IMPACT biennial report 2008–2010
Defending jobs, incomes and services
Defending jobs, incomes and services IMPACT biennial report 2008–2010
FRONT COVER Mary O’Connell and Iona McGloin from IMPACT’s Kerry branch at the union’s local government, education and local services divisional conference in Castlebar, County Mayo in May 2009. FRONT COVER PHOTO Dylan Vaughan
Defending jobs, incomes and services IMPACT biennial report 2008–2010
Members of IMPACT’s central executive committee and staff First row: (left to right) Michael Tomney, Patricia Walsh, Tom Murray, Isabell Murphy, Dolores Callanan, Adrienne Byrne, Joe May, Kevin O’Malley. Second row: Anna Leonard (finance officer), Paddy Keating (national secretary), Jerry King, Finbarr O’Driscoll, Alice Hennessy, Peter McLoone (general secretary). Third row: Margaret Coughlan, Bobby Carty, Kevin Callinan (deputy general secretary designate) Sophia O’Reilly, Louise O’Donnell (national secretary), Charlie Gantley, Pierce Dillon. Fourth row: Francis Byrne, Eugene Dunne, Peter Nolan (national secretary), Andy Walsh, Mick Scully, John Power (president), Gerry Monaghan, Shay Cody (general secretary designate), Matt Staunton (national secretary designate). Fifth row: Billy Gallagher.
Defending jobs, incomes and services When I wrote the introduction to our last biennial report early in 2008, I referred to Ireland’s “slowing economy.” At that time, nobody was predicting the economic mayhem that would follow the collapse of Lehman Brothers bank later that same year. And that includes the professional economists who, in the months that followed, happily recommended deep cuts to public services, ordinary incomes and welfare payments. IMPACT members have been at the sharp end of the economic collapse caused by recklessness and greed in the banking and property sector, which the Government failed to control and regulate. Public servants have suffered two pay cuts totalling 14% on average, the recruitment and promotions moratorium and cuts in services. IMPACT members in the voluntary and community sector have seen widespread job losses and pay cuts. Our people in the private and commercial semi-state sector have been dealing with similar assaults on their jobs, working conditions and incomes. The one big positive of 2009-2010 has been the response of IMPACT members, activists and staff across the country. We were all disappointed – and shocked – when our industrial action ballot fell slightly short of the required two-thirds majority last March. But, together with the attack on our members’ incomes and the media assault on the work and reputation of public servants, it galvanised the organisation at all levels. As a result, our workplace meetings over the summer of 2009 reached well over 10,000 individual members. A massive 20% of IMPACT members turned out to the huge ICTU march against the so-called pension levy and other aspects of the Government’s response to the crisis. And members’ response to our second industrial action ballot and subsequent one-day strike was tremendous. All this, plus the day-to-day commitment of everyone associated with the union, has held the organisation together during the most difficult time our members have endured for decades. I want to thank each and every one of you and I urge you not to underestimate what we have achieved together. Our opponents – in politics, among employers, or in the media and other parts of big business – would like nothing more than to see IMPACT and other unions becoming casualties of a crisis we didn’t create. Because that would allow them to unwind all the protections and advances that unions have delivered over the decades. Two years later, we are still in a time of great difficulty and uncertainty. None of us really knows how the economic situation will unfold. None of us have the faith and trust that is required of government in such uncharted times. But we have demonstrated an impressive unity and a determination to keep working together in the defence of our members, the services they provide to the public and the trade union they depend on for protection. That’s something of real value that we can and will build on.
Peter McLoone IMPACT General Secretary
Occupational therapist Damien Kidd helped save the taxpayer â‚Ź2.3 million by changing and improving the way work was done. The community occupational therapy service in Kildare and west Wicklow got the go-ahead to commence a scheme to reclaim and recycle unused occupational therapy equipment and develop the capacity for in-house delivery, servicing and repairs.
Contents Your income ....................7 Health and welfare ........27 Services and enterprises ....41 Public service pay campaign ..............................7 Benchmarking ................................................10 Minimum wage ..............................................10 Community sector pay......................................11 Pensions ........................................................11 Travel and subsistence ....................................11 Public service staffing......................................12 McCarthy report ..............................................12 Employment and equity....................................12
Your union and your rights ..15 Recruitment and organisation ..........................15 Staffing ..........................................................15 Staff pay and conditions ..................................15 Training ..........................................................16 Communications ..............................................16 Defending public servants ................................16 Youth committee..............................................17 UPTCS history ................................................17 Irish Congress of Trade Unions ..........................17 Supporting the community................................17 Europe ............................................................17 Developing world fund ....................................18 Safety at work ................................................19 Finance and administration ..............................19 Corporate governance ......................................20 Equal opportunities ..........................................20 Retired members ............................................20
Civil service ..................23 Performance management................................23 Decentralisation ..............................................23 Work-life balance............................................23 Bereavement leave..........................................23 Shorter working year scheme ..........................23 Incentivised early retirement scheme................24 McKenna judgement........................................24 CrĂŠches ..........................................................24 Disabilities......................................................24 Health and safety ............................................24 Travel and subsistence ....................................24 Cycle to work scheme......................................25 Grievance procedure ........................................25 Arbitration board and adjudicator......................25 Disciplinary code appeals board........................25 Staff panel and general council ........................25
Public service campaign ..................................27 HSE reorganisation ..........................................27 Recruitment moratorium ..................................27 Redeployment ................................................27 Staff schemes ................................................27 HSE national service plan ................................27 Employee engagement ....................................28 Expert group on resource allocation ..................28 Flu pandemic ..................................................28 Medical card centralisation ..............................28 Community welfare service..............................29 Standardised leave ..........................................29 Building union strength ....................................29
Local government ..........31 Partnership......................................................31 Local government reform ................................31 Services and job losses....................................31 Recruitment moratorium ..................................31 Clerical and admin grades ................................32 Fire services....................................................32 Libraries..........................................................32 Revenue collectors ..........................................32 Social workers ................................................32 Vocational groups ............................................32 Fixed-term workers ........................................32
Education ................................32 Educational disadvantage ................................32 Education centres ............................................33 Institutes of technology....................................33 National educational welfare branch ................33 School completion programme..........................33 School secretaries ..........................................33 Special needs assistants ..................................34 Vocational educational committees ..................34
Municipal employees ....37 Waste management ........................................37 Pay ................................................................37 Jobs ..............................................................38 Partnership......................................................39
Coillte ............................................................41 Communications ..............................................41 Aviation ..........................................................42 Community sector............................................43 Non-commercial semi-state agencies ..............43
Appendices ..................45 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
Mileage and subsistence ..........................46 Branch secretaries ....................................48 Vocational groups ....................................51 Central executive committee ....................54 Divisional executive committees................55 Staff ........................................................56 ICTU and other affiliations ........................58 Extracts from IMPACT accounts ................59
Almost a third of IMPACT’s members attended the demonstration against the so-called ‘pension levy’ and other aspects of the Government’s handling of the recession in February 2009.
Your income Public service pay campaign IMPACT was seeking clarification of aspects of a proposed agreement on public service pay and reforms as this report went to press. The proposals, which were negotiated with the assistance of senior Labour Relations Commission staff in March 2010, include commitments that there would be no further public service pay cuts and a commitment that the 2009-2010 pay cuts can begin to be reversed when savings arise from detailed public service transformation measures, which are also outlined in the proposed deal. Lower paid workers would get priority once the reversal of the pay cuts began. The so-called Croke Park proposals also include a commitment that there will be no compulsory redundancies so long as unions and their members agree to new redeployment arrangements. And there are commitments to the provision of public services through direct labour, which would guard against outsourcing unless it’s justified on the basis of quality as well as cost. The proposals were negotiated after a difficult year, which saw the introduction of an average 7% ‘pension levy’ in March 2009 and pay cuts averaging 7% from January 2010. Talks on the second phase of the Towards 2016 agreement had begun in April 2008 with unions seeking a deal that protected living standards from inflation, as well as a number of non-pay measures centred on workplace and representational rights. IMPACT also led public service unions in seeking a new system of public service pay determination after the second report of the Public Service Benchmarking Body recommended no increases for most. The talks broke down in August 2008 over the pay terms and employer demands for stronger ‘inability to pay’ clauses. Negotiations resumed in September 2008 and resulted in a transitional agreement with pay increases worth 6% over 21 months, with an extra 0.5% for those earning less than €11 an hour. The deal, which included an 11-month public service pay pause and a three-month pay pause in private and commercial semi-state companies, was accepted by a margin of 91%-9% in a national ballot of IMPACT members. But the agreed increases have not been paid in the public service or most private companies or semi-state and voluntary sector organisations. The sudden and rapid worsening of the economy and public finances at the end of 2008 led to a resumption of meetings between the social partners in December, with the objective of agreeing an approach to economic recovery. Although the budgetary crisis was not caused by public servants or public service pay, ICTU economists acknowledged that up to 20% of Ireland’s tax had become dependent on the finance, property and construction sectors, which had collapsed leaving a massive hole in Government income. The problem quickly worsened as growing unemployment rapidly reduced the tax take even further and increased spending on social welfare and related medical and other costs. Entering the talks, the employers’ body IBEC said it believed the pay deal was defunct while the Government was focused exclusively on the need to save €2 billion in public spending in 2009; a saving it wanted to make predominantly from payroll costs. From the outset, IMPACT resisted the Government’s preferred option of a 10% across-the-board cut in public service pay in 2009 alone and made clear that it would not negotiate cuts in core pay or pension benefits.
So-called ‘pension levy’ The talks collapsed without agreement in February 2009 after Government officials presented unions with a proposal for a public service levy averaging 7.5% of gross earnings, minus tax relief, across the public service. The Government proposal also included the deferral of the public service Towards 2016 pay increases and a 25% across-the-board reduction in travel and subsistence rates. IMPACT then led a massive campaign of political lobbying, which was supported by other public service unions and involved hundreds of IMPACT members and others. This culminated in national newspaper adverts and a mass lobby of TDs’ constituencies in the middle of February. IMPACT also sought legal advice on the imposition of the so-called ‘pension levy’.
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
7
Your income The union also put a massive mobilisation effort into ICTU’s national demonstration on 21st February 2009, in which over a third of the union’s members participated in an event that attracted well over 120,000 protesters. Four days later, almost all ICTU unions including IMPACT announced that they would ballot their members for industrial action over the Government’s approach to the economic crisis, including the levy, and the Government and employers’ decision to abandon the national agreement. Unions from both the public and private sectors agreed that the industrial action would begin with a one-day stoppage on 30th March. Nevertheless, the Government rushed through legislation to impose the so-called ‘pension levy’, which became effective on 1st March 2009. ICTU’s 30th March stoppage was deferred after its Executive Council accepted an invitation to re-enter talks aimed at reaching an agreed national partnership framework for dealing with the economic crisis. The Taoiseach’s invitation followed extensive behind-the-scenes work by senior ICTU representatives, including IMPACT general secretary Peter McLoone who insisted that changes to the pension levy must form part of the negotiation. IMPACT also said it wanted an agreed framework to deal with budget shortfalls in various sectors of the public service and state agencies. Just prior to this, IMPACT’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) decided that it had no basis to sanction participation in the 30th March stoppage after its members voted in favour of industrial action by a margin of 65% in favour and 35% against, which was marginally short of the two-thirds majority required under the union’s Rule 25, which deals with industrial action ballots.
Union priorities Following extensive consultation, which included a joint meeting of the CEC and all five DECs, a consultative council meeting, staff meetings, and the union’s 2009 divisional conferences, the CEC adopted the following statement of campaign priorities in May 2009:
“While there is a need for flexibility in IMPACT’s response, so that we can deal with new threats and opportunities as they arise, there is consensus that all IMPACT activities should be focused on the following priorities: ●
The protection of members’ pay, including agreed allowances, and the ongoing campaign to reverse the public service levy
●
The protection of the value of public service pensions, including the existing taxation arrangements, and of pension rights in the private, voluntary and state sectors
●
The protection of jobs, which is essential both to members’ livelihoods and to the provision of quality public services
●
The protection of core working conditions, including health and safety, while recognising the need for flexibility to maintain the delivery of public services during the economic crisis
●
The protection of public services during the recession and the pursuit of increased investment as the economy recovers.”
The failure to carry the March industrial action ballot led the union to organise hundreds of workplace meetings over the summer of 2009, which were attended by over 10,000 members in total. A second industrial action ballot in September-October 2009 achieved a massive 86% endorsement of strike action on a 69% turnout. In October the union also launched a €450,000 advertising campaign, aimed at bolstering its defence of public services and the people who provide them. Full-page newspaper ads appeared on 7th October and a massive billboard advertising campaign was unveiled in major cities and towns across the country. This was followed up with advertising inside buses and DART trains, a leaflet drop to over a million households, and a ‘viral’ campaign using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and the IMPACT website.
Strike A 24-hour public service strike took place on 24th November 2009 involving IMPACT and other public service unions. That afternoon the ICTU Public Services Committee (PSC) announced that it had agreed to re-enter talks with Government representatives after receiving the first indication that the Government might negotiate an alternative to the imposition of pay cuts.
8
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
Your income IMPACT entered the talks on the basis of the priorities set out above, but recognised that any agreement would have to find alternative payroll savings. The unions said this could be done through a transformation of public services, which would generate huge savings while protecting services as budgets and staff numbers declined, plus agreed temporary measures to cut payroll costs in 2010 because the transformation was unlikely to generate the necessary savings before 2011. Negotiations about the transformation of public services were conducted at sectoral level between unions and senior officials from Government departments and employer bodies in health, local government, education, the civil service and non-commercial semi-state bodies. Between the end of November and early December the talks had progressed so far that negotiators on both sides had finalised texts on transformation, which would have formed agreements in each sector subject to an overall deal being concluded. The transformation statements, which described what was to happen in each sector, were underpinned by an agreement on the redeployment of staff. The agreement also provided for the establishment of a commission, with independent leadership, to drive the implementation of the reforms to ensure that early and robust outcomes were assured – including mechanisms for binding outcomes where disagreements arose. The introduction of 12 days compulsory unpaid leave was to be introduced, on a once-off basis, to generate the required payroll savings in 2010. It was agreed that these would be implemented in ways that avoided any adverse impact on services. It was accepted by both sides that the value of the unpaid leave would not be redeemable by staff at any time in the future, and that the measure would not have negatively impacted on those retiring from the public service.
Government reneges The cabinet discussed the proposal at its meeting of 1st December and, following that meeting, the employers’ side confirmed to the unions that, although an overall agreement had not yet been reached, the Government accepted that the unpaid leave proposal could form the basis of a deal. As the agreement was being finalised, the ICTU Public Services Committee decided to suspend a second one-day strike planed for 3rd December. Agreement between unions and employers was subsequently reached on the application of the unpaid leave in ways that ensured no adverse impact on services. But at the final meeting between Government representatives and senior ICTU negotiators the employers’ side said that they had fully briefed the Government that morning, and that the Government had decided not to proceed with the agreement. This despite the employers’ side acknowledging that the unpaid leave mechanism could yield €986 million in payroll savings in 2010 through an agreed progressive valuation of the unpaid leave. When combined with the impact of reduced availability of overtime in 2010, because of the introduction of unpaid leave, and savings arising from the implementation of the Report of the Review Body on Higher Remuneration, the employers’ side accepted that this measure would have enabled the Government to comfortably reach its stated target for payroll savings in 2010. This would be in addition to 2010 savings of €2.4 billion though the so-called pension levy, the continuation of the incentivised scheme for early retirement, and the ongoing moratorium on public service recruitment. The employers’ side also accepted that the Government’s objective on transformation would have been achieved through the sectoral documents. In the end, the Government’s decision to reject the deal revealed that its determination to drive down wages in the public and private sectors was the unshakeable cornerstone of its economic and social policy. The 2010 Budget introduced pay cuts averaging 7% across the public service, although this was subsequently drastically reduced for a small number of senior civil and public service managers. IMPACT sought legal advice on the imposition of the pay cuts. IMPACT and other unions strongly criticised the Budget which, according to ICTU calculations, took just €73 million from millionaires but over €760 million from social welfare recipients.
