to overcome the physical limitations linked to Irish Aid’s relocation to Limerick.

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Congress Activities History Global Solidarity is an Irish Congress of Trades Unions (ICTU) Development Education Project. While global solidarity has always been part of the Irish trade movement from the late 1970s on, the current Global Solidarity Project as now constituted has gone through a number of phases since 1987.

In 1980, ICTU created a Third World Committee as an Advisory Committee to the Executive of the Congress.

Members were in turn nominated by member Unions and the Committee went on to organise seminars, publish a newsletter and operated a Third World Fund. In addition, it campaigned on international labour and solidarity issues.

The Northern Ireland Committee of ICTU then established a Third World Committee in 1983. A joint Development Education Project was established with the Derry Development Education Centre as a partner to get 38

development education onto the agenda of ICTU shop stewards training.

In 1989 the ICTU / Trocaire Education Project was established to support the ongoing development work of the ICTU Third World Development Committee. Work in the area expanded in both a formal and informal way, and modules for training and preparation were assembled and developed with seven local groups being involved. An action handbook was drawn-up and links were developed with Union congresses in developing countries.

A full-time Education Officer was later appointed to the Republic of Ireland with a matching appointment later made to Northern Ireland. With three year’s funding in place, the emphasis shifted to evolving a systematic response to justice and development issues within the Irish Trade Unions at all levels. Following this a range of development resources for Trade Unions was developed with campaigns on ethical trading, the rights of toy producers, child labour, racism and refugees.

The project works with Congress Committees and affiliates, including Trades Councils, throughout Ireland to further integrate development education into the broad Trade Union agenda, thus ensuring that development issues are central to both the Congress agenda and the work of affiliates.

The project works to strengthen international Trade Union solidarity through the linking of Trade Unions in Ireland with Trade Unions in developing countries. Links have been made with a number of targeted Trade Unionists working in teaching and the public sector and, where possible, between workers in multi-national companies. These links encourage information sharing and capacity building and help promote the establishment of Solidarity Committees among Irish Trade Unions.

Through the promotion of its education and training strategy, the development of resources and the support of solidarity linking initiatives, the project aims to: Increase awareness with regard to poverty and global inequalities, and the role of Trade Unions in bringing about change on a local and global level; Promote an understanding of the importance of international solidarity, particularly in the context of the global economy and workers’ rights, and the role that labour standards have to play in the redistribution of resources; Further develop existing international links that Irish Trade Unions have with the International Trade Union Confederation and the Global Union Federations; and Promote links with Trade Unions in developing countries that will be of mutual benefit.

The Congress goal is to develop better and stronger solidarity work for Trade Unions in the Global South. The most important task for the Trade Unions’ solidarity funds

is to develop support for capacity building of Trade Unions in the global south. Among its affiliates, IMPACT and the PSEU have made important contributions to Trade Unions’ capacity building in many countries in the Global South.

ICTU also has its own project in Lesotho, which has been funded by Irish Aid, IMPACT and the PSEU. This project’s overall aim is to build and capacitate a strong Trade Union organisation, as well as addressing issues of HIV/AIDS. As much as 24% of the population in Lesotho are infected. The project will ensure that the leadership of LECODU are skilled and enabled to address the following areas: organising and campaigning; negotiation and collective bargaining; and educating and sensitisation in all aspect of Trade Union work, including the HIV/AIDS issue. A large number of women will be ensured to participate in the capacity building. The largest industry in Lesotho is the garment sector, where women constitute the majority of the workforce. Women in the communities also take on far more responsibilities than men when it comes to caring and looking after those living with HIV/AIDS. The project started in August 2008 and will run for one year. €45,000 is in the budget for this project.

ICTU has also made various emergency actions, for example after the Tsunami in Asia in 2005, ICTU organised a massive collection campaign which raised more than €680,000. The funds were transferred via the International Trade Union Confederation to various emergency and rebuilding projects in Sri Lanka and other countries.

When the Executive Council of ICTU decided to organise an All-Ireland fundraising campaign for Cuba, more than €60,000 was collected, primarily by contributions from the affiliated Unions’ solidarity funds.

The resources were transferred to the relief and reconstruction fund to help one of the worst hit regions, Pinar Del Rio. The monies were used for reconstructions of homes, schools and hospitals.

Activities in Response to International Crises The most recent earthquake in Haiti and the much earlier Tsunami in Thailand are examples of major, once-off tragedies which have attracted funding from Irish Trade Unions. But the history of contributions of Irish Trade Unions to International events goes back much further.

Earlier this year the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) launched a solidarity campaign in response to the earthquake in Haiti which took place in January 2010. This appeal for humanitarian support for victims is in cooperation with its regional organisation for the Americas (TUCA). Trade Unions around the world

mobilised support on an extraordinary scale.

In 2010 Congress itself has contributed €114,816 in the Haiti Emergency Campaign. This funding will be used for the reconstruction of Haiti and support to the Haitian Trade Union movement. The CWU also made a donation of €90,000 to this Campaign, along with contributions from other Unions and groupings including NIPSA, the PSEU, the INTO, MANDATE and UNISON. IMPACT also contributed €50,000 to the Haiti emergency work through various non-government organisations and the Irish charity Concern.

Funding was also directed to Irish Medical Aid for Palestinians (IMAP): €43,200 came from direct contributions from affiliated Unions; and €58,917 came from a separate campaign where artist Robert Ballagh had produced a limited edition print to raise funds for medical aid to Gaza.

Individual Trade Union members, Mags O’Brien (SIPTU), Noirin Green (UNITE), and Anne Casey (ICTU) ran this successful campaign. At a special solidarity event, held on the 23rd June, 2010, in Liberty Hall, most of the funding was given to the Chairman of IMAP, Mr Mick Lanigan.

There are still a small number of Ballagh’s Gaza prints available, if you are interested in buying one (€150), please contact the Global Solidarity office.

The Combined Services Third World Fund (CSTWF) 2010 marks the 30th birthday of a fund which grew out of the desire of public servants to respond in a modest but effective way to the needs of the less well-off. The Combined Services Third World Fund (CSTWF), which was founded in 1980, has spent more than €7.5 million on development projects and emergency aid grants in Africa, South America, the Indian Sub-Continent and the Philippines.

The CSTWF is funded by voluntary contributions of employees and pensioners in the Civil Service, Eircom, An Post and other agencies such as Coilte and Teagasc, which were formerly in the civil service. These contributions of 1 or 2 cents in every €10, which is a percentage of earnings, are deducted at source from pay or pension.

The CSTWF was founded by the civil service Trade Unions, including the Communications Workers’ Union, in conjunction with the Department of Finance back in 1980.

Annual administration costs of this well established fund are less than 5% of its income which means that approximately 97% goes to fund projects.

