Local Government Divisional Report - 09/11

IMPACT Local Government, Education & Local Services Division Report 2009–2011

www.qualitypublicservices.ie

Front cover photo Despite criticism of local government working hours, thousands of staff were out dealing with the big freeze over the Christmas 2010 and New Year holidays.

Photo by Photocall Ireland.

IMPACT Local Government, Education and Local Services Division Report 2009-2011

www.qualitypublicservices.ie

CONTENTS

Organisation ............................................................................................................................5 Divisional executive committee....................................................................................................................................5 Divisional council ................................................................................................................................................................5 Organisation and recruitment......................................................................................................................................5 Local government partnership ....................................................................................................................................5

Pay and incomes ....................................................................................................................5 Croke Park agreement....................................................................................................................................................5 Background to Croke Park ............................................................................................................................................6 Pensions ................................................................................................................................................................................7 Travel and subsistence....................................................................................................................................................7 Minimum pay ........................................................................................................................................................................7

Modernisation and industrial relations ........................................................................8 Croke Park agreement: Modernisation ..................................................................................................................8 Status of action plan priorities ....................................................................................................................................8 Employment levels..............................................................................................................................................................8 FĂ S work experience........................................................................................................................................................9 Efficiency review group ....................................................................................................................................................9 Family friendly policies......................................................................................................................................................9

Local government sectoral and vocational developments....................................9 Environmental scientists/technicians ....................................................................................................................9 Fire services..........................................................................................................................................................................9 Libraries..................................................................................................................................................................................9 Local authority veterinary inspectors ......................................................................................................................9 Rapid coordinators ........................................................................................................................................................10 Social workers and housing welfare officers ....................................................................................................10

Education ..............................................................................................................................10 Croke Park agreement: Education sector modernisation ..........................................................................10 Education centres ..........................................................................................................................................................10 Institutes of technology ................................................................................................................................................10 National Educational Welfare Board ....................................................................................................................11 School completion programme................................................................................................................................11 School secretaries..........................................................................................................................................................11 Special needs assistants ............................................................................................................................................11 Vocational education committees ..........................................................................................................................12

Appendices............................................................................................................................13 Salary scales......................................................................................................................................................................14 Travel and subsistence ................................................................................................................................................16

Photo: Conor Healy

Local government divisional executive committee

Front row (left to right): Cait Shirran, Jerry King (Cathaoirleach), Peter Nolan (National Secretary IMPACT), Eugene Farrelly, Linda Casey (staff) Back Row (left to right): Susan Sherin, Sean Reid, Declan Howard, Pat Considine, Joe Sherlock, Tom Browne, Ray Kennedy, Josephine McCarthy Committee members not in photo: Frank Brannigan and John McKenna

Organisation Divisional executive committee The following were elected to IMPACT’s Local Government, Education and Local Services Divisional Executive Committee (DEC) at the 2009 divisional conference: Tom Murray (cathaoirleach), Jerry King (leas cathaoirleach), Patricia Whelan (third divisional representative on IMPACT’s Central Executive Committee), Frank Brannigan, Tom Browne, Pat Considine, Eugene Farrelly, Ray Kennedy, Catherine Keogh, Josephine McCarthy, John McKenna, Susan Sherin, Joe Sherlock and Cáit Shirran. In July 2009 branches were invited to nominate candidates to fill of a vacancy on the DEC and Joan McCrohan was elected at the September 2009 divisional council meeting.

When Tom Murray was elected IMPACT treasurer and Catherine Keogh was elected IMPACT equality officer in 2010, they resigned from the DEC. Jerry King became cathaoirleach and Patricia Whelan became leas cathaoirleach at the June 2010 DEC meeting, where Joan McCrohan was elected as the third divisional representative on the CEC. The two vacant DEC positions were filled

by Seán Reid and Declan Howard at the July 2010 divisional council. Patricia Whelan and Joan McCrohan resigned from the executive when they were appointed to the schools recruitment pilot project in January 2011 and were replaced by Eugene Farrelly (leas cathaoirleach) and Frank Brannigan (third divisional representative on the CEC).

Divisional council Divisional council meetings were held throughout 20092011 and participation rates improved after DEC members took responsibility for encouraging branches to attend. However, there are continuing concerns that a small number of branches do not attend regularly, which reduced the division’s overall effectiveness. The DEC organised a well-attended meeting with south-east region branches in October 2010.

Organisation and recruitment The division continued to grow between May 2009 and the end of 2010, although growth appeared to be declining in the early months of 2011. Recruitment is a standing item on each monthly DEC agenda. Industrial staff and branches have committed to improve training, which specifically highlights the issue of recruitment.