Croke Park talks Following the pay cuts, IMPACT served public service employers with notice of industrial action, which began at the end of January 2010. The action stopped cooperation with any new work practices or modernisation measures, introduced a ‘work to rule,’ and blocked work carried out on a voluntary basis outside of members’ formal contracts of employment. It also required members to refuse to cooperate with staff redeployment or take on work associated with newly vacant posts or unfilled promotional posts, and refuse to perform higher duties without the payment of appropriate allowances. On 8th March the ICTU Public Services Committee announced that there would be a second phase of the industrial action, which would include selective strikes and other forms of disruptive action.
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
9
Your income On foot of this, renewed discussions between public service management and unions got underway on 12th March. The talks were facilitated by Kieran Mulvey, Kevin Foley and other senior Labour Relations Commission staff. At the request of Kieran Mulvey, the unions agreed not to escalate the industrial action while the talks were underway, but the work-to-rule remained in place. The talks concluded in the early hours of 30th March 2010 and IMPACT sought clarifications on aspects of the proposals that emerged following its Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting of 15th April. The CEC decided that IMPACT members should have maximum information and clarity before being asked to vote on the package.
Overpaid public servants? The media says public servants have a cushy number and haven’t shouldered the burden of the recession. The Government says it’s against fair taxes for the wealthy as they would be a ‘disincentive’ to work. But look at the extra compulsory deductions that most public servants are paying compared to February 2009: ●
Pay cuts: Pay reduced for all public servants by between 5% and 16% since January 2009
●
‘Pension levy’: Reduced salaries by 6.5% to 8% for most public servants
●
Pension contributions: Typically amount to 6.5% of salary for those paying modified PRSI and 3-5.5% for those paying full PRSI
●
PRSI: Typically 4% for full PRSI payers and 0.9% for modified PRSI payers
●
Health levy: Increased by 2% in 2009. Now 4% for most public servants
●
Income levy: The 2% rate applies to most public servants
●
Income tax: 20% or 41% depending on income level and personal circumstances.
These deductions amount to an average of 30% of salary for most public servants. But the marginal rate that applies to the highest level of your income - assuming you were to get an increment or a promotion - is typically 60% for staff paid €40,000 or over and 42% for those earning €30,000. Use these figures next time someone tells you you’re making no contribution to clearing up the mess created by the top bankers, speculators and property developers. And the politicians who failed to regulate them. And the media that failed to question their fat tax breaks and shady dealings.
Benchmarking A small number of pay increases recommended by the Public Service Benchmarking Body in its report of December 2007 have not been implemented.
Minimum wage The statutory minimum wage has not been increased since July 2007 and currently stands at €8.65 an hour. Employers' organisations are lobbying hard for a reduction in the rate, which they claim is the second highest in the EU. However, when countries that set their minimum wages through agreement rather than legislation are factored in, the Irish minimum wage falls to sixth place. When rates are adjusted to take account of purchasing power, the Irish minimum wage falls to ninth place in the EU. Meanwhile, the Government is preparing to change the law to allow employers plead ‘inability to pay’ minimum pay rates set out in existing Employment Regulation Orders (EROs) and Registered Employment Agreements (REAs), which set minimum pay rates in certain sectors.
10
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
Your income Community sector pay IMPACT has been working with SIPTU and the Community Sector Employers’ Forum to resist funding and pay cuts in the community and voluntary sector and the union has taken a number of cases under the Payment of Wages Act where voluntary agencies have moved to impose pay cuts. Hundreds of IMPACT members were among 12,000 people who marched in Dublin against the cuts in September 2009. When the Government introduced its public service pay cuts in December 2009, it was immediately forced to amend the legislation because it had illegally imposed the pay cuts on thousands of community and voluntary sector workers who are not employed directly by the state. Subsequently, the Health Service Executive (HSE) instructed the community and voluntary sector agencies it funds to apply the public service pay cuts and said 2010 funding would reflect this. Although Tánaiste Mary Coughlan told the Dáil that the HSE letter had been sent in error, the HSE continued to seek to impose the policy and proceed with funding cuts. There is more detail on community sector pay in the services and enterprises chapter of this report.
Pensions Significant changes in pension arrangements for new entrants to the public service were announced in the 2010 Budget. The Government also announced that it was considering significant proposals for an end to the current link between pay increases and pension increases and move to inflation-based pension increases for both existing and future pensioners. Neither was discussed with the unions and IMPACT has indicated its strong opposition to any change in pension terms including arrangements for indexation of pensions in retirement. Legal advice was sought on the matter. The Government’s main proposed provisions for the new single scheme for new entrants include raising the minimum public service pension age from 65 to 66 years, setting a maximum retirement age of 70 years and basing pensions on ‘career average’ earnings rather than final salary as currently applies. Career average pension terms apply in the British civil service and the accrual rate used and the method of revaluation determines whether they represent an improvement or disimprovement. It is proposed that other details of the single new scheme would be considered by Government in finalising relevant legislation following consultation between the Department of Finance and public service employers and unions. In developing the new scheme the Government says it will be considering the rate of employee pension contribution, the pension accrual rate applying to pensionable pay taking account of entitlement to a state pension, and fast accrual terms for those grades with early retirement ages. The unions have decided to engage with the management side in an industrial relations framework, as opposed to a consultative process, with the right to refer certain areas of disagreement to the Labour Relations Commission and the Labour Court. IMPACT has had to confront very serious pension’s problems in employments with funded schemes in the commercial state, private and community and voluntary sectors. Serious deficits have arisen generally from a combination of inadequate funding, poor fund performance, increased longevity and pay and pension increased exceeding actuary’s assumptions.
Travel and subsistence In March 2009 the Government imposed revised rates that cut travel and subsistence payments by 25% across the board as part of its measures to reduce public spending. IMPACT has since lodged a claim at civil service General Council. The union says that the cuts breached the agreed formula for assessing travel and subsistence rates. The claim was rejected by management and is now awaiting a hearing at arbitration. No date has been received yet for the hearing.
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
11
Your income Public service staffing In March 2009, the Department of Finance issued draconian employment controls across the public services, which included the following measures: ●
A general moratorium on recruitment, promotions and acting appointments to almost all grades
●
The application of this general moratorium to fixed-term posts and to the renewal of fixed-term contracts
●
The requirement of prior sanction from the finance minister, on an “exceptional basis,” for the filling of any post covered by the moratorium
●
Any such filling to be achieved through redeployment.
IMPACT immediately sought clarification of how it was proposed to interpret and implement the circular and expressed strong concerns about their negative impact on services and staff. Incentivised early retirement and career break schemes were also introduced in 2009. Between them the measures resulted in thousands of public service job losses in 2009 and 2010.
McCarthy report and OECD report on Irish public services In November 2008, the Government established a group to make proposals on the reallocation and rationalisation of public service staff on foot of an earlier OECD report on Ireland’s public services. This fourperson ‘special group on public service numbers and expenditure programmes’ was made up of economists and ex-bankers and was chaired by Colm McCarthy. It reported in July 2009. The economist claimed his recommendations for a cut of 17,300 staff and the rationalisation of state agencies would save €5.3 billion or 9.3% of current spending. Describing the job cuts as “the minimum that must be achieved,” he said compulsory redundancies and relocation could be necessary in the health sector. Although pay was not part of its terms of reference, the report said there should be a new benchmarking exercise with international comparisons of public service pay rates, which could recommend reductions in public service pay. The report also recommended cutting bonuses and premium payments and measures to drastically reduce the value of public service pensions including raising the minimum pension age, increasing staff contributions, modifying the earnings link, removing fast accrual rates and calculating pensions on ‘career average’ rather than final salary. It said these measures would not bring immediate savings “unless they are applied to the existing cadre of public servants and pensioners.” It called for “an appropriate contribution” to come from existing public service pensioners, as well as an increase in pension age for public servants and state pensioners. The report again strayed from its terms of reference by making recommendations on a range of industrial relations issues including the abolition of the ‘common recruitment pool’ and the tearing up of a range of agreements covering working conditions, particularly in the health area. From the morning before the report was published, IMPACT launched a pro-active media response that gained massive coverage in press and broadcast media in the week after the report’s launch. IMPACT strongly attacked the report’s recommendations for displaying no understanding of the needs of citizens or the challenges of public service delivery. It said the Government was not bound by the report, which targeted the most vulnerable in society and threatened poorer services for all with no contribution from those who caused the recession through their greed and recklessness.
Employment and equity United behind an Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) strategy, IMPACT campaigned for a ‘social solidarity’ framework for economic recovery. As part of its ‘Better, Fairer Way’ campaign, which focuses on the economy, jobs, incomes and public service, ICTU called a day of action on 6th November 2009 with street protests in Dublin and elsewhere. ICTU also launched a nationwide advertising campaign as part of its campaign of opposition to Government attempts to place the burden of economic adjustment entirely on working people and welfare recipients. You can read more on www.getupstandup.ie. IMPACT’s Communications Unit contributed to the production of Shifting the Burden, an ICTU critique of Government policy on pay, pensions and benefits published in March 2010.
12
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
IMPACT members helped launch IMPACT’s pioneering public service campaign in 2009. Pictured are: Amanda O’Hara, Teresa Hudson, Margaret Keane, Eileen Brennan, Fionnuala Kelly.
IMPACT general secretary designate Shay Cody launched the Charter Group publication on the Lisbon treaty and workplace rights.
Your union and your rights Recruitment and organisation IMPACT had over 63,600 members at the end of December 2009, compared to 58,000 at the end of 2007, an increase of over 9%. However, the union expects membership numbers to drop in the coming years because of the moratorium on public service recruitment and the effects of the recession on private companies and voluntary sector organisations. The union has to recruit around 4,000 members each year just to replace those who leave through retirement or other reasons. Recruitment and organisation remain a top priority for IMPACT staff and branches.
Staffing National secretary Tom Brady retired in December 2009 and Peter McLoone is to retire from his post as IMPACT general secretary in the second half of 2010. The post of general secretary designate was advertised in the national press and, following interviews, the Central Executive Committee (CEC) appointed Shay Cody as general secretary designate. The appointment has to be ratified by the 2010 biennial delegate conference. Following Shay’s appointment, current IMPACT national secretary for health Kevin Callinan won a competition to become the new deputy general secretary designate. He will assume the role of deputy once Shay takes over as general secretary. It was subsequently announced that the current national secretary for the civil service, Louise O’Donnell, will take on the Health and Welfare portfolio when Kevin moves into his new role. Two new national secretaries, Eamonn Donnelly and Matt Staunton, were also appointed following a competition. Matt will replace Shay in his services and enterprises division role and Eamonn will replace Louise in the civil service. Josephine Fogerty (May 2009), Stella Griffin (January 2010) and Janet Hughes (September 2009) were appointed as assistant general secretaries. Executive assistant Vera Smyth retired in April 2009 after working in the union for over 40 years. It was with great sadness that IMPACT members and staff heard of the death of former general secretary Harold O’Sullivan who died on 20th October 2009.
Staff pay and conditions The pay and conditions of IMPACT staff are related to local government grades. Clerical staff are related to local government clerical and administrative grades III to VII. Industrial staff are related to the following grades: General secretary (Cork county manager); deputy general secretary (county manager, bottom grade); national secretaries (assistant county manager, lowest scale). Assistant general secretaries are paid the same as county secretaries. The full scales are available on the IMPACT website. Although IMPACT staff are not covered by the legislation that introduced the public service pay cuts, senior staff have opted to take a voluntary pay cut to reflect the pay cuts imposed on their related public service grades. The IMPACT staff pension scheme is a contributory funded scheme and staff have paid a contribution of 9.5% of gross salary for many years. Like most other private funded schemes, the IMPACT scheme is in deficit. The scheme benefits aspire to match the main, but not all, provisions of the public service pension schemes. However, benefits are not guaranteed. Staff travel and subsistence is paid in accordance with civil service regulations. The relevant travel and subsistence rates are set out in appendix two of this report and the total expenditure on staff travel and subsistence is set out in appendix eight.
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
15
Your union and your rights Training IMPACT continued to increase the amount of training it provides to activists and will continue to do so in future. In a special training project with SIPTU and the TEEU, the union secured significant funding from Skillnets, the state-funded agency set up to help companies develop more relevant and effective answers to their training and development needs. This funding will be substantially reduced in 2010. IMPACT has also worked with a number of other unions in the ‘women at work’ Skillnet. The traditional limited funding from FÁS, which came to the union via ICTU, is unlikely to be available in future. Training courses provided in the past two years included employment law, leadership, conflict resolution, communication skills, equal opportunities, health and safety, workplace representatives’ skills, new members’ training, and courses for new activists and newer branch officers. Some specialist off-the-shelf training modules have been developed and made available to branches. Distance learning courses are being developed to facilitate all members to access specialist training, irrespective of location. A dedicated web-based resource is being tested. This will provide training and other relevant resource materials and information for activists.
Communications The new IMPACT magazine Work & Life was launched at the 2008 biennial delegate conference and has been well received by members and branches. The quarterly magazine is supplemented by monthly e-bulletins. Originally designed for branch activists, the e-bulletin is currently sent to almost 13,000 IMPACT members who have registered to receive them. A large number of supplementary bulletins were also sent in 2009, particularly on issues relating to the union’s campaign to protect pay, pensions and public services. Over 23,000 members have now registered to access the ‘members-only’ pages of the IMPACT website. The Communications Unit was heavily involved in the campaigns, demonstrations and information provision related to IMPACT ballots and industrial action in 2009-2010, including a major public relations and advertising campaign (see next section) and the organisation of a mass lobby of TDs in March 2009. The unit also contributed to campaigns and lobbying to protect pay, jobs and services in the community sector and in the special needs assistants’ campaign. The 2009-2010 period was the busiest ever in terms of proactive media work and media requests and the union achieved a record amount of press and broadcast coverage. An IMPACT initiative led to better coordination of media work among public service unions while ICTU established a regular contact forum for communications staff of all unions. Working relations with Ireland’s small number of specialist industrial relations journalists continue to be fair and productive, which cannot be said of the increasingly shrill tenor of most media treatment of public servants and trade unions. In October and November 2009, the Communications Unit held a series of half-day media training workshops for members in locations around the country. The aim was to prepare members for media interviews during the November industrial action. The workshops were well attended and, as a result, a large number of those who took part gave interviews to local media during the industrial action. A few of them have since participated in a broad range of local and national media interviews, telling individual stories of their work and how the pay cuts have affected them. This has been helpful in overcoming some of the widespread stereotyping of public servants in a lot of media coverage. A number of publications were produced by the Communications Unit including biennial and divisional reports, the Welcome to IMPACT booklet, The IMPACT desk calendar and wall planner, and the 2009 and 2010 IMPACT pocket diaries.
Defending public servants IMPACT launched a €450,000 advertising campaign in October 2009, designed to bolster its defence of public services and the people that provide them. Full-page newspaper adverts appeared in every national paper on 7th October and a massive billboard advertising campaign took place in major cities and towns across the country. This was followed up with advertising inside buses and DART trains, and a leaflet drop to over a million households. The campaign also featured some imaginative ‘viral’ communications on Facebook and the IMPACT website. The theme of the campaign was ‘Support IMPACT’s battle to save your vital public services.’ It highlighted the vital work that public servants do and the dangers of cutting services and pay. The union also took full-page newspaper ads against the so-called ‘pension levy’ in February 2009 and coordinated joint union newspaper adverts about the public service strike in November 2009.
16
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
Your union and your rights The campaign package also involved focus group research and opinion polling, which have helped shape the union’s campaign messages and strategy. The union hired the Public Communications Centre (PCC) to help develop the campaign. As well as working with IMPACT on earlier public service campaigns, PCC have run successful campaigns for Trócaire, Save the Children, Older and Bolder, Citizen Traveller and Dial to Stop Drug Dealing.
Youth committee IMPACT established a new youth committee early in 2010. With representatives from each of the union’s five divisions, the committee will campaign to attract young workers into IMPACT and increase their participation in the union. The committee reports directly to the union’s elected executive committee. The sub-committee outlined a number of initiatives including producing union publications targeted at young workers, organising a high-profile national event, negotiating commercial discounts attractive to young people and conducting surveys to see what young people want from their union. The committee is also working closely with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions’ youth committee, which coordinates young activists from all the unions.