The Fund specialises in micro projects in the range of up to €12,000, but it may on occasion fund projects with a slightly higher value where it finds the project particularly attractive.

39

The following projects were awarded grants in May 2009: €2,500

was approved for drinking water facilities at a Primary School in Southern India

€10,000

was approved for the purchase of dental equipment for a health centre in Nairobi, Kenya

€9,500

was awarded for the establishment of a school for Autistic children in Kerala, India

€6,000

was approved for the purchase of industrial sewing machines for a training centre in Vietnam

€4,500

was granted to a handicraft project for people living with HIV/AIDS in Myanmar

€10,000

was agreed for the installation of rainwater gathering facilities at a secondary school in Birambo, Rwanda

€10,000

grant offer was awarded to a carpentry vocational training centre in Tamil Nadu, India for the construction of a building

€10,000

was provided for a project aimed at the advancement of children’s rights in Nicaragua

€3,700

was approved for the provision of pit latrines and bathrooms at a health centre in Kibaale District, Uganda

€8,800

was granted to a water project for people with disabilities in Mityana, Uganda

€6,500

was paid for the purchase of an x-ray machine for a hospital in Nigeria

€9,600

grant was awarded to a vocational training centre in Tanzania, for the renovation of the centre

€4,000

was provided for a rice growing project in Myanmar

€5,000

grant was paid for the completion of a school building in Nigeria

The Fund operates on a completely voluntary basis through the work of a Council, Trustees, a Management Committee, an Advisory Committee, a Honorary Officers with voluntary assistance in the assessment of projects, and with office administration.

RECENT RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT: RECEIPTS:

2008

Members Subscriptions

2007

2006

495,237

489,114

481,274

Deposit Interest

3,299

1,152

916

PSEU Table Quiz

2,500

1,500

1,500

501,036

491,766

483,690]

486,228

412,636

540,286

Office Expenses

15,692

13,223

13,356

Total Payments

501,920

425,859

553,822

884

65,907

(70,132)

[Total Receipts PAYMENTS: Projects

Excesses of Payments Over Receipts Opening Bank Balance

114,306

48,399

118,531

Closing Bank Balance

113,422

114,306

48,399

The chief criteria for funding are that the projects be developmental and that they involve assisting the poorest of people. The Department of Foreign Affairs provides offices for administration.

The Fund does not confine its aid to any particular area or country within the Third World. In fact, grants have been made to projects in all developing countries since the foundation of the Fund. Projects have been assisted in the following sectors: education; health; community development; water; agriculture; industry development and emergency aid; and famine relief.

The Fund’s most recent accounts for 2009 reveal that it has increased its payments to €552,586 at a time when 40

its overall income dipped slightly. In its most recent report the Fund notes that many communities are now enjoying the benefits of clean water, primary education, and health care as a result of the history of grants it has made.

But the report noted that while subscriptions to the fund had remained at the level of the previous year, rising costs continued to reduce their value often resulting in a reduction in the number of projects that could be assisted.

The Fund also notes while many non-governmental organisations and charities spend a sizeable amount of their money on administration and publicity costs, the administrative costs of the CSTWF never exceeded 5% of income.

primarily focussed on development and humanitarian

ElectricAid ElectricAid is a unique fund which is subscribed to by staff and pensioners at the State utility as well as by the management. It also has membership and management support in EirGrid plc. Founded in 1987 as a response to the famine in Ethiopia, it has to date channelled more than €16 million to about 1,500 projects since its inception.

The Fund has been deeply influenced by a Trade Union ethos with groups like the ESBOA and TASS involved in setting it up. It consciously describes itself as a social justice fund involved in Third World development, providing wells, electricity connections and small infrastructure, as well as funding for health, agriculture, micro-enterprise and education projects. ElectricAid is

needs as well as disaster relief. Its philosophy revolves around helping people to help themselves or in other words a ‘hand-up not a hand-out’. It is concerned with social justice and development education.

Revenue hovered around €250,000 a year in 2003 but now stands at €1.26 million in 2009. There are three main legs to its funding: employee and pensioner contributions which number about 2,750; matching funds from ESB & EirGrid; and tax rebates from the Revenue Commissioners.

The unique funding arrangement whereby ESB & EirGrid match on a 2:3 basis the money subscribed by the members – means that a €260 a year annual payment can be turned into €613 when the tax refund from the Revenue Commissioners is taken into account.

THE FUND’S INCOME FOR THE YEAR 2009 WAS AS FOLLOWS: ESB Staff and Pensioner Contributions

€640,000

ESB Matching Funding

€250,000

Once off Donations

€57,000

Tax Reclaim

€294,000

Eirgrid, Staff & Company

€15,000

TOTAL

€1,256,000

ElectricAid’s current priority and funding areas include:

– – –

HIV/AIDS Basic primary and vocational education Basic infrastructure – especially water and sanitation

– – –

Development awareness and education Sustainable agriculture Micro-finance and micro-enterprise

Evaluation Criteria The evaluation of funding requests considers to what extent they include the following key features:

• •

As a rule ElectricAid does not generally contribute to the running costs, salary or training costs of existing projects.

If it does so, ElectricAid requires to establish that the programme will run for at least two years and that it would be sustainable without support.

In terms of references and accountability, ElectricAid requires an independently verifiable reference from an ESB staff member or pensioner, or an individual agency or community known to the body itself.

Projects will be funded only if previously funded projects from the same community or agency have been properly reported.

In 2009, ElectricAid was involved in 140 separate development projects, these included:

Community involvement in project planning; Community project input, which usually comes to

Africa

10% of the total minimum cost in cash, direct

Ireland

materials or labour;

•

Latin America

Non-denominational at the point of service

Asia

provision;

• •

EEFFU

Co-funding by recipients and other agencies; Clarity on the legal basis and ownership of funded projects;

• •

Wide benefit across the target community; Facilitation of further downstream development; and

•

Increase capacity for cooperative community effort.

Africa Ireland Latin America Asia EE/FSU 41

97 projects 10 projects 12 projects 17 Projects 4 Projects

ElectricAid’s funding brought clean water to a salt desert in Chipaya, Bolivia. It in effect provided 1,800 people in a remote Indian community with a vital requirement at a cost of just €5,500.

In Kenya ElectricAid provided five wells in a rural area, along with pumps and plates. This transformed thousands of lives for a relatively small sum of €3,625.

Separate from normal fundraising, ElectricAid’s Special Appeal for Haiti in January 2010 raised over €400,000 for earthquake recovery projects.

The Fund does not deal with governments but with communities, NGOs and religious orders. According to Chairperson Tina Pittock, key issues for the Fund in the future are recruitment and growth, and the requirement of keeping pace with need, sustainability and community involvement, and working with people not ‘imposing solutions on them’.

In terms of the administration of the Fund, the ElectricAid Committee meets six times a year to decide which applications should be funded and for how much.

Typical amounts per project are from €1,000 to €6,500 for humanitarian projects and €10,000 for development projects.

Generally funds are decided on a consensus basis by the committee but emergency relief may be allocated on the authority of the chairperson, if absent the vice chairperson, and two committee members in consultation with at least one trustee.

No agency can be co-funded by more than 20% of ElectricAid’s annual income in any year. Agencies should submit only one preferred project per funding meeting.

ElectricAid will not get involved in projects of greater than €100,000 overall value.

In 2009, ElectricAid operated funding maxima for development aid of €10,000 and €6,500 for humanitarian work. However a limited number of long-term partners have obtained “special-partner” status. In the case of applications under this heading, the developing funding maximum applied is €20,000.

Failure to furnish reports on projects co-funded is taken into account when considering subsequent applications.

ElectricAid invites agencies to attend its meetings from time-to-time so that they can learn more about the situation on the ground and to promote awareness of development issues.

Project funding from a body or group funded previously

by ElectricAid will only be considered 12 months after the initial payment. This generally applies to specific projects, communities and locations, but not to larger partners or applicants with multiple projects and locations.

Bank of Ireland Staff Third World Fund The Bank of Ireland Third World Fund is a staff initiative 42

which was launched in 1982 and last year contributed about €750,000 to Third World development. In the main the Fund works through agencies like Concern, Trocaire, Goal, Christian Aid, Bóthar, Oxfam and others.

The idea to set it up came from a number of staff who were one day chatting about the Third World, a discussion which turned to exploring ways in which staff as a group could help. What emerged became a long-term commitment to the Third World, which is now contributed to by about 4,000 staff.

Typical grants for projects would be of the order of €70,000 to €80,000.

Major locations for the spending of funding have been Africa, Latin America and Nepal. Areas like education and health are considered very important by the Fund, which in general does not get involved in emergency aid.

All staff, including retired staff, are invited to make a monthly contribution in an amount of their choosing. The resulting pot of money is allocated to specific projects, which are managed by a small number of Third World agencies.

The Fund has always enjoyed terrific support from staff. Appeals are generally conducted annually, in support of its wish to give all staff the opportunity to join in this work. The Fund’s annual income is close to €750,000.

How is the money collected and distributed?

Monthly payroll or standing order deductions are the mainstay of the Fund, ensuring that it can deliver on the long-term commitment.

The annual appeal, a website and word-of-mouth are key ways of increasing the contributor base. Other ways of giving can also be accommodated, e.g. one-off donations, bequests, etc.

The Projects Committee accepts requests for funding from well-managed Third World agencies with which it has generally forged a good relationship.

Each request requires that it be fully described, fully costed, and includes a commitment to provide the Fund with a report on completion. From the many requests that are received, the Projects Committee must make some tough decisions, and will be guided by the nature of the improvements that will result: the long-term benefits; value-for-money; etc.

Delegating the management of projects to agencies makes sense, as in the case of the Bank of Ireland Staff Third World Development Fund, they have neither the resources nor the expertise on the ground to perform this task.

However, ensuring the safety and best use of contributions places an onus on the Fund to choose only well-managed agencies and to regularly review them.

Some common funding requests are from:

– – – – –

Agriculture Community business start-ups Education Health Water projects

How the Fund recommends itself to staff?

The Fund tells staff that every cent / penny contributed goes to a project. In addition it argues that that:

• • •

•

Staff can support a number of agencies through the Fund; Members are told that the Fund’s governance guidelines limits it to supporting well-managed agencies and these are regularly reviewed; They are advised that, as a registered charity, the Fund can benefit from the tax advantages that accrue when Republic of Ireland contributors give €250+ annually; and Any incidental expenses (e.g. printing) are usually covered by Bank of Ireland.

RTÉ Staff One World Fund The RTÉ Staff One World Fund has been a significant contributor to charities in recent years, contributing over €65,000 in 2006, €71,480 in 2007 and €82,500 in 2008, to a range of countries.

The main beneficiaries for relief expenditure in 2007 were Uganda, Kenya, Ethopia, Rwanda, Gambia, Tanzania, Cameroon, El Salavador, Zambia and Thailand. There are no administrative charges for running the Fund. Uganda again topped the list of beneficiaries for 2008 according to the Fund’s latest report.

The aim of the Fund is the enhancement of living conditions for communities in the poorer areas of the world, through the funding of sustainable communitybased projects. A key requirement is that the local community must be the stakeholder in the project.

The Fund is operated on a voluntary basis by a committee of RTÉ employees / retirees.

The income of the Fund comes principally from the regular donations of RTÉ staff and pensioners.

What are the priority areas for the Fund?

children are of particular concern for the Fund.

Basic Education: The focus here is on primary education.

Other basic education support, such as pre-school and adult literacy, must be justified on the basis of links to disadvantage.

Micro-enterprise Development: This includes sustainable small-enterprise development and employment creation schemes in rural and urban areas. Schemes must be based on detailed feasibility studies and sound business plans.

Training: This includes skills-training linked to local employment opportunities for women, street children and the disabled.

In terms of relevance projects are generally assessed on the basis of local needs and priorities, in accordance with the purpose of the Fund. A further important issue for the Fund is the area of sustainability.

Sustainability: Projects selected should be generally capable of sustaining themselves after the period in which the Fund’s support had ended. Important considerations here are:

• • • • •

The capacity of the project to provide for recurrent costs and depreciation during and after the funding period; The level of participation and local ownership of the project; The local skills base; Links with, and level of support from, local / national government, church agencies, etc; and The impact of the project on the environment.

Also taken into account is the issue of gender. Gender equality considerations will be taken into account in assessing applications. Projects that incorporate or promote special measures to improve the position of women and girls are particularly welcome.

Effectiveness and Efficiency: Projects will be assessed in terms of:

• •

Potential effectiveness in achieving objectives. Are the planning details sufficient to show how the objectives can be achieved?

Potential efficiency. What particular methods are proposed for general management, review, monitoring and evaluation, risk assessment, and control of costs?

Water and Sanitation: This includes the provision of smallscale water points, water collection and storage systems, latrines and community hygiene education.

What projects are not eligible for funding:

Agriculture and Food Security: This includes the establishment of seed banks, market gardens, animal husbandry, and small-scale irrigation projects.