UPTCS history IMPACT will publish Scientific Service: A History of the Union of Professional and Technical Civil Servants 1920-1990 by Martin Maguire at its 2010 biennial delegate conference. This follows the earlier publication of Martin Maguire’s history of the Local Government and Public Services Union (LGPSU) and Sean Redmond’s history of the Irish Municipal Employees Trade Union.
Irish Congress of Trade Unions Peter McLoone, Shay Cody and Louise O’Donnell were re-elected to ICTU’s Executive Council in 2009. Peter McLoone is also a member of ICTU’s General Purposes Committee and chairs its Public Services Committee. IMPACT assistant general secretary Dessie Robinson is an ICTU nominee on the board of the Health and Safety Authority. Angela Kirk is an ICTU nominee to the National Centre for Partnership and Performance. Louise O’Donnell resigned as an ICTU representative on the board of the Equality Authority in January 2009 in protest at a 43% cut in the Authority’s budget and the Government’s treatment of it former chief executive Niall Crowley. ICTU’s 2009 biennial delegate conference adopted IMPACT motions on public services and equality of education opportunities. Details of IMPACT representation on other ICTU committees is set out in appendix seven of this report.
Supporting the community IMPACT’s small grants fund for Dublin’s north east inner city donated €50,000 to intercultural and education projects in both 2009 and 2010. Since its establishment in 2006 the fund has distributed over €200,000 in small grants to over 80 projects in the locality. A short publication about the fund and the projects it helps is available on www.impact.ie.
Europe and the world IMPACT official Denis Rohan represented Irish unions in talks over the successful merger between the two international trade union organisations Public Services International (PSI) and the European Public Services Union (EPSU). The EPSU-PSI Europe merger was agreed unanimously at the EPSU congress in June 2009, with EPSU effectively becoming the European region of PSI. IMPACT is represented on EPSU sectoral committees for health and social services, local and regional government, and public administration, and contributes to its campaigns work. In Ireland, IMPACT led the EPSU ‘public service pledge’ campaign, which asked European Parliamentary candidates to support a set of framework laws that recognise the special role of public services in the European Union and called for initiatives to protect and promote quality in public service delivery. The union wrote to all Irish candidates and seven signed the pledge. They were: Nessa Childers (Labour – Ireland East), Proinsias de Rossa (Labour – Dublin), Marian Harkin (Independent – North West), Jim Higgins (FG – North West), Joe Higgins (Socialist – Dublin), Paschal Mooney (FF – North West) and Susan O’Keefe (Labour – North West).
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
17
Your union and your rights Members of IMPACT’s European affairs sub-committee met nine of Ireland’s 12 MEPs in Brussels in March 2010, including representatives of Fine Gael, Labour and Fianna Fáil, as well as independent Marian Harkin. The objective was to establish contact with the political groups and individual MEPs, identify general issues of concern that would likely be before the Parliament over the next five years, and establish a channel for further dialogue on specific issues as they arise over the lifetime of the Parliament. The IMPACT team raised public service issues, proposed changes to the working time directive, European Parliament proposals for improved maternity pay and parental leave, workplace protections and union representation rights postLisbon, and a number of international issues. IMPACT was part of an ICTU team that met with officials of the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment over proposals for the implementation of the EU services directive into Irish law. The Government missed the December 2009 deadline for implementation of the directive. Trade unions also won an important victory in December 2008 when the European Parliament rejected proposed amendments to working time laws. Prior to the vote IMPACT wrote to all Irish MEPs urging them to reject the proposed changes, which would have led to weaker protections for workers in Ireland and elsewhere. The changes would have preserved an existing opt-out, which was known to have led to workers doing excessive hours in Britain and elsewhere. It would also have brought adverse changes to the way oncall working time is determined as well as extending the period over which employers could average working time. There followed a conciliation process between the Parliament and the European Council, but this failed to reach agreement and the proposed amendments fell when the Parliament was dissolved in 2009. The issue is expected to re-emerge in the new Parliament. IMPACT and other unions across Europe are opposing European Commission proposals for cross-border health care because they would give market considerations prominence over the provision of quality public health services. IMPACT wrote to all Irish MEPs on the matter and EPSU engaged in extensive lobbying. But the proposal was supported by a majority of members of the relevant European Parliamentary committees in 2009. In the summer of 2008, an EU agreement led to the adoption of a European directive on agency workers in December 2009 which, once transposed into domestic legislation, will see agency workers entitled to the same pay and conditions as permanent staff. Unions across Europe have fought for these protections for years and ICTU is pressing for the directive to be implemented quickly in Ireland, even though EU rules give the Government until December 2011 to transpose it into Irish law. ICTU has urged the Government to change the law and issue guidance to employers after the European Court of Justice ruled that workers on long-term sick leave continue to accrue their rights to paid annual leave even if their sick leave goes beyond the six-month limit set down in Irish legislation. The ruling, which is based on the European working time directive, is immediately binding on public service employers but requires an amendment of Irish law to ensure full rights for other workers. Along with many other unions, IMPACT’s Central Executive Committee decided to campaign for a ‘yes’ vote in the second Lisbon referendum. The union supported the Treaty because it gave legal effect to the European Charter of Fundamental Rights, which includes a range of enhanced rights to union representation and workplace protection. IMPACT funded the production and launch of a ‘Charter Group’ document on Lisbon and workplace rights. Lisbon and Your Rights at Work argued that working people should back the Lisbon Treaty because it would help trade unions to win improved workplace rights and employment protections. It refuted claims that Lisbon would damage any existing workplace rights and protections.
Developing world fund IMPACT’s developing world fund donated over €500,000 to trade union and education projects in the developing world in 2009 and will do the same in 2010. Over €5 million has been donated since the fund was established almost 30 years ago. All IMPACT members contribute to the fund, which receives 3% of all the union’s membership subscriptions. Most of the money goes to medium and long term projects aimed at supporting trade unions and community projects. The projects are quite diverse from gender campaigns in the South America’s southern cone, pay equity campaigns in Brazil, workers’ rights initiatives in the Middle East, and trade union rights in Turkey. Most large projects supported by IMPACT’s fund are managed and developed by the international trade union federation Public Service International. Separately, IMPACT’s Central Executive Committee donated €50,000 to Concern’s Haiti appeal following the 2010 earthquakes. The union’s central executive committee also asked IMPACT branches to make donations.
18
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
Your union and your rights
IMPACT members have donated over €5 million to education and trade union development projects around the globe since the union’s developing world fund was established almost 30 years ago.
Safety at work Despite the challenges of the economic downturn, health and safety continues to be a priority for the union in all employments. In the last two years we have seen a considerable amount of legislative change and the union and its officials continue to work to ensure that legislation is implemented to provide safe places of work for all members. The number of workers killed in workplace accidents in 2009 was the lowest since the Health and Safety Authority was formed. But as this report went to print, 10 people had already been killed in workplace accidents in 2010. IMPACT official Dessie Robinson is one of ICTU’s nominees on the Health and Safety Authority, which continues to focus on occupational health issues with particular emphasis on bullying, stress, noise vibration, manual handling and first aid.
Finance and administration The IMPACT subscription has remained at 0.8% of basic salary. The subscription ceiling is linked to the minimum point of the local authority grade VI scale, which increased to €47,700 in 2009 and fell to €44,800 in 2010 following the cuts in public service salaries. Retired members pay 0.4% of their occupational pension with the same maximum ceiling. A number of branches and vocational groups also apply an additional levy to help them with their costs. The union’s Central Executive Committee is aware of the fall in members’ earnings, due to the so-called ‘pension levy’ and is seeking conference approval to reduce the rate of subscription to reflect this should union finances allow for this. Members’ subscriptions are allocated to three funds: General fund Dispute fund Developing world fund
87% 10% 3%
Branches receive 10% of their members’ subscriptions together with a capitation grant, which is based on branch size. Vocational groups are funded through block grants, plus the direct reimbursement of expenses for attending negotiations. The block grants are based on applications from vocational groups. The union’s finances continue to be healthy. Despite falling share values, the dispute fund continues to be in a very healthy state and reached €27.3 million at the end of 2009. A summary of the accounts for 2009, with comparative figures for 2008, are published as appendix eight of this report. Copies of the full accounts for 2008 and 2009 are issued to all branches and are available to members on request.
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
19
Your union and your rights Additional financial resources were required to improve services to members by hiring more staff in health and elsewhere over the last two years. Additional space in head office is being used to accommodate the extra staff and to provide office and other facilities for branch activists. The union’s membership database has continued to be developed and enhanced and more up-to-date membership data is available to branches, on request, in a range of electronic formats.
Corporate governance Work continued on a new IMPACT corporate governance framework, but due to pressure of other work it has not yet been finished. The aim is to ensure that members receive the best possible value for money for their union subscriptions. When it’s completed, the framework will cover all the union’s systems, processes and procedures for financial and organisational matters. It will also include the introduction of a risk assessment system, codes of conduct and ethics, reporting and accountability arrangements, legislative compliance arrangements, and an internal financial and organisational audit function. A pilot internal audit scheme was established and it examined a small number of financial and organisational matters. It reported to the Central Executive Committee, which accepted and implemented its recommendations. A decision is required as to whether to continue this scheme on a permanent basis and, if so, how it will operate to supplement, but not unnecessarily duplicate, the union’s other financial governance arrangements.
Equal opportunities The past two years saw a major rolling back of the State’s commitment to equality with the budgets for the Equality Authority and the Human Rights Commission slashed well beyond those of other state agencies. The assault on equal opportunities infrastructure also saw the abolition of the National Consultative Council on Racism and Interculturalism and the subsuming of the Combat Poverty Agency into the civil service. The level of cuts to the Equality Authority budget made its role impossible, which led to the resignation of its chief executive Niall Crowley and many of its board members including the ICTU and IBEC representatives. The only bright light was the transfer of responsibility of the equality brief from the Department of Justice to the newly revised Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs. The union’s equal opportunities committee continued to progress the Nexus report on gender equality. Its main recommendations included: ●
Developing the role of workplace representatives
●
Introducing mentoring for newer and more established activists
●
Providing ongoing support and liaison including training and information on how to access supports
●
Reviewing union meeting practices including times, venues and agendas
●
Formally recognising volunteerism within the union
●
Developing role models
●
Taking practical measures to improve gender balance at all levels
●
Developing an action plan, with monitoring, to ensure these recommendations are given effect.
It was agreed that these should be progressed and mainstreamed as part of the general union restructuring and re-organisation proposals. The committee is also updating the union’s equality manual and the initial sections of this are now available. It was agreed that this manual is best produced electronically rather than in print format. This allows it to be made available to more members at little or no cost, with easy updating in the future.
Retired members A vocational group has been established for IMPACT’s retired members. The vocational group is representative of the broad spectrum of the retired membership and has been working on many issues of concern to retired members including occupational and state pension entitlements, the government’s ‘fair deal’ for people in nursing homes, and a range of public services available to older people.
20
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
IMPACT’s young members’ committee got off the blocks in early 2010 Its inaugural members Mark Mulhall, Amanda O’Hara, Mark Finlay, Joe May, Ciara Browne and Brian Furey are pictured here.
IMPACT civil service members in a joint union picket at the gates of Dรกil Eireann during the national public service strike in November 2009
Civil service Performance Management and Development System (PMDS) The unions deferred seeking a review of PMDS in 2008 but management requested that the sub-committee be re-convened in 2009 to discuss issues in relation to PMDS. Management was anxious to discuss performance targets while the unions had major concerns about the appeals process, particularly the lack of an independent review procedure. There were no further meetings or discussions because of the pay talks. Management has set up a PMDS review group but the unions are not participating in it.
Decentralisation There were three meetings of the decentralisation sub-committee in 2009. There is still no agreement on the draft loss of earnings paper, which was issued in 2009. At the request of the unions management produced lists of decentralised locations that were complete and those that were being deferred.
Work-life balance The work-life balance network was set up to address policy issues, particularly issues raised by departments and offices in the work-life balance review. The network was finalising its report as this report went to print. In April 2009 the Department of Finance announced details of a special civil service incentivised career break scheme, which allows established and unestablished civil servants who have satisfactorily completed two years’ continuous service to apply. The career break or special leave, which is without pay, must be taken for three years. Special leave under this scheme does not count as service and does not reckon for increments or towards qualifying service for annual leave or promotion. Neither the special leave nor the incentive payment counts for superannuation purposes.
Bereavement leave In August 2009 the Department of Finance issued a circular setting out details of special paid leave which may be allowed in the event of the death of a relative. The scheme allows five working days leave in the case of a spouse including a cohabiting partner, a child including adopted children and children being cared for on the basis of “in loco parentis,” or any person in a relationship of domestic dependency including same sex partners. It allows three working days in the case of other immediate relatives and one working day in the case of an uncle, aunt, niece or nephew. It also allows bereavement leave of five days for fathers in the event of stillborn or pre-natal death of a child after 24 weeks’ pregnancy. Special leave of up to three days may be granted on the death of a more distant relative in specified exceptional circumstances. Management also has discretion to increase the available leave if a person has to travel abroad to make funeral arrangements.
Shorter working year scheme In April 2009 the department introduced the shorter working year scheme, which replaces the term-time scheme. The purpose of the new scheme is to allow civil servants to balance working arrangements with family and outside commitments. Under the scheme special unpaid leave is available in periods of between two and 13 consecutive weeks. The leave can be taken as a continuous period or as a maximum of three separate periods of not less than two weeks and not exceeding 13 weeks in total.
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
23
Civil service Incentivised early retirement scheme An incentivised early retirement scheme was also introduced in April 2009 to facilitate a permanent, structural reduction in numbers of staff serving in the civil service and other public service bodies.
McKenna judgement Following a ruling of the European Court of Justice and a Labour Court determination, new civil service pregnancy-related sick leave entitlements became effective on 27th April 2006. These amendments are set out in Circular 15/2009. Further amendments to the sick leave scheme are required following another European Court of Justice ruling which said that annual leave should continue to accrue while a person is absent on sick leave. A claim was presented at General Council and is with the department for response.
Crèches A new civil service crèche opened at Mahon in Cork. The crèche, which is run by Nurture Childcare and Early Learning Centre, brings to seven the number of crèches operated under the civil service childcare initiative. From January 2009 the department transferred responsibility for the building and maintenance programme for civil service crèches to the Office of Public Works. The Department of Finance continues to retain responsibility for policy matters relating to existing crèches, including the allocation of licences to crèche operators, and has an overall supervisory role including monitoring the standard of service provided by the operators. The civil service childcare initiative board agreed that there would be no increase in fees for 2010.
Disabilities The sub-committee met on several occasions during 2009. The code of practice remains on the agenda for both the sub-committee and the disabilities network which meets on a regular basis. A bi-lateral meeting to discuss the role of visually impaired telephonists and the re-opening of the verification process is to take place in 2010. Some new disability liaison officers were trained in 2009 and an updated list of all disability liaison officers is to be circulated in 2010. A conference on mental wellbeing in the workplace took place in Dublin Castle in January 2010. Updates are regularly supplied to the website www.disabilities.gov.ie.
Health and safety There were no meetings of the health and safety sub-committee during 2009.
Travel and subsistence There were two meetings of the motor mileage sub-committee in 2009. At the March meeting management said that the Government intended to reduce the travel and subsistence rates by 25% as part of its imposed package of measures to save €1.4 billion from the public service pay bill. The reductions applied from March 2009. The unions expressed their dissatisfaction with the decision and said that such unilateral action was unacceptable. The committee met in September to discuss a union claim seeking a review of the travel and subsistence rates in accordance with the agreed formula under General Council reports. A General Council report concerning a revision in the travel and subsistence rates for 2009 was signed in October 2009. This report recorded disagreement. The unions have now forwarded a statement of case and terms of reference in a claim for a review of the motor travel and home subsistence rates to the civil service arbitration board. At its March meeting the management side also indicated its intention to reduce the subsistence rate by 25%. The unions again expressed their dissatisfaction with the Government decision. A claim for a return to the agreed formula for travel and subsistence was made to General Council and, following a sub-committee meeting in September and the disagreed General Council report, the unions have now lodged a case with the civil service arbitration board.
24
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
Civil service Cycle to work scheme In May 2009 the Minister for Finance announced the introduction of the civil service cycle to work scheme, which effectively gives employees’ tax relief for the purchase of a new bicycle or bicycle safety equipment up to a value of ₏1,000 every five years.
Grievance procedure The unions met to discuss a management draft report on the grievance procedure. As the draft was not approved by the unions it was agreed to meet management again for discussions. Following a change in personnel on the management side, a meeting was held and management agreed to provide a further document for staff side discussion early in 2010.
Arbitration board and adjudicator James Connolly (chairperson), D Hunter (Government nominee) and Tom Wall (staff nominee) were appointed as members of the arbitration board in June 2009. The staff side agreed to the re-nomination of the board from 1st July 2009 to 30th June 2010, but the list of nominees had not gone to Government as this report went to press. James Connolly resigned as chairperson and no new chairperson has been agreed. The staff side agreed to the re-appointment of Kieran McGovern as adjudicator from June 2009 to June 2010.
Disciplinary code appeals board Inge Clissman SC was re-appointed as chairperson of the civil service disciplinary appeals board for 20092010. Tom Fallon was appointed deputy chairperson.
Staff panel and general council There were ten meetings of the General Staff Panel during the year. A draft document was agreed and sent to management for observations following an October 2008 meeting on the proposed move from the conciliation and arbitration scheme to using state industrial relations agencies. Following a meeting in June, management indicated that legal changes would be necessary. It is hoped that a meeting will be held in early 2010 to progress the matter. Four meetings of General Council took place during the year.
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
25
IMPACT member Doreen Bracken who is a former physiotherapy manager at Dublin’s Connolly hospital “Treating patients early is really vital and means they will be mobile and homeward bound much quicker. A long wait for treatment can lead to treatable conditions becoming chronic,” says Doreen.
Health and welfare Public service campaign The breakdown of the national agreement in February 2009, the collapse of talks in December 2009, and the renewed discussions in March 2010 all left their mark on the health service and its industrial relations. Huge organisational effort went into the national ballots held in March and October 2009, associated workplace meetings, and the campaign aimed at recovering pay cuts and securing guarantees on pay, jobs and pensions. As well as casting a shadow over every issue, this activity obviously took priority over other industrial relations matters and the climate was hardly conducive for successful claims in any event.
HSE reorganisation In the summer of 2009 IMPACT responded positively to an HSE request to discuss various organisational changes at the Labour Relations Commission. Meetings took place in October and the union confirmed its willingness to review elements of the 2004 framework agreement and to work intensively through the different items on the change agenda including the proposed integrated services programme. The union was prepared to consider amendments to the aspects of the existing agreement that set out procedures, so long as the protections remained intact. These talks stalled with the collapse of discussions with the Government on a broader transformation agenda.
Moratorium on recruitment and promotions The Government decision to impose a moratorium on recruitment and promotions hit the health service hard. The associated employment control framework envisaged a reduction in overall headcount and, despite exemptions for some grades represented by IMPACT, there is little evidence to suggest that these jobs have been filled. A new employment control framework unveiled in April 2010 envisages a further reduction in health employment of over 1,500 this year.
Redeployment The HSE has been aggressively pressing the issue of redeployment since May 2009, linking it to the impact of the moratorium. Various sets of discussions between the HSE and the health unions failed to produce agreement, although there was some progress on the voluntary aspects of a scheme. Again this issue was overtaken by the national picture.
Staff schemes In an attempt to put pressure on unions to change their stance on redeployment, the HSE unilaterally suspended the incentivised scheme for early retirement, the incentivised career break scheme and the shorter working year scheme shortly after they were announced. The HSE tried to create the entirely untrue impression that unions were blocking the operation of the schemes.
HSE national service plan 2010 It was early March before the HSE’s 2010 service plan was approved and made public. The approach to delivering services within the reduced resources allocated by the Government is based on the following planning principles and focus:
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
27
Health and welfare ●
Deliver quality and safe sustainable services
●
reconfigure core services and deliver an appropriate balance between hospital and community services
●
further develop the role of clinicians in defining and delivering care processes nationally
●
maintain value for money derived from previous years and budgets and continue to drive further value, driving efficiency through best practice benchmarking
●
support the development of a flexible workforce in line with public sector reform initiatives
●
reduce pay spend and employment levels in a structured manner.
With or without a national public service agreement these objectives, coupled with a reduced budget of just over €14 billion, will mean another difficult year even as envisaged staff reductions lead to savings in the pay bill.
Employee engagement The absence in the service plan of sufficient recognition of staff dedication and the labour intensive nature of health services continues to be a disappointment. This attitude is coupled with a reluctant tolerance of trade unions which fails to really respect or value their representative role and contribution. The HSE appears to have adopted the brand of employee relations found in the worst private sector firms, including writing directly to staff in an attempt to undermine unions when it doesn't get its way. IMPACT has responded strongly on occasions when the HSE has attempted to undermine staff and their unions in this way.
Expert group on resource allocation and financing IMPACT made a submission to the expert group on resource allocation and financing in the health sector in July 2009. The union argued that the level of private health insurance in Ireland reflected concern over poor or delayed access to the public system and argued that this expenditure could be redirected to public health provision, in the form of ring-fenced taxation or a universal insurance model, provided that current contributors were convinced that a new system would mean good access and better quality. The union also said that the two-tier health system had been at the core of policy while opportunities to develop a system involving universal access had been foregone. It cited the 2001 health strategy, which failed to examine the funding options in any serious way. The expert group is due to report shortly.
Flu pandemic In common with other unions representing nurses and public health doctors, IMPACT agreed to emergency measures in response to the threatened H1N1 pandemic. Clerical, administrative and other staff agreed to redeploy to mass vaccination clinics for the duration of the campaign. This was done on the basis of an HSE commitment that staff would return to their original assignments when the campaign was completed and that any other issues emerging would be resolved.
Centralisation of medical cards The HSE decided to centralise arrangements for the processing of medical cards for people aged over 70 when the Government removed universal eligibility for this group. By early 2009 this had developed into a decision to centralise all medical card applications. Despite repeated attempts, IMPACT could not obtain any satisfactory explanation for this change. The HSE represented it as a move to reduce staffing and facilitate redeployment to other services. However, questions regarding the quality of the service including accessibility, responsiveness, flexibility and personal interaction, were largely ignored. As the HSE moved to begin the centralisation process, IMPACT members voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action. Following proposals from the Labour Relations Commission in August some staff in two local health offices agreed to move and those applications were centralised.
28
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
Health and welfare Around that time IMPACT commenced a major lobbying initiative and wrote to every national and local political representative in the country. The union received several expressions of support. Further contacts with party health spokespeople, submissions outlining the union's case, and the chaotic centralised process put pressure on the HSE to justify its decision at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health. In April 2010 that committee produced a report, which is now under consideration.
Community welfare service In September 2009 the Labour Relations Commission invited the unions and management to a conciliation process on the proposal to transfer community welfare services from the HSE to the Department of Social and Family Affairs. During a number of conciliation conferences between September and December 2009, the unions identified approximately 30 issues that needed clarification. Fundamental issues like pay, superannuation, grading, allowances, career structure, work location, hours of work, staffing numbers, annual leave and many more were tabled for a response from management. The conciliation officer acknowledged that clarification on these issues would have to be provided in advance of any proposed move. But we are still waiting for a comprehensive response. Management indicated that all staff, including clerical, administrative and appeals officers, would be transferring and so representatives from these grades joined community welfare officer representatives in the discussions. No conciliation conference took place in January of this year as the unions reflected and communicated with members on the breakdown of the national talks in December 2009. The commencement of industrial action at the end of January has resulted in the further deferral of contacts in the Labour Relations Commission.
Standardised leave in the voluntary sector Under the terms of the HSE-IMPACT framework agreement, and separately under the Towards 2016 agreement, the union was committed to discussing and agreeing standardised terms and conditions for new entrants to the HSE. Agreement was eventually reached on annual leave and working hours after a long facilitated process. The union stressed the importance of application to the hospitals and agencies funded under section 38 of the 2004 Health Act, given the emphasis on a single health system. But, despite his view that there was a fairness and equity case to answer, the facilitator said this was outside the scope of the discussions. Once the agreement was made, the union lodged claims on the employer and when they were rejected pursued the issue to the Labour Relations Commission and the Labour Court. In September 2009 the Labour Court rejected the claim on the basis that these were separate employers with their own terms and conditions. The separate nature of the employers was never disputed and it appears that the claim was knocked on a technicality. A ballot of members was unnecessary because the recommendation was clearly unacceptable. The union has been endeavouring to find a new way to have this longstanding injustice addressed and resolved.
Building union strength It has been a difficult year in many respects and the pressure on branch activists and union staff has been tremendous. Given the demands on the union at all levels it is understandable, though disappointing, that the 'building union strength' training initiative launched at the 2009 divisional conference suffered. It is now evident that the trade union movement, including IMPACT, needs to renew its organisation and the participation of members if it is to be adequately equipped to deal with the many challenges we face and to deliver on our core values for the workplace and society. For the foreseeable future we all need to place as much emphasis on organisational and development issues as industrial relations and policy matters.
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
29
IMPACT members picket Dublin City Council’s civic offices during the national public service strike in November 2009
Local government, education and local services The Local Government, Education and Local Services divisional executive set out its objective of continuing to improve organisation, communication and recruitment at the 2009 divisional conference. The newly elected cathaoirleach Tom Murray pledged to improve the links between the executive and branches during the executive’s time in office. The division has seen continued substantial membership growth over the last two years, much of this coming from newly created branches in the education area. Membership in the division had increased from 15,000 members in May 2007 to over 18,400 in May 2009.
Partnership Significant concerns about the benefits of the partnership process arose during the divisional conference and the executive undertook to review the process. IMPACT has driven the review of performance management development proposals and secured a review of the process, which involves supervisors and staff. The ‘handling significant change’ protocol was used by the division to secure agreements from employers regarding public spending cuts in the 2008–2009 period.
Local government reform Legislation has now been published to give effect to the Reform of Local Government white paper. The changes are largely limited to the creation of directly elected mayors. The division has criticised the failure of the legislation to address the problem of local government funding, which lies at the heart of the problems of service delivery in local government. The McCarthy report on public service numbers and expenditure recommended the abolition of up to 12 local authorities. The division believes this would further reduce the connection between citizens and local government. The report also recommended a €100 million reduction in local government funding at a time when traditional areas of local government income have fallen dramatically.
Services and job losses Some 5,000 jobs were lost in the local government sector between June 2008 and December 2009. These jobs were providing vitally needed services to local communities. While IMPACT has worked through the ‘handling significant change’ protocol to minimize the effects of job losses, the scale of the cuts is likely to affect local and community services for years to come. IMPACT has ensured that temporary workers with more than two years continuous service will receive statutory redundancy payments. The union is currently pursuing a claim at the Labour Relations Commission for increased redundancy terms in local authorities. The division made a submission to the efficiency review group, established by Minister John Gormley and chaired by Pat McLoughlin. The IMPACT submission argued against the reduction of the number of local authorities and said that shared services had greater scope for improved efficiency and service delivery.
Recruitment and promotion moratorium In March 2009 Government departments issued a series of circulars that effectively prohibited the filling of vacant posts, the filling of promotional vacancies, and acting up arrangements. This approach undermined staff morale and led to a deterioration of services to the public. The divisional executive committee responded by advising branches to ensure that the work of vacant posts was not undertaken by union members. At first the effect of the union position around the country was variable, although its effects became more evident and consistent as the campaign continued.
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
31
Local government, education and local services Clerical and administrative grades A job evaluation scheme for local government clerical and administrative grades has been in place since 1974, but it has not been effectively operated by employers. The division is seeking the implementation and updating of the scheme and the matter has been referred to the Labour Relations Commission.
Fire services The union’s fire service forum continues to meet on a regular basis to consider a wide range of issues. The key issue for the group concerns health and safety requirements. The union tabled its concerns at a meeting with the employers and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. A further meeting is scheduled with the employers.
Libraries The union has had extensive discussions with employers on the qualifications and experience required for grade V posts created in the library service. The union is insisting that the agreed draft qualifications for these posts should stand.
Revenue collectors The majority of branches have now reached agreement with employers over the restructuring of revenue collection services. Revenue collectors in Clare were put off the payroll when they adhered to the IMPACT instruction on the matter. As a result of intervention from the Clare branch and the assistant general secretary, the members agreed to accept binding arbitration on the matter. The members returned to work and suffered no loss of pay. The division continues to support branches who wish to retain the traditional revenue collection system.
Social workers Claims for regrading of social workers in Dublin and throughout the country have been delayed by the insistence of the Local Government Management Services Board, which represents the employers, that the two claims be held simultaneously. This position is not acceptable to the national local authority social workers vocational group or the Dublin city branch.
Vocational groups The national secretary has met with a number of national groups, including internal auditors, civil defence officers, water officers and information system officers, to assist them in relation to their respective issues.
Fixed-term workers IMPACT continues to successfully pursue employers who have breached the terms of the 2003 Protection of Employees (Fixed Term Workers) Act. Two significant victories were achieved by the Clare and Wexford branches. In the first, the claimant was awarded €25,000 by the Labour Court after the union established that her contract was terminated in order to circumvent the legislation when her employer terminated her employment a day before her fourth year of service.
EDUCATION Educational disadvantage Barnardos chief executive Fergus Finlay was the keynote speaker at an IMPACT seminar on equality and disadvantage in education in January 2009. The seminar, which was well attended by members of the union’s education branches as well as other education unions and specialists, addressed fears that equal access and opportunity in education are being sacrificed as a result of budget cuts. Delegates discussed how recent
32
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
Local government, education and local services education cuts will impact in the long term, how staff will be affected, and how IMPACT and other unions can meet these challenges. Speakers included IMPACT’s Peter Nolan and Paul Downes, director of the educational disadvantage centre in Dublin City University. Participants also heard from senior representatives of Youthreach, the adult learning organisation Aontas, the Children's Rights Alliance, and the Irish Vocational Education Association.
Education centres IMPACT strongly opposed the McCarthy report’s recommendation that all education centres throughout 16 counties be closed. In 2009, the Dublin West education centre made two members redundant, even though they did not have the least service. The union immediately referred the matter to the National Implementation Body and the Labour Court subsequently recommended their reinstatement. Significantly the Labour Court accepted IMPACT’s view that the employees were public sector workers. The employer refused to accept the Court’s recommendation and the union has referred the matter to the Employment Appeals Tribunal. Separately, Drumcondra education centre has circulated proposals for a redundancy scheme. The proposal does not provide the normal protections for staff and the union will shortly enter into discussions with the employer.
Institutes of technology The IMPACT Institutes of Technology branch was established early in 2008 and has grown substantially following a series of workplace visits and recruitment campaigns. A revised set of grievance and disciplinary procedures was negotiated and agreed. A draft scheme to award increments to members acting up for more than a year was negotiated and is for approval on the basis that it will issue as a circular letter to each VEC and institute of technology. The public service recruitment moratorium had a devastating effect on services during 2009. The branch balloted and commenced a campaign of boycotting unfilled posts for the latter part of the year, which resulted in an easing of the moratorium. A revised employment control framework will allow most administrative and related posts to be filled.
National educational welfare branch A Labour Relations Commission advisory service investigation commenced in this workplace to examine a number of unimplemented third party recommendations and other issues.
School completion programme The School Completion Programme branch is taking its case for access to the public service superannuation scheme to the Labour Relations Commission. A presentation was also made to the Dáil education committee resulting in an easing of proposed cutbacks.