– – –

Primary Health Care: This includes support for community-based health care, health education and training, and outreach programmes. The health needs of

–

Individual or family sponsorship Projects undertaken by individuals Projects that are primarily of a welfare or direct service provision nature (i.e. unsustainable without long-term external funding) Servicing debt or direct loans 43

– – – –

Study or research fellowships, scholarships, etc Evangelisation or prosyletisation Emergencies Retrospective expenditure (i.e. costs incurred before an application is submitted)

The IMPACT Union Fund The 23rd Annual Report of the IMPACT Developing World Fund records the highest ever level of expenditure amounting to €580,790 in the calendar year 2008. Since the Fund was established in 1981 a total of €4,696,691 has been donated to qualifying projects.

Three per cent of the subscription income of the Union is allocated to the fund which is now generating an annual sum in the region of €450,000. Members are to be congratulated on the success of the fund, which is unique within the Trade Union movement.

The main recipient of the subscription income of the

Union in 2009 was Public Services International (PSI) projects which amounted to €280,000. Projects included:

– – – – – – – – – – –

Gender campaigns in the Southern Cone of South America Pay equity in Brazil Equity and equality in the Andean Region Young workers in the Southern Cone Health sector reforms in the Southern Cone Quality public services in Paraguay Organising in the Congo Union development in Cameroon Workers rights in the Middle East Union rights in Turkey A global project on women and migration in the health sector

The Union also carried over commitments amounting to over €193,000 for 2009 as follows:

(i)

Playing for Life

€65,000

(year 3 of 3-5)

(ii)

Concern Pakistan

€20,000

(year 3 of 3)

(iii)

Uganda Union

€35,000

(year 2 of 2)

(iv)

Aiding Resources, Kenya

€6,500

(year 2 of 4)

(v)

Hope Foundation

€24,808

(year 2 of 3)

(vi)

Belvedere Calcutta

€2,000

(ongoing)

(vii)

Bethlehem Maternity Hospital

$25,000

(year 2 of 4)

(viii)

Intl. HIV/AIDS Union Initiative

€20,000

(year 2 of 2)

It also supported an application from a member of staff for support of an Indian NGO project for €1,500.

The Union continued to be involved in a social housing project in Paraguay to which it granted €10,000. It also assisted the Niall Mellon Township Trust (South Africa) with a grant of €2,000 be made to a maximum of five members.

IMPACT also supported a request from Concern for a donation of €10,000 towards a project in Southern Chad.

The project deals with livelihoods, water and sanitation.

It is helping refugees who have fled the fighting in the Central African Republic and also the host population from Chad. Concern’s focus is to develop the capacity of the refugees to enable them to have livelihoods and provide for their own needs over time.

The Fund also received a request via Congress for support for the Trade Union movement in Burma and a donation of €10,000 was later agreed. Assistance was also made available for a St. Vincent de Paul project in

Sierra Leone.

In other years the Union supported a nurse’s Union in the Congo and, funded training programmes for members and activists, including specific training for HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns.

The Union also supported a youth education and organising project in the Andean Region. The purpose was to strengthen the capacity of public service Unions to integrate issues facing young workers and women.

The Communications Workers’ Union Charity Involvement The Communications Workers’ Union operates a suite of charitable funds on behalf of its members which cover a range of activities, from funding projects in Africa, to hospitals in Pakistan and hospice work in Ireland.

Together the Funds dispense over €345,000 annually.

Total funds dispersed since 2002 amount to €1.4 million.

Key areas of funding by the Union include:

Hospice (per annum)

€8,500

Humanitarian Aid, Bulgaria

€35,000

African and Foreign Projects

€200,000

Miscellaneous Donations

€34,000

TOTAL

€277,500

44

CWU Funding Hospice Bulgaria Africa and Foreign Projects Misc. Donations

Total

€277,500 (approximately)

A further €10,000 was also presented to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

The main funds operated by the Union are the CWU Charitable Fund, covering the following: the Intellectual Disability Housing Fund; the Hospice Fund; the CWU Development Fund (covering African projects and all other foreign projects); and the CWU Ireland Humanitarian Fund.

The CWU Development Fund now renamed the CWU Charitable Fund was started in 2002 and since then it has dispersed almost €1.2 million. It has done so directly itself and through Union Network International (UNI), covering Eircom and postal staff organisations. Roughly 75% of the development aid funding has gone to African projects, while 25% has gone to international development projects around the world.

The Fund has approximately 2,265 members who donate a minimum of €1.27 per week (Annual Report 2009). It is actively supported and promoted by Branch Secretaries within the Union who highlight how a relatively small amount of money has the potential to have an enormous impact on developing communities.

– – – – – – – – – –

Providing €57,210 to Tanzanian appeals Providing €33,000 to Ugandan appeals Providing €50,000 for an orphanage in Capetown, South Africa Providing €24,500 to the Niall Mellon Township Trust Providing €100,000 to the Tsunami appeal Providing €125,000 to Pakistan for a hospital Providing €10,000 to the Gaza appeal Providing €23,000 to the Street Children of Bucharest Offering CWU Ireland Humanitarian Aid €115,453 Most of the building projects supported include schools, hospitals, orphanages, hospices, irrigation projects, educational and nutrition programmes, and projects related to the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa and overseas, aimed at helping people overcome starvation and deprivation.

The Fund has collected €1,422,348.90 since 2002 and a total of €1,072,764.21 was distributed.

Projects supported from 2003-2009 include:

CWU Intellectual Disability Housing Fund

–

Significant monies in excess of €100,000 were paid out by this Fund from 2002-2009 to affiliates of Inclusion Ireland for the purpose of providing homes.

The fund is mainly financed by contributions of 13 cents a week by members. Among the projects funded were:

– –

The UNI Ghana Project which involved the spending of €150,000.00 on a hospital The UNI Zambia Project which involved spending €60,000 on a school and a well Contributing €224,7758.00 to agricultural projects in Ghana, Burkino Faso and Zambia L’Arche, Dublin 4

€25,400

Dundalk Voluntary Association

€12,700

Mentally Handicapped Association, Clones

€12,700

Camphill Communities L’Arche, Kilkenny

€12,700

Sisters of Charity of Jesus & Mary, Stradbally

€12,700

Dundalk Voluntary Housing, Dundalk

€20,000

New Dawn Housing Association, Wexford

€30,000 Continued overleaf....

45

Continued from previous page Parents & Friends of the Mentally Handicapped, Monaghan

€20,000

L’Arche, Kilkenny

€37,500

Dara Voluntary Housing Association, Celbridge

€26,023.17

The Journeyman Programme, Carrick-on-Shannon

€30,000

Camphill Community, Carrick-on-Shannon

€25,000

Co Action, Cork

€40,000

Sisters of La Sagsesse Services, Sligo

€40,000

Bluestack Foundation, Letterkenny

€25,000

The CWU Hospice Fund is aimed at providing hospice services in prominent areas. Since 2003, CWU has contributed over €45,000 to the Irish Hospice Foundation.

CWU UK/Ireland Humanitarian Aid Fund A major humanitarian project recently funded by the Union involved ‘hands-on’ work by members bringing supplies directly to some Bulgarian orphanages.

This involved an An Post and Eircom truck travelling 6,000kms over 17 days to four institutions in Bulgaria which had been dubbed as ‘Bulgaria’s forgotten children’ by a Channel Four documentary. In the last three years CWU Ireland has sent six trucks on the convoy.

In total 12 members have taken part in what has become the most successful convoy of recent years. They were: AN POST

EIRCOM

Tony Grogan

Tony McMahon

Cyril O’Hare

Pat Broderick

Paul O’Neill

Matt Brown

Matt Long

John Dunleavy

Anthony McCrave

John Wallace

Michael Gallagher

Rory Duggan

The workers involved were supported by Eircom and An Post, which provided the necessary trucks, fuel and leave of absence for four workers participating in the convoy each year.

In all it is estimated that the convoy delivered over STG£250,000worth of aid (€292,000) and CWU members in Ireland contributed €50,000 towards incubators, infusion pumps and syringe pumps. They also, with the help of Medisan, purchased an incubator costing €15,000 and a mini-bus in 2009.

Pak Irish Rehabilitation Centre A very significant and recent dimension to the 46

Communications Workers’ Union development agenda is the Pak-Irish Rehabilitation Centre located in Pakistan. The need for the centre arose out of the October 2005 earthquake which caused a huge death toll in the North Pakistan area, in particular near Azad, Jammu and Kashmir. Over €100,000 was provided by the CWU to build the hospital and funding for ten years at a rate of €10,000 a year has been committed.

The connection with the backers of the project arose out of the CWU’s Treasurer, Monica Hempenstall, noticing the damage and the suffering that had been inflicted by the tremor on RTÉ news at the time. In particular Monica heard an interview with Dr. Javid Butt who had lost a brother in the disaster and who was appealing for funds over the airwaves.

In all over 80,000 people died, thousands got injured and millions became homeless in a few seconds. An Irish appeal to help the people made homeless by the disaster was set up and a trust was formed under the title of the ‘South Asia Earthquake Appeal’ which was based in Lucan, Co. Dublin.

The Public Service Executive Union The Public Service Executive Union (PSEU) spent over €33,000 on charitable activities in 2007.

Irish Aid is co-funding a development project in Lesotho along with ICTU. The PSEU and IMPACT agreed to fund the ICTU costs. The total of €45,000 was made up of Irish Aid €20,000, PSEU €15,000 and IMPACT €10,000.

Prior to that, the PSEU funded banana workers in Belize who were sacked for forming a Union. The workers won their legal case against their employers. The Union has been involved in many such capacity building exercises with exploited groups for workers in the Third World.

The Union also has a history of contributing to one off crises such as the Tsunami.

In addition a grant of €1,500 was made to the Lesotho Congress of Trade Unions towards its AGM. A further grant of €1,000 was made to Adrian McLean, an employee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, who worked voluntarily in South America for a year.

The Union’s Solidarity Committee also supported a grant of €4,000 to LEPSSA, the public service Union in Lesotho.

SIPTU SIPTU does not have a major fund out of which it commits money but has in the past contributed significant sums to the Tsunami Appeal, Cuban Relief Aid, and to what it describes as ‘like minded’ charities and organisations.

In recent years the Union’s executive made available €250,000 for Tsunami Relief and €25,000 to Cuban Hurricane Relief. In addition the Union makes significant contributions to bodies and organisations in the immediate vicinity of its headquarters in Dublin for activities which are community in nature.

The Union seeks to be a “good neighbour” to the communities adjoining its premises. In addition, local SIPTU offices make contributions to activities in their areas on a regular but ad hoc basis.

Some of this funding is carried out through the Irish Congress of Trades Unions Solidarity Fund. In addition, the Union is a strong supporter of the SIMON organisation and its activities.

Spending decisions are made by the Union’s Finance and Administration Committee which is a sub-division of its full executive.

It does not have a specific set of guidelines or objectives which informs what it does.

At branch level, several of the smaller units of the Trade Union organise and collect funds for a collection of charitable funds. These can range from providing modest educational grants for members who have been unemployed to providing assistance to local groups in particular areas.

ASTI The ASTI has a Development Aid Fund which is assigned 1% of the gross income from members’ subscriptions. The Fund responds to requests for money from organisations working in developing countries.

In 2007, the Fund expended €39,000 to support organisations such as UNICEF, the Irish Red Cross, Self Help Development, Concern, and Bóthar.

In a practical example of the Union’s work many schools, through their teachers and pupils, are engaged in work in developing countries funded by the Union.

In addition to its main fund, the ASTI has a budget to cover requests from local / national charities and organisations. In 2007 it spent €17,170 to support charities such as Simon House of Cards, Focus Ireland, Barnardos, Sport Against Racism, Aislinn Addiction Centre, Barretstown Castle, the Irish Hospice, and Show Racism the Red Card.

In addition Moira Leydon, the ASTI Assistant General Secretary, is Chairperson of the ICTU’s Global Solidarity Committee.

The ASTI also works extensively on the Global Campaign for Education which is run by Education International, to which the ASTI is affiliated.

Conclusion Trade Unions in Ireland and hundreds of thousands of Irish workers within and outside their membership have made a significant contribution to charitable causes through a collection of channels. Trade Unions’ connections with developing countries and their sense of solidarity with the less fortunate have put them in a pivotal position to offer assistance. Research carried out for this report suggests different approaches and models to offering assistance, all of them driven by the shared goal of assisting the people in the poorer regions of the world. At the time of writing it was clear that many other Unions are in the process of formalising or creating new structures or funds to meet charitable needs. But Unions have demonstrated a significant ability to support charity work in other countries on a once-off crisis basis and at moments of major crises.

Sources Irish Aid Irish Times Newspaper OECD, 2009: Development Assistance Committee Report (Peer Review), Paris, OECD Various Union Annual Reports Union Websites The author would like to thank staff with responsibility for managing Union and worker charity funds for their patience and assistance with collecting information and data. It was greatly appreciated. TH

47

CWU People Stephen Branigan, a member of the Dublin Postal Drivers Branch is competing on the Route 66 road trip to raise much needed funds for Temple Street Hospital.

Route 66 Motorcycle trip takes him 2,448 miles, from Chicago to Santa Monica LA, down the Mother of All Mother Roads, with possibly the best bunch of people you could ever be lucky enough to have in your book of friends.

If you feel you are up for this amazing Fundraising Challenge or feel you can support or help us in any way please contact Stephen at c/o Postal Staff, Cardiff Lane, Dublin 2 or Angi McNulty, Special Events Manager, Fundraising Office at Temple Street Children’s University Hospital, Dublin 1, Ireland.