School secretaries IMPACT’s School Secretaries’ branch is one of the union’s newest and it has gone from strength to strength since its formation in 2007. A strong branch committee has emerged, which is representative of the geographic spread of a membership that has increased by over 100% from fewer than 300 to around 630. The branch committee members hail from all corners of the country ensuring that members in all regions, and in all first and second level schools and colleges, are represented. Over the past two years the branch has put structures in place to ensure that it functions properly and can provide a good industrial relations service to members. The branch was successful in gaining support to elect branch secretary Patricia Whelan onto the IMPACT divisional and central executive committees. The main thrust of branch activity has been to highlight, and seek improvements in, the inadequate and inequitable pay and employment conditions of the vast majority of its members. On its formation the branch launched a campaign, which saw the branch making its case in the national and local print, radio and TV media. It has also addressed the Dáil education committee. The campaign culminated in an agreement under the Towards 2016 national deal to establish a national forum on pay and employment conditions. The forum is made up of union representatives, employer groups and officials from the departments of finance and education. It was set up to establish the factual position on pay
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
33
Local government, education and local services and conditions in schools, agree a national minimum pay rate, and examine future pay and conditions. It has met on a number of occasions and the main scope of its work has been to consider the results of a national survey. While the results of this survey are not yet complete the initial findings vindicate the unions’ campaign for improved pay and conditions. Most school secretaries are paid via a schools’ grant system, rather than through agreed pay scales. So far, the survey results show that they earn average hourly pay of between €10 and €14 an hour after an average of eight years service. This is about 30-40% lower than comparable public service employees. The survey is also showing that around 70% of school secretaries have no access to pension or sick leave schemes, in direct contrast to their colleagues in the wider public service. Indeed these conditions are vastly different to those enjoyed by their colleagues paid directly by the education department. As this report went to print, the forum was continuing to meet and the branch committee is confident of making real progress before the year’s end. The branch has also been engaging with individual employers to win improvements in pay and employment conditions. Numerous successful representations have been made to individual boards of management and many members have had their employment status confirmed as permanent. The success and growth of the branch has also seen a huge increase in the numbers of members seeking representation and challenging inequalities, bullying, harassment and poor employment conditions. The establishment of the new branch has brought about renewed confidence in the union among school secretaries. Over the next two years the branch is hoping to make significant progress on pay and pensions through the national forum. But there will also be a major focus on grading structures and annual leave entitlements, particularly for members who are paid directly by the education department. It has been many years since existing agreements have been reviewed and the branch committee is determined to make real progress.
Special needs assistants Since 2008 IMPACT’s Special Needs Assistants’ branch has continued to increase its membership and it now has more than 5,100 members. This makes it the largest branch in the union. It has developed a regional structure throughout the country, which is operating well in most areas. The election of Joan McCrohan to the divisional executive has been another important milestone in the development of the branch. A value for money review of the special needs assistant posts was initiated by the Department of Education and Science in late 2008. The branch made a detailed submission to the review, but the review findings have yet to be published. The SNA role came under additional pressure when the McCarthy report recommended that 2,000 posts be cut as part of its arbitrary programme of public service cuts. A review of SNA posts by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) was initiated in March 2009. Early estimates, based on information supplied by the NCSE, suggested that as many as 1,200 SNA posts could be cut. The branch undertook a sustained effort to highlight the scale of the threat to jobs and educational services to children with special needs. This took the form of political lobbying and media campaigning. The branch wrote to the education minister in January 2009 requesting an extension of the interim staffing agreement until the end of the 2009 school year, in order to avoid service disruption during the school term and to allow the findings of both the NCSE and value for money reviews to be considered together. IMPACT continued intensive political lobbying on the issue as there was no direct response from the minister. Continuing contact with the opposition parties and a last minute response from Green Party education spokesperson Paul Gogarty culminated in an invitation to make a presentation to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Education and Science in March 2010. The branch will continue to campaign alongside a broad coalition of groups representing parents of children with special education needs and teachers’ representatives. This approach has focused a great deal of public attention on the value of the SNA service. It has also highlighted the very real threat that the McCarthy report poses to one of the Irish education system’s greatest success stories. A great deal of work has been done by members of the branch executive and regional committees to establish networks between schools. This proved very successful in delivering the work stoppage in November 2009, which was also the first time the branch operated in conjunction with unions representing teaching colleagues.
Vocational educational committees Membership of IMPACT’s VEC branch rose over the last two years despite the loss of a considerable number of jobs due to Government budget cuts and the moratorium on public service recruitment. The union’s sectoral agreement on contracts of indefinite duration resulted in the saving of at least 200 jobs. Agreement on the filling of common recruitment pool posts by open competition was reached under the Towards 2016 agreement. The Labour Relations Commission recommended a process for the review of the Rochford report, which resulted in the appointment of an independent chairperson. This process had commenced but was parked following the imposition of the recruitment moratorium.
34
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
Kilkenny special needs assistants Glyn and Louise Carolan “The best part of the job is finding out what kids are capable of when given the chance. Amazing things can happen,� says Glyn.
Dublin fire-fighter and paramedic Teresa Hudson “You see all kinds of things and you have to stay focused on the job. You are meeting people on what is probably the worst day of their lives, but for you it’s part of the working day,” says Teresa.
Municipal employees The past two years have seen many changes and challenges facing the division including the departure of key personnel and the emergence of new officials and representatives. National secretary Tom Brady retired in 2009 as did two very experienced convenors, Brendan Clarke and Christy Finnerty. The division salutes the contribution these colleagues have made over many years. The division is also happy to welcome our new official Stella Griffin, who has taken up her new role with energy and enthusiasm, and new convenors Thomas Murtagh in Dublin City Council and Ros MacCobb in Dublin fire brigade. All have acquitted themselves extremely well to date.
Waste management services One of our biggest challenges has been defending direct labour domestic waste collection. Since the introduction of charges for domestic waste collection, private companies have increasingly replaced direct labour workers in the provision of this service in local authorities outside Dublin. These services had traditionally been exclusively undertaken by direct labour in the four Dublin local authorities until 2007 when a number of private companies began to offer an alternative service to households in the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown area. The council soon lost customers at an alarming rate to two private companies, Greenstar and PANDA. Both companies’ collection charges were cheaper than the council’s and this was the deciding factor for many householders. The two companies could offer cheaper rates mainly because they don’t have the same cost overheads as local authorities and also because their pay and conditions of employment are far inferior to those in the council. The response to the threat, by both the division and council management, was to use the partnership process to restructure the service to improve quality and value for money to defend the waste collection business from the threat from private companies. In negotiations with both Dublin City Council and Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, the division concluded restructuring agreements that paved the way for the introduction of new dry recyclable (green bin), bio-degradable (brown bin) and domestic waste (grey bin) collection services. The restructuring agreements included changed work practices, which were necessary to ensure that the council retained as much of the waste collection market as possible in order to defend quality services and members’ jobs and livelihoods. The four Dublin local authorities also sought to vary the waste management plan via a public consultation process. The variation of the plan would have allowed the councils to regulate waste collection in the Dublin region. The result of this variation would have allowed the council to give the rights to waste collection to a single operator of their choice or, following a public tender process, their nominee or nominees. PANDA waste services went to the High Court and successfully sought a judicial review to prevent the Council from varying the waste management plan. The ruling by Justice McKechnie has major repercussions for the future of direct labour staff in the waste collection service in the face of what will be a major challenge from private companies. The four Dublin local authorities are now considering appealing this ruling to the Supreme Court.
Pay Since the benchmarking process the union has sought pay parity between Dublin local authority general operatives and equivalent grades in the wider public sector. Discussions with the Department of Finance and Local Government Management Services Board began in late 2007 and a process was agreed to allow unions and the four Dublin local authorities to negotiate an agreement.
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
37
Municipal employees It was decided to bring in a third party, Boyle & Associates, to assist in what would be a complex set of negotiations and the process commenced in 2008. It involved an evaluation of all general operative grades, which was undertaken by an outside agency. The evaluation was completed in late 2008 and categorised grades for the purpose of identifying a new pay and grading structure and also for assimilation purposes in line with the structure that applies for general operative grades in comparable employments. As part of the process, discussions on the council’s modernisation and change agenda continued throughout 2009 up to the announcement of the Government’s moratorium on pay claims. As this report went to print, IMPACT and Siptu were working to get council management back to the negotiating table to complete the agreed process for future implementation. Discussions with management in the institutes of technology are continuing on the findings of a third party report into a union claim to upgrade class aides and attendant grades. The report was commissioned following discussions at the Labour Relations Commission (LRC). The claim was taken by the institute group of unions made up of IMPACT, Siptu and Unite. It arose because these grades have taken on additional duties normally performed by technical grades that have been successful in achieving higher grading. Despite the completion of a third party report, which recommended a set of guidelines to assist negotiations, the institutes’ management has failed to respond to our request for formal negotiations on the report. It is likely that the unions will seek the intervention of the LRC who originally recommended the report into the unions’ claim. In recent years the division has highlighted the inadequate and inequitable pay and employment conditions of most of its members employed as school caretakers and IMPACT has campaigned for improvements. The campaign culminated in an agreement under the Towards 2016 national deal to establish a national forum on pay and employment conditions. The forum is made up of IMPACT and Siptu representatives, employer groups and officials from the departments of finance and education. It was set up to establish the factual position on pay and conditions in schools, agree a national minimum pay rate, and examine future pay and conditions. It has met on a number of occasions and the main scope of its work has been to consider the results of a national survey which saw over 70% of school caretakers respond to questions regarding rates of pay, access to pensions and other employment conditions. While the results of this survey are not yet complete the initial findings vindicate the unions’ campaign for improved pay and conditions of employment. Most school caretakers are paid via a schools’ grant system, rather than through agreed pay scales. The survey shows that average hourly rates of pay range between €9 and €12 an hour after an average of eight years’ service, which is 30-40% lower than comparable public service employees. The survey is also showing that around 70% of school caretakers have no access to pension or sick leave schemes, in direct contrast to their colleagues in the wider public service. Indeed these conditions are vastly different to those that apply to their colleagues paid directly by the education department. As this report went to print the forum was continuing to meet and the branch committee was confident of making real progress before the year’s end.
Jobs The division is increasingly concerned at the non-replacement of jobs arising from natural wastage, particularly among local authority general operatives and education support staff. In recent years the union has made numerous representations to have vacancies filled, with varying degrees of success. In some cases there has been no progress at all. This has resulted in many members taking on higher grade duties and remaining in an acting capacity for far too long. This issue is set to become a major problem as the Government’s moratorium on recruitment continues. But the division was successful in preventing City of Dublin VEC and Dublin Institute of Technology from terminating the contracts of over 100 members employed in schools and colleges across the city. The members concerned are contracted to work during the academic year, which runs from September to June. They are laid off during the long summer break, but are traditionally recalled at the beginning of each academic year. Management in both employments argued that, under the Government’s recruitment moratorium, they were fixedterm workers and could not be offered their positions back at the beginning of the academic year. No progress was made in discussions so members voted overwhelmingly to take industrial action in the event management went ahead with dismissals. City of Dublin VEC agreed to take all members back but DIT management refused and the matter was referred to the Labour Court following discussions at the LRC. During this process, the union was successful in getting all but four positions refilled, saving 114 full-time and part-time jobs.
38
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
Municipal employees Partnership Until 2009’s national public service dispute, the partnership process remained buoyant in most of the division’s areas of representation. In particular, the Dublin City Council corporate partnership forum operated very effectively and members representing IMPACT were to the fore on many issues. When the partnership forum met monthly a strong sub group system was established, which enabled difficult issues to be resolved across all areas of the council. Local partnership groups were also established in a number of key departments including parks, libraries, motor tax and the Dublin fire brigade. Many major issues normally dealt with through industrial relations procedures were brought into the partnership structure and this facilitated agreement on difficult restructuring proposals in waste management, housing, street cleansing and the Dublin fire brigade. The division’s partnership representatives were also very much involved in successfully reviewing and amending the council’s disciplinary, grievance and dignity in the workplace procedures, making them more user-friendly and accessible to employees. While a strong partnership committee also exists in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, some difficulties were experienced partly because of a perception among union representatives that their issues were not being given due recognition. A high level group on change and modernisation was established but, again, very little progress was made on issues identified by both management and the unions. It was notable that management change proposals ended up being referred back to the industrial relations forum. In some cases these issues required Labour Relations Commission intervention. While partnership structures have been established in both the VEC and DIT sectors, they have not been as active as in the local authority sector. This is mainly because of indifference to the process among the teaching unions, which has resulted in the structures being stymied. IMPACT representatives have pressed management to continue to put viable and workable structures in place, but too little progress has been made and attempts to seek more understanding of the teaching unions’ difficulties are now underway. While participation in the partnership process has inevitably been hindered by the current national public service dispute, more work needs to be done to put in place a workable process supported by all parties when full participation in partnership resumes.
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
39
National Museum of Ireland curator Lar Joye, who works in Collins barracks. “My job is to reignite a passion for history. Museums need to be more customer-orientated in the modern world as people have less free time. There is a need for keeping academic standards high, but also engaging and listening to people,� says Lar.
Services and enterprises Coillte Agreement on an overall pay and pensions package was reached at the Labour Relations Commission. It was agreed to introduce employee pension contributions modeled on the civil service ‘pension levy’ to overcome the €90 million pension scheme deficit. Management agreed to take additional measures to address the deficit including additional cash injections and the assignment of non-cash assets. It was agreed that the introduction of the proposed pension contributions would not negate or adversely affect any statutory protections in relation to the pension entitlements of Coillte employees, or any historical industrial relations linkages. The pension contributions are subject to annual reviews in line with the public service ‘pension levy’ legislation. Aside from increments, no more than 2% of any increases in pensionable pay over the five years from January 2009 will be pensionable. Pension increases will also be subject to a cap averaging 2% a year over the same period. The 13 or so employees who had been refused access to the pension scheme were to be admitted and new arrangements are to be agreed for new entrants. The pension contribution structure is set out in the table.
Coillte pension contribution structure Remuneration
Contribution rate on pensionable remuneration
Contribution rate on net pensionable remuneration
Up to €15,000
0.0%
0.0%
€15-20,000
1.5%
3.5%
€20-60,000
3.0%
7.0%
More than €60,000
2.0%
7.5%
It was agreed that Coillte’s ability to pay phase one of the Towards 2016 transitional agreement would be reviewed in early 2010 without any provision for retrospection. Agreement was reached on payment of 0.5% due from January 2008. This will also be reviewed in early 2010 but, in any event, payment will be made no later than the end of 2011 and retrospection will be paid from January 2008. IMPACT agreed to waive a 2% lump sum due under team performance pay, but the current agreement will continue until a replacement is agreed. The parties agreed to meet to discuss proposals for a new reward model. It was also agreed that increments would continue to be paid.
Communications The Eircom ESOT balloted participants on the proposal by Singapore-based STT Communications to take over Eircom in conjunction with the ESOT. The takeover was approved by a 96.5% majority after the IMPACT branch issued a recommendation to back the proposal. This reflected the extent of the dissatisfaction with the previous owners Babcock and Browne experienced by unions and the ESOT.
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
41
Services and enterprises Agreement was reached on an initial restructuring accord. The outcome included agreement at the Labour Relations Commission to defer any payment under the national agreement until July 2011 when a review will take place. Mileage, subsistence, bonus and time in lieu are being reduced or eliminated. Headcount will be reduced by 1,200, including contractors, and talks on additional measures are to take place. The company continued to seek voluntary salary reductions, mainly from staff on personal contracts. An accord was reached between the unions and Eircom to address its financial difficulties and this included a pay freeze to 2011 as well as other cost containment measures. Discussions took place on the necessary steps to protect and preserve the pension scheme in the light of the significant deficit that has emerged. Agreement was reached and the defined benefit scheme remains open to future accrual for active members with no increase in member contributions. The employer contribution was increased to a minimum amount for three years with a cash floor. Pensionable pay was frozen to 31st December 2013 and any increase in remuneration between 1st July 2011 and 31st December 2013 will be by way of non-pensionable allowance. Thereafter growth in pensionable pay and allowances is limited to the lower of actual increases or CPI with a maximum of 4%. The CPI ceiling will reduce to 2.5% over time. Any pay increases awarded in excess of the pension cap will be non pensionable under the defined benefits scheme, but will qualify for defined contribution cover. For new members, a defined contribution plan will have standard employee contributions of 4% and employer contributions of 6% with an optional higher rate of 6% and 9%. IMPACT members in Vodafone experienced an imposed pay freeze in 2009 but the company agreed to continue to pay bonuses to members. The company refused to use the inability to pay provisions in the national agreement for staff on graded pay scales as it was clear that the company was making significant profits and was using the economic downturn as an excuse to curtail pay costs.
Aviation The multi-employer Irish aviation superannuation scheme is in deficit. Agreement was reached with Aer Lingus on a process to address the problems in the pension scheme and the Labour Relations Commission appointed Frank Flynn to give technical assistance to the process. The intention is to develop solutions in consultation with the actuarial, legal and financial advisers to the company, unions and trustees. Key principles agreed are that the options proposed will facilitate the employer’s ability to sustain viable pension arrangements and protect accrued benefits. The company confirmed that it would not take unilateral action on the pension scheme while the process was underway and professional advisers to the unions were appointed. Following discussions in ICTU, it was agreed by unions representing workers in Aer Lingus and the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) that the preferred outcome was to divide the scheme into its separate company components and the trustees of the scheme were advised of this approach. There were also detailed discussions on the best means to address the deficit in the Aer Lingus pilots’ scheme and a combination of benefit alterations and increased employee contributions was agreed. IMPACT members in the DAA voted to accept a cost recovery programme by a three–to-one majority. The key terms of the agreement included a voluntary severance scheme, changes to sick pay and overtime, nonpayment of the pay terms of the Towards 2016 transitional agreement and graduated salary reductions. Significantly, earnings below €30,000 were exempt from the reductions. Management committed to seek to restore the basic pay levels once matters improve and a formula for pay restoration was agreed, which included the payment of once-off lump sums as interim measures as the Authority restores its financial position. Following months of delay in addressing the Towards 2016 transitional agreement’s pay terms in the Irish Aviation Authority, the Labour Court issued two recommendations on pay and the treatment of normal ongoing change. The Court found in favour of the union on the pay terms and awarded increases under both phases of the transitional agreement. These will apply in January and July 2011 with any retrospection being paid into the pension fund as a once-off cash injection to address the scheme’s deficit. The Court ruled that work on a number of projects was normal ongoing change. But while awaiting the Court hearing on the matter, the Authority suspended a number of air traffic controllers prompting a four-hour work stoppage. Following protracted discussions with Aer Lingus, agreement was reached on the company’s ‘greenfield’ cost reduction proposals. These included a pay reduction formula based on no reduction on the first €45,000 of basic pay and a graduated reduction rising to 10% on earnings over €75,000. A pay freeze will apply until the end of 2012. A voluntary severance package was agreed and average flying hours of 850 per year will apply. A 10% deduction will apply to all points on the pilots salary scale and performance pay thresholds have been
42
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
Services and enterprises raised. A gain sharing arrangement worth €25 million has been agreed and up to €5 million will be distributed to staff once an agreed operating profit is reached. Half this amount will be divided equally to all staff and the other half will be based on basic salary. This scheme will be reviewed in 2012. Agreement was also reached on protections that will allow the company to fly into the Republic of Ireland from its Gatwick base and enter into code sharing and franchise arrangements for turboprop aircraft. No compulsory redundancies will arise from these initiatives. Aer Lingus will also operate a joint venture with United Airlines flying from Washington DC to Madrid. Agreement on pay increases was reached with CHC Helicopters, which operates the coastguard helicopter service. These follow the broad template of Towards 2016 with a 3.5% increase from 1st May 2010 and a 2.5% increase from 1st May 2011. A difficulty emerged regarding the operation of the permanent health insurance arrangement and a ballot for industrial action was considered.
Community sector Following the conclusion of a pension case between the HSE and home help organisers, which provided for the payment of an ex gratia lump sum in lieu of pension based on 4.5 weeks pay per year of service subject to a cap of 1.5 times annual salary, IMPACT has written to FÁS seeking talks on behalf of community employment supervisors. This followed an earlier Labour Court recommendation that a scheme should be introduced. IMPACT and Siptu have discussed the possibility of establishing a more formal forum for discussing community and voluntary sector issues with the Department of Finance. The intention is to identify who is coordinating policy in relation to the proposed integration of community services and the associated rationalisation of organisations, provide a structure to address recommendations from the relevant industrial relations institutions, and facilitate union input into the decision-making process. The union has had to address significant redundancies in this area due to amalgamations. Pobal, which is the funding administrator for many community schemes, saw a significant reduction in its finances and a 40% reduction in staffing through non-renewal of fixed-term contracts and redundancies. The union was successful in securing redundancy terms or ex gratia payments for all staff that left under redundancy or termination of contract. In early 2010 the union was resisting attempts by Pobal to cut pay on the grounds that it was not covered by the relevant legislation. The Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs decided to close all community development programmes (CDPs) and amalgamate them into partnership companies over the next year. It also decided to close 24 CDPs, but ten appeals were successful.
Non-commercial semi-state agencies Like their colleagues elsewhere in the public service, staff in the various non-commercial agencies suffered reductions in their income through the pay cuts and so-called ‘pension levy’. Many agencies were also targeted for amalgamation or abolition by the McCarthy report. Industrial action was initiated in the following employments as part of the public service-wide dispute: An Bord Pleanála, Fáilte Ireland, Health and Safety Authority, Marine Institute, Sea Fisheries Protection Authority, National Library of Ireland, National Museum, Foras Na Gaeilge, Bord Bia, Broadcasting Commission of Ireland, Commission for Taxi Regulation, Institute of Public Administration, National Centre for Partnership and Performance, National Concert Hall, National Economic and Social Council, National Qualifications Authority of Ireland, NSAI, Pobal, Royal Irish Academy, RPII, Teagasc, Western Development Commission, FETAC, Office of Tobacco Control, Ordnance Survey, Financial Services Ombudsman, and city and county enterprise boards. Additional cuts were tabled by Teagasc with a programme of office closures across the country that would have significant implications for staff in isolated locations. Union membership continued to increase in the sector, notwithstanding job losses through the moratorium on filling vacant posts.
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
43
The 2010 launch of IMPACT’s inner city fund, which supports education and intercultural projects in Dublin’s north-east inner city.
Appendices
Appendix one - Mileage and subsistence
Appendix one Mileage and subsistence Motor mileage rates (local authorities and health boards) Effective 5th March 2009 Rates per mile Official motor travel in calendar year
Engine capacity up to 1200cc
Engine capacity 1201 to 1500cc
Engine capacity 1501 and over
cent
cent
cent
up to 4,000 miles
64.54
76.94
97.59
4,001 miles and over
34.91
39.14
47.36
Engine capacity up to 1200cc
Engine capacity 1201 to 1500cc
Engine capacity 1501 and over
cent
cent
cent
up to 6,437km
40.11
47.82
60.88
6,438km and over
21.70
24.33
29.43
Rates per kilometre Official motor travel in calendar year
Motorcycle allowance Effective 5th March 2009 Rates per mile Official motor travel in calendar year
Engine capacity up to 150cc
Engine capacity 151 to 250cc
Engine capacity 251 to 600cc
Engine capacity 601cc and over
cent
cent
cent
cent
up to 4,000 miles
23.29
32.34
38.16
46.01
4,001 miles and over
15.07
21.42
24.61
28.31
Engine capacity up to 150cc
Engine capacity 151 to 250cc
Engine capacity 251 to 600cc
Engine capacity 601cc and over
cent
cent
cent
cent
14.48
20.10
23.72
28.59
9.37
13.31
15.29
17.60
Rates per kilometre Official motor travel in calendar year
up to 6,437km 6,438km and over
46
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
Appendix one - Mileage and subsistence Domestic subsistence rates Effective 5th March 2009 NIGHT ALLOWANCES
DAY ALLOWANCES
Class of allowances
Normal rate
Reduced rate
Detention rate
10hrs or more
5hrs but less than 10hrs
A1
€108.99
€100.48
€54.48
€33.61
€13.71
2
€107.69
€92.11
€53.87
€33.61
€13.71
B
1 Salary of €55,780 2 Salary of €55,779.99 and below
Motor mileage rates (civil service) Effective 5th March 2009 Rates per mile Official motor travel in calendar year
Engine capacity up to 1200cc
Engine capacity 1201 to 1500cc
Engine capacity 1501 and over
cent
cent
cent
up to 4,000 miles
62.94
74.42
95.05
4,001 miles and over
34.13
38.00
45.79
Engine capacity up to 1200cc
Engine capacity 1201 to 1500cc
Engine capacity 1501 and over
cent
cent
cent
up to 6,437km
39.12
46.25
59.07
6,438km and over
21.22
23.62
28.46
Engine capacity up to 1200cc
Engine capacity 1201 to 1500cc
Engine capacity 1501 and over
23.55
26.76
34.36
Engine capacity up to 1200cc
Engine capacity 1201 to 1500cc
Engine capacity 1501 and over
14.64
16.64
19.49
Rates per kilometre Official motor travel in calendar year
Civil service reduced motor travel rates Rates per mile
Rates per kilometre
Domestic subsistence rates Effective 5th March 2009 NIGHT ALLOWANCES
DAY ALLOWANCES
Class of allowances
Normal rate
Reduced rate
Detention rate
10hrs or more
5hrs but less than 10hrs
A
€108.99
€100.48
€54.48
€33.61
€13.71
B
€107.69
€92.11
€53.87
€33.61
€13.71
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
47
Appendix two - Branch secretaries
Appendix two Branch secretaries Agricultural Laboratories Benny Conaty, Central Meat Control Laboratory, Backweston Campus, Youngs Cross, Celbridge, Co Kildare. Agriculture No1 John Walsh, IMPACT, Nerney’s Court, Dublin 1. Air Traffic Control Ian McDonald, Air Traffic Control Tower, Shannon Control Centre, Ballycasey Cross, Shannon, Co Clare. AMRO (Civil Service) Patrick Canning, Malin Head Coast Guard, Malin Head, Co Donegal. AMRO (Services & Enterprises) Paul O’Shea, Shannon Air Radio, Ballygirreen, Newmarket-on-Fergus, Co Clare. An Bord Pleanala Christopher Byrne, An Bord Pleanala, 64 Marlborough Street, Dublin 1. Architectural Engineering and Heritage Willie Cumming, Duchas Heritage Services, Dun Sceine, Harcourt Lane, Dublin 2. Archivists Brian Donnolly, National Archives, Bishop Street, Dublin 8. Aviation, Safety & Regulatory John Sullivan, Room 301, IAA, Aviation House, Hawkins Street, Dublin 2. Ballinasloe Sean Dowling, Health Service Executive, East Galway Mental Health Service, St Bridgets Hospital, Ballinasloe, Co Galway. Boards & Agencies Una O’Connor, Sophia Housing Association, 25 Cork Street, Dublin 8. Cabin Crew Denise Molloy, c/o IMPACT, Nerney’s Court, Dublin 1. Carlow local government Margaret Quinlan, IT Department, Carlow Council Council, County Hall, Carlow. Health Ann Daly, Social Work Department, Health Service Executive South, St Dympna’s Hospital, Athy Road, Carlow. Cavan local government Kate Ryan, Border Regional Authority, Corlurgan Business Park, Ballinagh Road, Cavan. Health Katherine McLoughlin, Social Work Department, Child and Family Serivces, Drumalee Cross, Cavan, Co Cavan. Central Statistics Office Brian Ring, Business Statistics Integration, Central Statistics Office, Skehard Road, Cork. Civil Service No.1 Thomas Madden, 25a Portnick Drive, Ballinasloe, Co Galway. Clare Carl Hale, Clare County Council, County Building, New Road, Ennis, Co. Clare.
48
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
CLME Martin Haran, Bree, Malin Head, Inishowen, Co. Donegal. Coillte John Lyons, Codrum, Macroom, Co Cork. Communications Joe Bonner, Eircom, Plan/Design Department, Telephone House, Marlborough Street, Dublin 1. Community Employment Supervisors Paddy Quinn, 3 Hill View, Mountrath Road, Portlaoise, Co Laois. Conservation Rangers James Richard Kilroy, Ballycroy National Park, Lagduff More, Ballycroy, Westport, Co Mayo. Cork Maeve McCarthy Barret, IMPACT Cork Office, Fr Matthew Quay, Cork. Court Ushers Martin McCarthy, c/o Mr Justice Finnegan, The Supreme Court, Four Courts, Dublin 7. Dairy Produce Inspectors Martin Rea, Department of Agriculture & Food, Agriculture House, Floor 3c, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. DoE Inspectors Liam Francis Doyle, Water Inspectorate, Water & Natural Heritage Division, Department of Environment Heritage & Local Government, Floor 2, Block 1, Lower Life Buildings, Lower Abbey Street, Dublin 1. Donegal local government Niamh Brennan, Donegal County Council, 1st Floor (archives), 3 Rivers Centre, Lifford, Co Donegal. Health Kathleen Gibbons, HSE Training Centre, Kilmacrennan Raod, Letterkenny, Co Donegal. Driver Testers Martin Slattery, 12 Coulson Avenue, Rathgar, Dublin 6. Dublin Care Services Eamon Hughes, c/o IMPACT, Nerney’s Court, Dublin 1. Dublin City Linda Mc Grath, Dublin City Council, Roads & Traffic Administration, Block 4, Floor 3, Civic Offices, Dublin 8. Dublin Hospitals Anthony Martin, Supplies Department, Tallaght Hospital, Tallaght, Dublin 24. Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Roisin Cronin, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, Level 2, County Hall, Marine Road, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin. Energy Ray Scanlon, Geological Survey of Ireland, Beggars Bush, Haddington Road, Dublin 4. Failte Ireland Tony Dawson, Failte Ireland, Forster Street, Galway.
Appendix two - Branch secretaries FGE Thomas Cowman, Department of Agriculture and Food, Johnstown Castle, New Building, Co Wexford.
Laois Gerard Monaghan, Fire Prevention & Safety Officer, Hamco Building, Cloncollig Industrial Estate, Tullamore, Co Offaly.
Fingal Helen Gad, Fingal County Council, Grove Road, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15.
Legal Officers Michael Collins, Chief State Solicitors Office, Osmond House, Little Ship Street, Dublin 8.
Forensic Science Judy Price, Forensic Science Laboratory, Garda HQ, Phoenix Park, Dublin 8.
Legal Professional Una Keating, c/o Michael Murphy, Office of the Attorney General, Government Buildings, Upper Merrion Street, Dublin 2.
Gaeltacht Peadar MacDiarmada, Roinn na Gaeltachta, Na Forbacha, Gallaimh. Galway Tom Browne, c/o City Library, St Augustine Street, Galway. Government Supplies Agency Paddy Wilson, Government Supply Agency, 51 St Stephens Green, Dublin 2. GVO Professional Deirdre McGennis, Valuation Office, Irish Life Centre, Abbey Street Lower, Dublin 1. GVO Technical Derek O’Brien, Valuation Office, Irish Life Centre, Lower Abbey Street, Dublin 1. Health & Safety Authority Mark Patrick Madigan, Health and Safety Authority, Metropolitan Building, James Joyce Street, Dublin 1. High Court and Supreme Court Officers Sonia Murphy, Department of Justice, Phoenix House, Phoenix Street, Dublin 7. Housing Inspectors David Connolly, Department of the Environment, Custom House, Custom House Quay, Dublin 1. HSE North Dublin Fionnuala Kelly, HSE Dublin North, Damastown Health Centre, Damastown Close, Mulhuddart, Dublin 15. HSE South Dublin Catherine T Reilly, HSE Dublin South, Office Systems Technology, Dr Steevens Hospital, Steevens Lane, Dublin 8. IAESA Vincent Lynch, Dublin Airport Authority, GPCP, 2nd Floor Cloghran House, Dublin Airport, Co Dublin. IALPA Alan Brereton, IALPA, IMPACT Office, Corballis Park, Dublin Airport, Co Dublin. Institutes of Technology Norrie O’Callaghan, Athlone Institute of Technology, Dublin Road, Athlone, Co Westmeath.
Leitrim local government Alan Martin, 11 Mount Temple, Carrick-On-Shannon, Co Leitrim. Health Mary Dolan, Stramore, Drumshanbo Po, Co Leitrim. Limerick local government Sinead Burke, Limerick City Council, Housing Department, City Hall, Merchant`s Quay, Limerick. Health Ann Clancy, Superannuation Department, 1st Floor Howleys Quay, Bedford Place, Shannon Street, Limerick. Local Enterprise David Orford, Tolka Area Partnership, Rosehill House, Finglas Road, Dublin 11. Local Government Auditors Marita A Gonsalves, Local Government Auditors, Bayview House, Rushbrooke, Cobh, Co Cork. Longford Noelle Cashin, Health Service Executive, Social Work Department, Tivoli House, Dublin Road, Longford. Louth local government Ciaran Rafferty, Staff Officer, Accounts Section, Dundalk Town Council, Crowe Street, Dundalk, Co Louth. Health Barbara Kelly, Procurement Office HSE, Unit 6, East Coast Business Park, Matthews Lane, Drogheda, Co Louth. Marine (Civil Service) Eugene Wallace, Department of the Marine & Natural Resources, Ross Road, Taghmon, Co Wexford. Marine (Services and Enterprise) Jennifer Doyle, Marine Institute Headquarters, Rinville West, Oranmore, Co Galway. Mayo local government Aine Regan, Mayo County Council, Aras An Chontae, Castlebar, Co Mayo. Health Cathy Blake, Accounts Department, Mayo General Hospital, Castlebar, Co Mayo.