Stephen Branigan prepares for Route 66

Retirement of Pat McGahey

Front row, l to r: PJ Montaque, Billy Carroll, Tommy Cowley, Paddy Mc Donnell, Brian Dunne, Ollie Mallon, Mal Godfrey, Gerry Kirwan, Tommy Seery, Pat Mc Gahey, John Clarke, Tony Lacken, Gerry Mc Craenor, Owney Harty, Pat Shaughnessy, Jim Grifferty, Mark Kelly, Bary Kirwan, Paddy Mathews, Gerry Gargan, Jim Boyle, Paddy Donnelly, John Donnelly, Phil Reilly, Paul Rice, Rocky Thompson, Jim Mc Cartney, Dave Callan, Tony Mooney, Jed Matthews, Stephen Burke, Tom Mc Cann and Pierce Quinn.

Jim McCartney, Drogheda Section Chairman presenting Pat McGahey with Union Scroll.

48

CWU People

JC O’Sullivan – New Occupational Support (Welfare Officer) – An Post John O’Sullivan (JC) joined An Post as a Junior Postman in 1975 when he started in the CTO delivering telegrams. He worked in many areas with the Company including CSO Sherriff Street, Counters, Payroll, Human Resources, Collection & Deliveries and SDS. His father Joe is retired from the company following 46 years service. Joe served on the National Executive of the POWU in the 1960s and his two brothers are also employed

by An Post, Brian is a Postman in Edmonstown and Enda is a POC in the Philatelic Bureau. JC’s daughter Genevieve became the third generation of O’Sullivans to have worked with the company when she came in for seasonal work in the DMC over the last few years, you could say it’s the family business!

During his time in SDS, JC developed an interest in counselling and enrolled on a course with Dublin Business School. In 2008 he graduated with an Honours Degree in Counselling and Psychotherapy. As a result, when a vacancy arose for an Occupational Support Specialist (formerly Welfare) last year, it presented an opportunity to build on and utilise the skills he had developed.

JC feels it is important to raise awareness among staff of the Occupational Support services available, how it operates and also how to make contact.

There are a number of ways in which staff members who may benefit from assistance from the Occupational Support Services. Sometimes a referral may come from the local management or from a union official. In cases of illness, we may hear from my colleagues in Occupational Health. Often people make contact themselves, self referrals.

Confidentiality is a very important part of the service provided. In many cases management would be totally unaware that someone is receiving advice or has received assistance from Occupational Support. The individual involved may outwardly be getting on with life, doing their job and displaying no outward signs that they may be experiencing a difficult time in their lives and often colleagues and local management are completely unaware of the problems the individual is experiencing.

The OHS team are regionally based, JC has responsibility for the North Leinster and Dublin South Areas. Since taking

up his position he has assisted colleagues with all of the common difficulties which life can throw at us including addictions, trauma, bereavements, conflicts, financial or relationship problems. Bereavement cases involving a member of staff or one of their loved ones can be particularly tough as there can be so much grief and raw emotion involved. In cases where there has been a long term illness involved JC will normally have an established relationship with the person and usually with their partner/family. OHS offer support and advice to the bereaved and assist them in order to receive their entitlements regarding pensions, life insurance, bereavement grants etc.

JC finds it frustrating that so many have not joined the Medisan Fund which, at €1 per week, provides tremendous assistance for members suffering from a wide range of illnesses as well as assistance during periods of reduced pay.

In many cases it has been his experience that colleagues, whom he has been supporting and who would have qualified for help, had never actually joined the scheme. Membership of the Medisan Fund is open to all An Post and Eircom staff and application forms are widely available. JC would urge all staff to join the scheme if just for the peace of mind membership gives.

In An Post we are fortunate to be employed by a Company which is dedicated to providing comprehensive Occupational Health and Occupational Support services to all employees. It is very important that all staff should be aware of the assistance available. The Company will continue to fund the services as long as people continue to use them.

There is further information available on the An Post Intranet site, follow Company Information, Human Resources, Occupational Health & Support. There are also a number of leaflets available covering a wide range of topics copies of which are available from any of the OHS team.

Should you wish to contact the Occupational Support Specialist for your Area the contact details are as follows: WESTERN REGION: Noel Keaveney, 071-9151989 SOUTHERN REGION: Marie McManus 021-4851262 SOUTH LEINSTER / NORTH DUBLIN REGIONS: Josephine Smith 01-7058576 NORTH LEINSTER / SOUTH DUBLIN REGIONS: John C O’Sullivan 01-7058568

49

CWU People

Retirement of Norman O Connor Norman O Connor, Post Office Clerk, TV Licence Section, Dublin recently retired after 40 years’ service. As a Post Office Clerk, Norman worked in the Central Sorting Office, SDS and most recently the TV Licence Section.

Norman gave many loyal years’ of service to the Union and in particular, the Dublin Postal Clerks Branch, where he served as a Committee Member for many years and also served as Assistant Branch Secretary.

He attended many Conferences on behalf of the Union and was also heavily involved in the Dublin Postal Clerks Social Committee, most particularly when it came to organising the Annual Pensioners Dinner Dance.

The Union would like to thank Norman for all his service and to wish Norman, his wife Frances and his family a long and happy retirement.

Pat Kenny, Paddy Davoren, Willie Mooney, Dave Bell, Stevie Fitzpatrick and Charlie O’Neill, help Norman and Francis celebrate, at a recent Retirement Party.

The CWU Band enjoys a great May Day outing in Belfast It was a near perfect day. Bright sunshine and just enough of a breeze to unfurl the flags and banners. And what a great display they made! We started at 9.30 from the Red Cow and collected those from the Northside near the airport.

The road to Belfast isn’t what it used to be: a clear run past Newry, the Sheepbridge Inn a vanishing memory. Still, once we saw the signs for Blackscull and Donaghcloney, we knew we were getting near.

Everything was beautifully organised: the big red open-top bus had banners from Unison, protesting about the planned cuts in the health services. We had the band banner ready to show on the side of the bus, and then the welcoming party arrived with a hearty “See you, and how’s about ye?” The chief organiser was CWU Regional Secretary, Northern Ireland, Lawrence Huston.

There were bands everywhere: pipe bands, accordion bands, and a marching band in bright red uniforms, whose name, unfortunately, we did not get. But we played out the Red Flag and The Internationale, plus a couple of Sousa marches, and gave the other musicians a chance to do their stuff.

When we had finished, there was a very fine lunch and some light refreshment during which Lawrence Huston thanked the band for playing at the event. Roy Guinn from the retired members in Belfast said he wanted to organise a trip to Dublin, which we all agreed was a good idea. Also, Steve Fitzpatrick, Gen. Secretary CWU, congratulated us on the venture. So we’re all set for next year, on the eve of May Day, so it won’t clash with any other fixtures, and we’re hoping the weather will be as good.