Kerry Mary Mc Carthy, HSE, Ground Floor, O’Sullivan Cremin Accountants, Park Road, Killarney, Co Kerry.
Meath local government Eugene Farrelly, c/o Environment Department, Meath County Council, County Hall, Railway Street, Navan, Co Meath Health Rita Moran, Home Support Office, HSE Dublin North East, Floor 1, Beechmount Shopping Centre, Trim Road, Navan, Co Meath.
Kildare Marianne Hogan, County Library Headquarters, River Bank, Newbridge, Co Kildare.
Medical Assessors Dr Ronan O’Callaghan, Medical Referee, 29 Clonlea, Dublin 16.
Kildare HSE Joanne Darcy Dempsey, HSE Dublin South, St Marys, Craddockstown, Naas, Co Kildare.
Meteorologists Patrick J Clarke, Met Eireann, Glasnevin Hill, Dublin 9.
Kilkenny health Sharon Young, HIPE Dept, St Lukes Hospital, Kilkenny. Local government Jacqueline Kendlin, Finance Department, Kilkenny County Council, Johns Street, Kilkenny.
Monaghan local government John McGrory, Monaghan County Council, The Glen, Monaghan Town, Co Monaghan. Health Carol McGeough, HSE North Eastern Region, St Davnet’s Hosptial, Monaghan Town, Co Monaghan.
Land Commission Inspectors John Prendergast, Land Commission Office, Government Buildings, Cranmore, Sligo.
Municipal Employees David Greene, IMPACT, Nerneys Court, Dublin 1.
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
49
Appendix two - Branch secretaries National Education Welfare Board Joanne Rafferty, National Educational Welfare Board, 16/22 Green, Street, Dublin 7. National Library Frances Clarke, National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. National Museum Orla Fitzpatrick, National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks, Benburb Street, Dublin 7. OCFA Sean O Dubhda, Teach Chill Dara, Sraid Chill Dara, Baile Atha Cliath 2. Offaly Peter Gerry Fox, Sanitary Department, Offaly County Council, Aras An Chontae, Tullamore, County Offaly. Ordnance Survey Steven John Pilgrim, Ordnance Survey Ireland, Airglooney House, Ballygaddy Road, Tuam, Co Galway. Oireachtas Ushers Andrew Fitzgerald, Oireachtas, Leinster House, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. PAOB Karl Walsh, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries & Food, Backweston Campus, Administration Building, Stacumney Lane, Celbridge, Co Kildare. Placenames Conchubhar O’Crualaoich, Ofig Logainmeacha, Dún Aimhirgín, 43-49 Bóthar Mespil, Baile Atha Cliath 4. Post Primary Inspectorate and Examinations Branch Noirin Hynes, Room 15, Department of Education & Skills, Block 3, Marlborough Street, Dublin 1. Primary Inspectors Suzanne Conneely, Department of Education and Science, Floor 2, O’Dowd Offices, Bridge Street, Boyle, Roscommon. Probation Officers Sinead O’Connell, Department of Justice, The Probation Service, Haymarket, Smithfield, Dublin 7. Professional Accountants Stephen Boyd, Department of Enterprise & Employment, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. Property Registration Authority Patrick Curran, Property Registration Authority of Ireland, Government Buildings, Cork Road, Waterford. Psychologists Judith Leslie, NEPS, Frederick Court, 24/27 North Frederick Street, Dublin 1. Publications and Terminology Padraic O’Farachtain, Foras Na Gaeilge, An Gum, 24/27 Sraid Fhreidric, Thuaidh, Baile Atha Cliath 1. Roscommon local government Edward Walsh, c/o Housing Department, Roscommon County Council, The Courthouse, Roscommon. Health Frances McCann, Boyle Health Centre, Boyle, Roscommon. School Completion Programme James Kavanagh, School Completion Branch, PO Box 11729, Swords, Co Dublin. School Secretaries Patricia Whelan, Presentation College, Askea, Carlow.
50
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
Special Needs Assistants Helena Witherow, Royal and Prior School, Raphoe, Co Donegal. Special Education Needs Organisers Maire Aherne, National Council for Special Education, SENO Roscommon & East Mayo, c/o Government Offices, Convent Road, Roscommon. Sligo Sinead Costello, Sligo General Hospital, The Mall, Sligo. South Dublin Grace Clifford, IMPACT Office, c/o South Dublin County Council, Town Hall, Tallaght, Dublin 24. State Enterprise No.1 Declan Joseph Mc Loughlin, Broadcasting Commission of Ireland, 2/5 Warrington Place, Dublin 2. State Laboratory Claire Timbs, State Laboratory, Youngs Cross, Celbridge, Co Kildare. Teagasc Professional Grainne McMahon, Teagasc, Kildalton Agricultural College, Piltown, Co Kilkenny. Teagasc General Breege Foy, Teagasc, Abbey Road, Ballinarobe, Co Mayo. Tipperary North Louise Ryan, Thurles Town Council, Slievenamon Road, Thurles, Co Tipperary. Tipperary South Jacinta Cremmins, St Lukes Hospital, Western Road, Clonmel, Co Tipperary. VEC Emer Walsh, Coláiste Stiofáin Naofa, Tramore Road, Cork. Waterford City Angela Power, 98 Clarke Road, Cork Road Estate, Waterford. Waterford County Mary O’Brien, Waterford County Council, Civic Offices, Dungarvan , Co Waterford. Waterways Ireland Michael Mc Kiernan, Waterways Ireland, The Docks, Athlone, Co Westmeath. Westmeath Yvonne Dowler, c/o St Mary`s Hospital, Mullingar, Co Westmeath. Wexford Noel Stacey, Wexford County Council, County Hall, Wexford. Wicklow Georgina Franey, Bray Town Council, Civic Offices, Main Street, Bray, Co Wicklow. Wicklow HSE Christopher Robinson, HSE Eastern Health, Killarney Road Treatment Centre, Bray, Co Wicklow.
Appendix three - Vocational groups
Appendix three Vocational groups Civil Service Division Engineers Allen Williams, Department of Marine and Natural Resources, Leeson Lane, Dublin 2. Lab technicians Anthony Gogarty, Department of Agriculture and Food, Kildare Street, Dublin 1.
Dental surgeons Joe Mullen, HSE North Western Region, Community Care, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim. Dental surgery assistants Una Breathnach, HSE Western Region, Shantalla Health Centre, Shantalla, Galway. Dietitians Ita Saul, Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin, Dublin 12.
Health & Welfare Division Ambulance officers John O’Brien, 21 River Valley Avenue, Swords, Co Dublin. Biochemists Ger Collier, Biochemistry Department, St Vincent’s University Hospital, Elm Park, Dublin 4. Clinical measurement scientists (cardiac catheterisatoin) Ann Simpson, Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Tallaght, Dublin 24. Clinical measurement scientists (GI) Patricia Lawlor, St James’s Hospital, PO Box 580, James’s Street, Dublin 8. Clinical managment scientists respiratory technicians Michelle Agnew, St James’s Hospital, PO Box 580, James’s Street, Dublin 8. Clinical measurement scientists vascular technicians Clare Dooley, Vascular Medicine Department, Tallaght Hospital, Tallaght, Dublin 24. Catering officers Yvonne Dowler, General Hospital, Mullingar, Co Westmeath. Child care managers John Quin, HSE Eastern Region, Wicklow Local Health Office, Glenside Road, Wicklow. Chiropodists Carmel Devine, c/o County Clinic, Bindon Street, Ennis, Co Clare. Clerical officers Anne Joyce, c/o Unit 23A Sean Mulvoy Business Park, Sean Mulvoy Road, Galway. Clinical engineering professionals Bernard Murphy, HSE Southern Region, Biomedical Engineering Department, Cork University Hospital, Wilton Road, Cork. Comhairle Gwyn Grace, 7th Floor, Hume House, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4. Community welfare officers Des Stone, HSE Coolock Health Centre, Cromcastle Road, Coolock, Dublin 5.
Dosimetrists Louise O’Neill, St Luke’s Hospital, Highfield Road, Rathgar, Dublin 6. Draughtman/technicians Rosaleen McDonagh, Technical Services Department, Gate Lodge, Merlin Park Hospital, Galway. Environmental health officers Shane O’Flynn, HSE Sothern Region, North Lee Community Care, 26 South Mall, Cork. Executive analytical chemists Liam Dolan, Dublin Public Analyst Laboratory, Sir Patrick Duns, Lower Grand Canal Street, Dublin 2. Family support workers Bernie O’Reilly, HSE Dublin North East, Community Child and Family Services, Drumalee Cross, Cavan. Fire prevention officers Nicholas Keogh, Central Office, HSE Midlands Region, Arden Road, Tullamore, Co Offaly. FOI/DP liaison officers Liam Quirke, HSE Western Area, Merlin Park Regional Hospital, Galway. General managers Maria Fleming, 38 Wentworth Place, Jigginstown, Naas, Co Kildare. Grade IV-VII Patricia Mellsop, HSE Midland Region, Midlands Regional Hospital, Arden Road, Tullamore, Co Offaly. Grade VIII Eamonn Hannon, Laughil, Ardagh, Co Longford. Health promotion Andy Walker, Heart Health Team, Carnegie Centre, Bishop Street, Newcastle West, Co Limerick. Health service librarians Ann Murphy, Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Tallaght, Dublin 24. Healthcare risk managers Debbie Dunne, HSE Community and Primary Care Services, Unit 7, Swords Business Campus, Balheary Road, Swords, Co Dublin.
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
51
Appendix three - Vocational groups Home help organisers Catherine Dempsey, HSE Eastern Region, Poplar House, Poplar Square, Naas, Co Kildare. Hospital audiologists Cathal McGurgan, Hospital Audiologist, Audiology Department, Sligo General Hospital, Co Sligo. HSE capital projects & technical service project managers Arthur Ward, HSE Western Area, Gate Lodge, Merlin Park Regional Hospital, Galway. Information and advice officers Charney Weitzman, Child Care Unit, Tullamore General Hospital, Tullamore, Co Offaly. Instructors Sheila Duddy, St Joseph’s Training Centre, Snipe Avenue, Newcastle, Co Galway. Internal auditors John Banks, HSE North Western Region, 10 The Mall, Sligo. Irish development officers Bairbre Uí Theighneáin, Oifigeach Forbartha Gaeilge, Inniúlacht Corporáideach, Lár-Oifig, Bord Sláinte Lár Tíre, An Tulach Mhór, Co Uíbh Fhaillí. Maintenance supervisors and officers John Forde, Coscorrig, Loughrea, Co Galway. National child care managers John Quinn, HSE, Wicklow Local Health, Office, Glenside Road, Wicklow. National counselling service Helen O’Malley, Harbour Counselling Service, HSE South, Penrose Wharf, Penrose Quay, Cork. Occupational guidance officers Donal Hoban, HSE Western Region, St Mary’s Hospital, Castlebar, Co Mayo. Occupational therapists Donal Cassidy, HSE Dublin North West Community Care, Rathdown Road, Dublin 7. Orthoptists Sheila Callanan, Boherquill, Lismacaffrey, Co Westmeath. Personnel officers Mary Kelly, HSE Northern Area Region, Swords Business Campus, Swords, Co Dublin. Pharmacists Eileen Butler, Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin, Dublin 15. Pharmacy technicians Yvonne Sheehan, Tallaght Hospital, Tallaght, Dublin 24. Physicists Niamh Byrne, Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Tallaght, Dublin 24. Physiotherapists Clodagh Barry, Central Remedial Clinic, Vernon Avenue, Clontarf, Dublin 3. Play therapists Audrey Gregan, St Paul’s Hospital, Beaumont, Dublin 9. Psychologists Neil Austin, Adelaide & Meath Hospital, Tallaght, Dublin 24. Public health nurses Eileen McCarrick, Kilbarrack Health Centre, Kilbarrack, Dublin 13.
52
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
Regional directors of care/regional co-ordinators/ regional general managers Willie Rattigan, Disability Services, HSE Eastern Region, Mill Lane, Palmerstown, Dublin 20. Regional materials managers John O’Donovan, Materials Management, HSE Southern Region, St Finbarr’s Hospital, Douglas Road, Cork. Secretary/managers Nicky Jermyn, CEO, St Vincent’s Hospital, Elm Park, Dublin 4. Specialist property managers Martin Beirne, HSE Property Management, Waterfront House, Bridge Street, Sligo. Social care workers PJ Keating, 21 Crinken Glen, Shankill, Co Dublin. Social workers Neance Ni Rathaille, Social Work Dept, St James`s Hospital, Dublin 8. Speech and language therapists Precious Jenga, Daughters of Charity, St Vincent’s Centre, Lisnagry, Co Limerick. Supplies officers Frank Nicholson, Central Supplies, Kilcruttin Business Park, Tullamore, Co Offaly. Technical services Bernard Pierce, HSE Western Region, Gate Lodge, Merlin Park Regional Hospital, Galway.
Local Government Division Architects Frances Power, City Architects, Dublin City Council, Civic Offices, Wood Quay, Dublin 8. Archivists Michael Lynch, Limerick Regional Archives, The Granary, Michael Street, Limerick. Arts officers Jenny Sherwin, Arts Officer, Wicklow County Council, County Buildings Wicklow, Co Wicklow. Internal auditors Michael Bermingham, Kildare County Council, St Mary's, Naas, Co Kildare. Civil defence officers Edmond Cooney, Civil Defence HQ, Heywood Road, Clonmel, Co Tipperary. Clerical officers Ann Joyce, Unit 23, Sean Mulvoy Business Park, Sean Mulvoy Road, Co Galway. Clerks of works Tim Callan, Laois County Council County Hall, Portlaoise, Co Laois. Community and enterprise development officers Rena Cody, Waterford County Council, Dungarvan, Co Waterford. Directors of regional authorities Tom Kirby, Friar Court, Abbey Street, Nenagh, Co Tipperary. Education centres Grainne Haughney, Drumcondra Education Centre, Drumcondra, Dublin 9.
Appendix three - Vocational groups Environmental workers Antoin Kiely, Limerick County Council, Limerick Estate managers Gerry Farrell, 26 Ard Aoibhinn, Athenry, Co Galway. Directors of finance Peter Scully, Laois County Council, County Hall, Portlaoise. Fire officers, chief Finian Joyce, Leitrim County Council, Áras an Chontae, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim. Fire officers, local authority Eoin O' Donnell, Mallow Fire Station, Mallow, Co Cork. Fire officers, national Michael Forrest, Fire Station, Tralee, Co Kerry. Grades IV to VII Patricia Mellsop, HSE Midland Region, Midlands Regional Hospital, Arden Road, Tullamore, Co Offaly. Heritage officers Lorcan Scott, Carlow County Council, County Offices, Carlow. IT officers Marion O’Neill, Health Information Systems, South Tipperary County Council, Emmet Street, Co Tipperary. Legal assistants Vacant. County and city librarians Donal Tinney, County Library, Sligo. Executive librarians Tony Cox, Donore, Multifarnham, Co Westmeath. Library assistants/senior library assistants Angela Reilly, Monaghan County Library, The Diamond, Clones, Co Monaghan. Branch librarians Breda Bollard, Bohilla, Whitechurch Road, Dublin 14. Museum curators Liam Bradley, Monaghan County Museum, Monaghan Town, Co Monaghan. Planners Alison Scott, Planning Department, Dublin City Council, Civic Offices, Dublin 8. Revenue collectors Sean O’Reilly, Cavan County Council, Cavan. Social workers Pat Richardson, Dublin City Council, Civic Offices, Dublin 8. Solicitors Thomas J O'Donohoe, 7 Pollnarooma West, Knocknacarra, Galway. Local authority storekeepers Sean McHugh, Sligo County Council, Riverside, Sligo. Technicians John Menton, Westmeath County Council, Mullingar, Co Westmeath. Town clerks David Coleman, Tipperary UDC, Town Clerk's Office, Dan Breen House, Co Tipperary. Veterinary officers Michael O’Sullivan, Cavan County Council, Court House, Cavan.