Pat Loughman R.I.P. Band members have been deeply saddened by the loss of trumpet and trombone player Pat Loughman, who died at Easter.

Pat was a skilled musician of many years experience. He had played at semi-professional level and was an enthusiastic and committed member of the CWU band for many years.

Our Sympathies to his family and friends. We have lost a great colleague, a man modest about his own talents, and a great friend and bandsman.

I measc na n-aingeal go raibh ceol aige go síoraí.

50

CWU People

Remembering Maitias O’Gormaile — Tuam’s wide sham GALWAY ADVERTISER, MARCH 31, 2011.

his beloved Tuam called, “Are You Wide Sham”. He was very proud, when the book was published with great success and the profits from the book were donated to charity.

Maitias had a great love for every thing Irish, including the Irish language, of which he was a fluent speaker. He also had a great love of music, song and poetry, taking part in senior Score, winning 14 County Medals for his recitations.

He had a great love for the G.A.A. and especially for the game of hurling, never missing attending the All-Ireland Finals over the years. He was one of the people responsible for the revival of the Tuam hurling club in the early 70s. He was also a lifelong member of the Pioneer and Total abstinence Association.

Maitias is survived by his wife, Kitty, son, Matthew, daughter, Fiona, Son-in-law, grandchildren, brothers and sisters.

Ar dheis lámh Dé go raibh a anam uasal.

There was widespread shock among friends and colleagues as the news broke at the sudden death of Mr Maitias O Gormaile, Tuam, on the 17 of March, 2011.

Maitias was a lifelong member of the C.W.U., during which he held different officer’s positions within the Tuam Postal Branch, which included 6 years as Branch Secretary.

Maitias will be well-remembered by the members of the Union for his entertaining contributions to the debates at Conferences over the years.

He had 49 years’ service with the company, when he retired in 2002. He joined the Post Office as a junior postman and went on to be appointed postman in Tuam. He spent a brief period as a Post Office Clerk in Athenry but found it was not for him and returned to his position of postman in Tuam until his retirement.

When Maitias retired, he put his spare time in to writing a book on his memories and experiences of his life lived in

ARE YA WIDE SHAM!

by Maitias O’Gormaile

Price €12.99 (A percentage of all profits will be donated to the charities Gorta and Concern) To order copies of this book, please telephone 087-2910173 or 093-60393

Reviewed by Adrienne Power April 2008

A wonderful miscellany of family history, customs and happenings in Tuam from the 1940s to the present day. We hear about local characters in Tuam. We visit Summers and Christmases past, Weddings, Wakes and Fairs as well as Circuses, Carnivals and Travelling Shows.

Maitias spent about half a century working for the Postal Service and was Branch Secretary of the Tuam Postal Branch for a good many of them. Not only is Maitias a marvellous Orator (who can forget the Conferences when he kept us so entertained at the podium) but also a wonderful scribe. His warm character reflects through his reminiscences. The book is also packed full of wonderful photographs.

Comhgáirdeas (Congratulations) Maitias on this marvellous achievement.

51

CWU C WU GROUP GROUP SPECIF SPECIFIED FIED ILLNESS PL PLAN AN Peace P eace of mind when you you u need it most…

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provide a benefit ffor or less ser ious illnesses illne esses (see list overleaf ) • provide serious

utomatic child cover cover AAutomatic cellen nt v value alue ExExcellent

(from (fr om 1st bir b birthday) thday)

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Some Examples Male Member Age: 35 Postman

Female Member Age: 48 Cashier

Male Spouse Age: 41 Factory Worker

Male child Age: 14

€50,000 payment on diagnosis of cancer of the oesophagus

€50,000 payment on diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis.

€50,000 payment following a Heart Attack

€20,000 payment following diagnosis of Hodgkins Disease Source: Scheme Claims Statistics April 2011

Summary of your benefits

18-34 years years

€55,000

35-44 years years

€50,000

45-54 years years

€29,000

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+ + + +

€10,000 €10,000 €10,000 €10,000 €10,000 €10,000 €10,000 €10,000

€20,000 €20,000 €20,000 €20,000

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+ + + +

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O TO NLY C A AN WU VAIL D S ME AB PO MB LE US ER ES S

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Main M ain Specified Specifi fied Illnesses: Illnesses: t Alzheimer’s disease t Aorta graft surgery t Aplastic anaemia (NEW) t Bacterial meningitis (NEW) t Balloon Valvuloplasty (NEW) t Benign brain tumour t Benign spinal cord tumour (NEW) t Blindness t Cancer (malignant) t Cardiomyopathy (NEW) t Chronic Lung Disease t Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease t Coma t Coronary artery by-pass graft t Deafness t Dementia (NEW) t Encephalitis (NEW) t Heart attack t Heart structural repair with surgery to divide the breast bone.

t Heart valve replacement or repair (NEW) t HIV infection t Kidney failure t Liver failure (NEW) t Loss of limbs t Loss of speech t Major organ transplant t Motor neurone disease t Multiple sclerosis t Muscular Dystrophy (NEW) t Paralysis of limbs t Parkinson’s disease (idiopathic) t Primary pulmonary hypertension (NEW) t Progressive supra-nuclear palsy (NEW) t Pulmonary artery surgery (NEW) t Systemic lupus erythematosus (NEW) t Stroke – permanent symptoms t Third degree burns covering 20% of the body’s surface area t Traumatic head injury (NEW)

NEW NE WA Additional dditio onal Sp Specified ecified IIllnesses: llnesse es: t Angioplasty t Brain abscess drained via craniotomy t Carcinoma in situ – oesophagus, treated by specific surgery t Carotid artery stenosis (treated by endarterectomy or angioplasty) t Cerebral arteriovenous malformation – treated by craniotomy or endovascular repair t Ductal carcinoma in situ – breast, treated by specific surgery t Loss of one limb t Low-level prostate cancer with specific treatment t Severe burns covering at least 5% of the body’s surface t Surgical removal of one eye

For F or mor more e inf information formation talk to: to: Halligan H IInsurances nsurancess Unity Building Unity Building, g, 16/17 Lower Lower O’Connell O’Connell Street, Street, Dublin D ublin 1.

TTelephone: e elephone: (0 (01) 01) 8797100 info@halligan.ie Email: inf fo@h o halligan.ie

The C The CWU WU SSerious erious Illness Illness Group Group Scheme Scheme is underwritten underwr w itten by

by New Ireland Ireland Assurance Assuranc a e Company Company plc. plc.

Halligan Life Liffe & Pension Pen nsion Ltd Ltd t/a Halligan Insurances Insurances e Incorporating Incorporating McCarthy McCarthy Insurances Inssurances is regulated regulated by by the Central Cen e tral Bank of IIreland. reland.

New Ireland Ireland Assurance Assuranc a eC Company ompany plc is regulated regulated db byy the C Central entral Bank of IIreland reland d and is a member of Bank of IIreland reland Group.

Group.

Books reviewed by Adrienne Power

PEACE – RICHARD BAUSCH 171 Pages. First Published 2009 Price €9.80 Inspired Novella showing the Futility of War A group of soldiers in Italy, near Cassino, during the Second World War, witness the killing by their Sergeant of an unarmed woman. Three of the soldiers and an Italian Scout are sent ahead up a mountain by the Sergeant to see what is on the other side. Corporal Marson, Private Joyner and Private Asch each deal with their demons that are unleashed following the incident. Asch’s nightmares of a burning tank, Joyner’s itchy arm drives him to distraction, while Marson’s blistered heel becomes more tortuous with every step. They question each other and look within themselves as to whether they should report the murder. Distrust and uneasiness build throughout their journey. The three become completely unnerved, almost unhinged while trying to get up the top of the mountain, not knowing what they will meet above or on the other side, battling rain and snow, nightmares and being haunted by the death of the woman. They quibble about their own differences and battle amongst themselves. They wonder about their guide Angelo, who does not speak English. .Is he a fascist? Will he lead them to their deaths? They think about their families at home and if they will ever see them again.

Baush’s writing is extraordinarily beautiful e.g. “The trees made complicated striations of shadow, and the effect was like a ghostly daylight. Nothing moved before them. There was no sound anywhere but the wind.”

The writing is so good you feel you are there on the mountain with Marson, Joyner and Asch on alert for the possibility of snipers and feeling the cold bite of the wind.

I found the book quite disturbing and very realistic, but I was glad I read it. I do not think you will find a better book that makes you aware of the futility and horror of war!

Disturbing and very realistic!

THE DIVINER’S TALE – BRADFORD MORROW 309 Pages. First Published 2011. Price €15.85 A Haunting Masterpiece Cassandra (Casper) Brooks has always been different. Now a single mother and part time teacher, she is still coming to terms with her gift of prediction. When she was only seven years old, she predicted the death of her older brother, Christopher. Cassie also carries on the family tradition of dowsing. One day while dowsing for water in Henderson’s field, she has the terrible vision of a young girl swinging from a tree, hanged. Cassie calls her childhood friend, Sheriff Niles Hubert, and they go looking for the hanged girl and find a missing girl, alive, but mute from fear. The girl, Laura Bryant, and Cassie realize they have a shared bond; they both lost their brothers in tragic circumstances. Cassie must come to terms with her past to help Laura get through her present dilemma.

The story moves slowly like an uncovering dream/nightmare in which the main character Cassie searches for her own identity, deals with the death of her brother, while building a life for her twin boys. A secondary storyline shows her changing relationship with her parents, her frustration with her mother’s growing dependence with her religious faith, together with her despair at her father’s decline due to Alzheimer’s. Always in the background lurks the mystery of an unknown predator. The story is very much about how we deal with grief and change especially after an event like 9/11.

This novel is unusual, subtly chilling with a wonderful gothic atmosphere. The rural New England setting is perfect for the story coupled with beautiful textured language!

Unusual and subtling chilling!

54

55

❏

Female

❏

Mr

❏

Mrs

❏

Ms

❏

CWU NO. .............................

OFFICE USE ONLY

Weekly

❏

Contractor

Fortnightly

Permanent part time

Permanent full time

❏ ❏ ❏ ❏

❏

Other Monthly

Agency Worker

Temporary

Non-Managerial

❏ ❏ ❏ ❏ ❏

(where applicable)

Branch Branch Secretary ........................................... Name ..........................................

Signature ...................................... Date ........................................

Pay Frequency:

Current Status:

Managerial

Current Grade/Job Title ...........................................................................

Date of Commencement with current employer ......../.........../........

Branch Name .............................................................................................

Your work/office location (if different) ...................................................

Employer’s Address ..................................................................................

And Agency (if applicable) .........................................................................

Name of Company ...................................................................................

Employment Details

Mobile. No. ................................... Email .................................................

Home Tel. No. ............................... Work Tel. No. .................................

........................................................................................................................

Home Address ...........................................................................................

Contact Details

Staff No. (where applicable).........................................................................

(PLEASE FILL OUT FORM IN BLOCK CAPITALS)

Direct Debit Instruction

3 0 4 9

Originator’s Reference ..................................................

Originator’s Identification No.

7 9

Signature ..................................................... Date .......................................

• This is a guarantee provided by your Bank/Building Society as a member of the Direct Debit Scheme, in which Banks/Building Societies and the CWU participate.

• If you authorise payment by Direct Debit, then – The CWU will notify you in advance of the amounts to be debited to your account – Your Bank/Building Society will accept and pay such debits, provided that your account has sufficient available funds • If it is established that an unauthorised Direct Debit was charged to your account, you are guaranteed a prompt refund by your Bank/Building Society of the amount so charged.

• You can cancel the Direct Debit Instruction in good time by writing to your Bank/Building Society.

THE DIRECT DEBIT GUARANTEE

I shall also so notify the CWU of such cancellation.

• I shall duly notify the Bank/Building Society in writing if I wish to cancel this instruction.

dates.

• I instruct you to pay Direct Debits from my account at the request of the CWU. • I confirm that the amounts to be debited are variable and may be debited on various

➃ Your instructions to the Bank/Building Society, and your Signature

& Account Number

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Please complete parts 1 to 4 to instruct your Bank/Building Society to make payments directly from your account. Then return the form to: The CWU, 575 North Circular Road, Dublin 1.

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PLEASE COMPLETE BOTH FORMS IN BLOCK CAPITALS

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Deduction at Source

56

Include you in the bigger picture, as the CWU works on a national level with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions

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Advise you on all issues related to Health and Safety

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__________________________ from my basic pay in respect of my contribution under the Scheme of deductions of Subscriptions to Staff Associations and pay that amount to the Communications Worker’ Union, 575 North Circular Road, Dublin, 1.

• I recognise that these deductions, being made solely as a measure of convenience to me, may be terminated at any time.

• I also recognise that the ultimate responsibility for ensuring that the deductions have, in fact, been made from my pay rest with myself, and that beyond making remittances on foot of sums deducted for credit to the account of my Union, the Company accepts no responsibility of any kind in this matter.

• Until further notice and commencing on __________________________, please deduct

INSTRUCTIONS TO PAYROLL

The Membership Department, Communications Workers’ Union, 575 North Circular Road, Dublin 1.

Guide for completing Application Form

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