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
53
Appendix four - Central executive committee 2008-2010
Appendix four Central executive committee 2008-2010 President
John Power
Vice Presidents
Margaret Coughlan Charlie Gantley Isabell Murphy Kevin O’Malley
Honourary Treasurer
Billy Gallagher
Honourary Secretary
Alice Hennessy
Honourary Equality Officer
Gerry Monaghan
Civil Service
Bobby Carty Eugene Dunne Una Geaney John O’Flanagan Andy Walsh
Health and Welfare
Local Government
Municipal Employees
Services and Enterprises
Immediate Past President
Adrienne Byrne Dolores Callanan Richard Fitzgerald Sophia O’Reilly
from until until from
July July July July
2009 2009 2009 2009
from July 2009 until July 2009
Frank Branningan Martin Flanagan Jerry King Tom Murray Patricia Whelan
until July 2009 until July 2009 from July 2009 from July 2009
Francis Byrne Chris Finnerty Michael Tomney
until July 2009 from July 2009
Pierce Dillon David Jackson Joe May Michael Scully
from July 2009
Nicholas Keogh Finbarr O’Driscoll
from July 2009 until July 2009
until July 2009
There were 26 Central Executive Meetings held from June 2008-February 2010 (inclusive). Attendance at these meetings can be optained from the General Secretary’s office.
54
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
Appendix five - Divisional executive committees
Appendix five Divisional executive committees Civil Service Division Chairperson Vice Chairperson Members
Eugene Dunne Andy Walsh Bobby Carty, Marian Cody, Benny Conaty, Alan Duffy, Debbie Ivers, Edward Massey, Siobhan Ni Griofa, Pol O'Gaibhin, John O’Flanagan, Judy Price, Thomas Ryder, Philip Slattery, Sheila Smith.
Health and Welfare Division Chairperson Vice Chairperson Members
Sophia O’Reilly Adrienne Byrne Martin Bridgeman, Dolores Callanan, Ashley Connolly, Sean Dowling, David Hackett, Eamon Hannan, John McCarthy, Phil McFadden, Patricia Mellsop, Ruth Robinson, Denis Rooney, Matthew Tully, Sinead Wynne.
Local Government Division Chairperson Vice Chairperson Members
Tom Murray Jerry King Frank Brannigan, Tom Browne, Pat Considine, Eugene Farrelly, Martin Flanagan, Raymond Kennedy, Josephine McCarthy, Joseph Sherlock, Cait Shirran, Patricia Whelan.
Municipal Employees’ Division President Vice President Members
Francis Byrne Michael Tomney Michael Burke, Denis Cahill, Michael Clarke, Terry Crosbie, Stephen Curran, Francis Doyle, John Gaynor, Anthony Gibson, David Greene, Damien Guilfoyle, Seamus Kavanagh, Thomas Kavanagh, Ros MacCobb, Francis McLoughlin, Michael McLoughlin, Patrick Morris, Thomas Murtagh, Declan O’Brien, Michael Ross, Edward Smith, Mark Wynne.
Services and Enterprises Division Chairperson Vice Chairperson Members
Joe May Michael Scully Joe Bonner, Aoife Clabby, Paul Crinion, Evan Cullen, Tony Dawson, Ciounnaith De Hamaltuin, Pierce Dillon, Ernest Donnelly, Bernard Flood, Ian McDonald, Colm O’Dwyer, Paul O’Shea, Patrick Quinn.
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
55
Appendix six - Staff
Appendix six Staff General Secretary
Peter McLoone
Deputy General Secretary
Shay Cody
National Secretaries
Tom Brady Kevin Callinan Bernard Harbor Paddy Keating Peter Nolan Louise O’Donnell
56
(municipal employees) (Retired December 2009) (health & welfare) (communications) (general manager) (local government) (civil service)
Assistant General Secretaries
Pat Bolger Denis Calnan Christina Carney Richy Carrothers Shay Clinton Christine Cully Gerry Dolan Eamonn Donnelly Josephine Fogarty Johnny Fox Brian Gorman Stella Griffin Tom Hoare Janet Hughes Hilary Kelleher Angela Kirk
Personal Assistant to the General Secretary Executive Assistant
Teresa Griffin Valerie West
Senior Personal Assistants
Elaine Elliott (health & welfare) Julie Healy (civil service) Nuala O’Driscoll (local government) Jacinta O’Sullivan (services and enterprises)
Personal Assistants
Bernie Aston Elizabeth Breen Linda Casey (part time) Judith Coffey Noeline Deegan Margaret Gorman
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
Michael Landers Marie Levis Stephen Lyons Brendan McKay Philip Mullen Padraig Mulligan Geraldine O’Brien Stephen O’Neill Andy Pike Des Robinson Denis Rohan Ray Ryan Robbie Ryan Matt Staunton
Appendix six - Staff
Personal Assistants
Eileen Grehan (part time) Carol Foster Jennifer Flaherty Ailish Kearney (part time) Joan Kepple Joan King Rita Lidierth Jennifer McKenna (career break) John Meehan Bridget Murphy Carol Nevin (part time) Deirdre O’Brien Anna O’Donoghue Mary O’Neill Maureen Rooke (part time) Brid Ruddle Jackie Spoonley Jojo Taaffe (part time) Carol Timmons
Receptionists/Telephonists
Margaret Jackson Ann Tiernan (part time)
COMMUNICATIONS UNIT Communications Officer Administrative
ACCOUNTS Finance Officer Senior Accounts Officer Accounts Administrative Officer Accounts Officers
Niall Shanahan Roisin Nolan Martina O’Leary (part time) Patricia O’Mahony (part time)
Anna Leonard Silvana del Valle Cardozo Aideen Sharry (job sharing) Mohamad Abdillahi Abdi Margaret Butler Mairead Hanratty
Membership Officer
Siobhan Maguire
Post Room
Brid Nic Aodha Bhui
General Assistant
Frank O’Donnell
Service Assistants
Maureen Crosbie Svetlana Smytkova
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
57
Appendix seven - ICTU committees and affiliations
Appendix seven ICTU committees and affiliations ICTU Executive Council Peter McLoone, Shay Cody, Louise O’Donnell.
Other Affiliations
ICTU General Purposes Committee Peter McLoone.
European Federation of Public Service Unions Peter McLoone (Executive Committee), Kevin Callinan (Health Committee), Peter Nolan (Local and Regional Government Committee), Louise O’Donnell (Standing Committee on National and European Administration).
ICTU Public Services Committee Peter McLoone (Chairperson), Kevin Callinan, Shay Cody, Bernard Harbor, Peter Nolan, Louise O’Donnell, John Power. ICTU Global Solidarity Committee Shay Cody, Bernard Harbor. ICTU Disputes Committee Bobby Carty. ICTU Youth Committee Ciara Browne, Brian Furey. ICTU Retired Workers Committee Mick Duffy, Jerry Walsh. ICTU Liaison Group on Disability Pat Fallon, Gerald Monaghan. ICTU Women’s Committee Adrienne Byrne. ICTU Equality Network Paddy Keating. ICTU Health, Safety and Welfare Committee Bobby Carty. ICTU Communications Strategy Team Bernard Harbor, Niall Shanahan. North-South Group Peter McLoone. Private Sector Industrial Committee Shay Cody. Social Employment Scheme Monitoring Committee Christina Carney.
58
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
Eurocadres Peter Nolan (Executive Committee). Institute of European Affairs Shay Cody, Bernard Harbor, Paddy Keating, Peter McLoone. Affiliation to other bodies Amnesty International, Dublin Council of Trade Unions, Excellence Ireland, European Transport Federation, Foundation for Fiscal Studies, Institute of Public Administration, Irish Labour History Society, Irish Senior Citizens Parliament, National Irish Safety Organisation, National Women's Council of Ireland, People's College, Public Services International, Retirement Planning Council.
Appendix eight - Extracts from IMPACT accounts
Appendix eight Extracts from IMPACT accounts General Fund for the year ended 31 December 2009 2009
2008
2007
€
€
€
13,485,974
11,837,089
11,189,717
341,831
227,266
205,809
16,687
75,113
-
549
564
810
13,845,041
12,140,032
11,396,336
-10,576,341
-9,503,472
-8,726,315
-282,000
231,000
240,968
2,986,700
2,867,560
2,910,989
-
-
61,537
-68,728
-45,566
-37,454
2,917,972
2,821,994
2,935,072
2,917,972
2,821,994
2,935,072
-1,319,000
-7,611,000
2,672,819
424,580
-73,425
5,557
2,023,552
-4,862,431
5,613,448
Original surplus brought forward
2,455,770
7,318,201
1,704,753
Total recognised gains and losses
2,023,552
-4,862,431
5,613,448
Surplus at end of year
4,479,322
2,455,770
7,318,201
Income Subscription income Investment income Other income Loan interest receivable Total income
Expenditure Administration, establishment and general expenses Other finance costs Surplus for year before tax Share in FUGE surplus Tax Surplus for year after tax Statement of total recognised gains and losses Surplus for year after tax Net actuarial gains/(losses): Defined benefit pension scheme Decrease/(increase) in provision for ex-gratia pensions Total recognised gains and losses Movement in the General Fund for the year
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
59
Appendix eight - Extracts from IMPACT accounts Developing World Fund 2009
2008
2007
€
€
€
529,845
480,389
441,238
4,157
3,989
2,150
534,002
484,378
443,388
-474,615
-579,805
-435,885
59,387
-95,427
7,503
-858
-798
-430
Surplus/(deficit) for year after tax
58,529
-96,225
7,073
Surplus at beginning of year
25,505
121,730
114,657
Surplus at end of year
84,034
25,505
121,730
2009
2008
2007
€
€
€
1,766,151
1,601,295
1,470,796
- Profit on disposal of investments
727,330
-
19,220
- Deposit/government stocks interest and dividends paid
515,700
785,840
666,252
99,702
99,702
99,702
3,108,883
2,486,837
2,255,970
Commission on purchase of investments
15,940
-
7,516
Investment consultancy fees
24,275
24,225
24,200
Legal and other dispute fund costs
131,038
36,245
-
Depreciation
250,099
249,844
244,980
Total expenditure
421,352
310,314
276,696
2,687,531
2,176,523
1,979,274
-125,191
-164,942
-152,548
2,562,340
2,011,581
1,826,726
Surplus at beginning of year
24,703,788
22,692,207
20,865,481
Surplus at end of year
27,266,128
24,703,788
22,692,207
Income Subscription income Deposit interest Total income
Expenditure Projects Surplus/(deficit) for year before tax Tax
Dispute Fund Income Subscription income Investment income
- Rent receivable Total income
Expenditure
Surplus for year before tax Tax Surplus for year after tax
60
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
Appendix eight - Extracts from IMPACT accounts Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2009
2008
2007
€
€
€
Tangible fixed assets
10,467,776
10,774,329
10,672,978
Investments
11,029,147
9,165,426
9,165,426
Subtotal
21,496,923
19,939,755
19,838,404
2,360,076
2,259,035
2,183,443
Cash on deposit and at bank
17,545,535
13,982,777
11,146,078
Subtotal
19,905,611
16,241,812
13,329,521
Creditors (amounts falling due within one year)
-1,636,329
-1,277,052
-1,907,293
Net current assets
18,269,282
14,964,760
11,422,228
Total assets less current liabilities
39,766,205
34,904,516
31,260,632
-7,936,721
-7,719,453
-1,128,494
31,829,484
27,185,063
30,132,138
General Fund
4,479,322
2,455,770
7,318,201
Dispute Fund
27,266,128
24,703,788
22,692,207
84,034
25,505
121,730
31,829,484
27,185,063
30,132,138
2009
2008
2007
€
€
€
Rent, rates and insurance
247,013
221,332
139,110
Light and heat
73,223
79,198
62,305
Security
52,844
53,495
68,042
Canteen and cleaning
98,417
91,859
113,544
471,497
445,884
383,001
Maintenance
49,194
34,993
46,169
Repairs and renewals
38,656
80,704
52,961
Information technology developments
194,858
190,864
101,276
Membership system data maintenance
88,963
42,950
-
Depreciation
159,995
166,598
131,226
Subtotal
531,666
516,109
331,632
Current Assets Debtors and prepayments
Provision for liabilities and charges Net assets
Represented by
Developing World Fund Total
General Fund expenditure analysis Building
Subtotal
Equipment
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
61
Appendix eight - Extracts from IMPACT accounts Staff
2009
2008
2007
€
€
€
6,123,847
5,932,656
5,192,680
Pension scheme
400,550
484,000
706,752
Income continuance and insured pension costs
206,704
203,070
184,717
35,584
8,636
34,921
268,419
346,478
316,736
Staff training
22,520
33,993
25,719
Other employment costs
18,188
30,439
9,915
7,075,812
7,039,272
6,471,440
Printing and stationery
138,976
159,648
109,433
Telephone
138,382
140,872
146,131
Post and delivery
100,293
96,076
59,622
Subtotal
377,651
396,596
315,186
257,795
236,633
200,444
4,116
12,745
8,109
108,368
103,335
115,212
Union/divisional conferences
98,067
85,263
70,639
ICTU meetings/conferences
33,224
14,107
31,450
Other meetings/conferences
72,083
93,738
115,265
3,431
8,352
38,723
15,044
16,584
4,131
592,127
570,757
583,973
295,799
-
-
61,842
48,660
29,707
8,000
8,000
16,767
57,800
42,202
40,000
182
6,224
-
15,736
34,697
36,592
192,490
231,012
211,851
Books and journals
26,256
31,635
27,816
CEC approved projects
51,072
50,958
50,000
-16
-724
46,908
502,895
506
43,147
20,000
-
-
1,232,056
453,170
502,788
Salaries and secondment costs
Recruitment expenses Staff travel and subsistence
Subtotal
Communications
Meetings and Conferences Affiliation fees Vocational groups Divisional meetings
International meetings/conferences Recruitment and organisation Subtotal
Promotion ICTU recruitment strategy Miscellaneous public relations Donations Community development grants Membership cards and badges Annual report 'Work & Life'/IMPACT News
Publication: '21 years of social partnership' Public service pay campaign Union history Subtotal
62
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
Appendix eight - Extracts from IMPACT accounts Membership services
2009
2008
2007
€
€
€
2,750
3,000
1,750
Scholarship
25,383
15,050
18,450
Members' training
63,017
64,276
-2,934
Refund of subscriptions
14,764
7,079
12,754
Death in service scheme
328
-
-
5,822
-
-
-
-13
160
112,064
89,392
30,180
133,748
-47,783
54,893
37,421
27,994
28,311
-
-
14,923
12,299
12,082
9,988
183,468
-7,707
108,115
10,576,340
9,503,472
8,726,314
Benevolent grants
Legal assistance Rail vouchers Subtotal
Fees Legal fees Audit, accountancy and taxation fees Consultancy fees Bank charges Subtotal Total
IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010
63
PRODUCED BY IMPACT Communications Unit, Nerney’s Court, Dublin 1. Phone 01-817-1500. E-mail rnolan@impact.ie DESIGNED BY N. O’Brien Design and Print Management Ltd, c/o Kempis, Jamestown Business Park, Jamestown Road, Finglas, Dublin 11. Phone 01-864-1920 . E-mail nikiobrien@eircom.net PHOTOGRAPHY Conor Healy (pages 2, 4, 13, 21, 22, 30, 36, 44) Dylan Vaughan (page 35) Sunday Tribune (page 6) Micheal Crean (pages 14, 40) Moya Nolan (page 26)
DUBLIN Nerney’s Court, Dublin 1. Phone: 01-817-1500 Fax: 01-817-1501/2/3. Email: info@impact.ie CORK Father Matthew Quay, Cork. Phone: 021-425-5210 Fax: 021-494-4682. Email: impactcork@impact.ie GALWAY Unit 23, Sean Mulvoy Business Park, Sean Mulvoy Road, Galway. Phone: 091-778-031 Fax: 091-778-026. Email: impactgalway@impact.ie SLIGO 51 John Street, Sligo. Phone: 071-914-2400 Fax: 071-914-1365. Email: impactsligo@impact.ie
www.impact.ie