In 2010, the DEC established a sub-committee to examine the potential for additional recruitment in the schools sector. The subsequent report established that there were over 7,000 potential IMPACT members among special needs assistants, school secretaries and caretakers. In November, the CEC approved a DEC proposal that two

staff be appointed for a six-month pilot project to improve recruitment in the sector. Joan McCrohan and Patricia Whelan were appointed in January 2011.

Local government partnership The poor industrial relations climate following the imposition of the so-called ‘pension levy’ and pay cuts damaged the partnership process. As part of its industrial action, IMPACT withdrew from participation in local partnership committees and the Local Authority National Partnership Advisory Group (LANPAG). The union expressed disappointment that other unions did not take the same position. A meeting of partnership facilitators was convened to explain the union’s position. As a result of conference resolutions, IMPACT successfully sought an independent review of the partnership process and a report is expected to be published in the coming months. It is likely that LANPAG will face a substantial cut in its 2011 budget and unions will need to carefully evaluate their continued involvement in the process.

Pay and incomes Croke Park agreement Public service unions voted to ratify the Croke Park public service agreement by a margin of almost two-thirds in June 2010 and more unions have ratified the agreement since. IMPACT members had earlier voted to accept the deal by a margin of 77% to 23% in a national ballot of the members concerned. The turnout was 57%. The agreement rules out compulsory redundancies or further cuts in public service pay. It also contains important safeguards on pensions and outsourcing and includes a process for the reversal of public service pay cuts if sufficient savings flow from the substantial reforms set out in the deal.

The number of public servants fell by around 16,000 between March 2009 and March 2011. This staffing reduction is now generating annual savings of €900 million and substantial additional savings will flow as Government plans for further large-scale staffing cuts are implemented between now and 2015. The Croke Park reform and redeployment measures are designed to maintain and, in some cases expand, services in the face of these huge staff reductions. The ongoing moratorium on public service recruitment and promotion accounts for most of the staffing reductions, although 2,000 left the health service through voluntary redundancy and early retirement schemes at the end of 2010.

Between them, the so-called pension levy and pay cuts are also creating additional annual savings of €1.8 billion, while reforms in specific parts of the public service have Report 2009–2011

5

delivered further significant savings. The website www.implementationbody.gov.ie sets out in detail the savings and reforms being delivered under the agreement.

IMPACT has worked hard to ensure the full and rapid implementation of the agreement and to build and retain support among key opinion formers in Government and elsewhere. IMPACT general secretary Shay Cody and other union leaders met finance minister Brian Lenihan in advance of the IMF negotiations at the end of 2010 and the minister confirmed his Government’s commitment to the agreement. An Irish Congress of Trade Unions delegation met representatives of the IMF, European Central Bank and European Union and discussions also took place with the European Trade Union Confederation.

Subsequently, the November 2010 deal agreed between the last Government and the IMF, European Central Bank and European Union specifically said that the Croke Park agreement remains in place. However, the IMF-ECB-EU memorandum of understanding includes a Government requirement to “consider an appropriate adjustment” in the public sector wage bill if the Croke Park agreement does not deliver sufficient savings.

IMPACT has also maintained communications with the major political parties, including the new Government parties. In response to questions from IMPACT during the 2011 election, all the major political parties said they would honour the agreement on the understanding that it would deliver very substantial savings and a reconfiguration of public services.

However, the agreement continues to attract vocal and generally ill-informed criticism from commentators in the media, business and a small minority of politicians, who support compulsory redundancies and more pay cuts in the public service. This presents a real danger that the political ground could shift unless the agreement is seen to deliver real savings and reforms. For this reason, union representatives on the Croke Park national implementation body have continued to press management for tangible proposals that produce savings, avoid future costs, bring service improvements, or deliver quantifiable efficiency improvements. IMPACT also developed detailed training modules for branch representatives to help them to ensure that the deal is being implemented on the ground and that staff get the protections included in the deal. This training has been delivered to branches in all regions and remains available.

Background to the Croke Park deal The Government-imposed so-called ‘pension levy’ became effective on 1st March 2009. Just before this, IMPACT’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) confirmed that it had no basis to sanction participation in a planned one-day strike 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 rules.

6

Following extensive consultation, which included a joint meeting of the CEC and all five divisional executive committees (DECs), a consultative council meeting, staff meetings, and the union’s 2009 divisional conferences, the CEC adopted a statement of campaign priorities, which covered pay, pensions, job security, working conditions, the protection of public services during the recession, and the pursuit of increased investment in public services as the economy recovers. The union then organised hundreds of workplace meetings over the summer of 2009, which were attended by over 10,000 members in total. As a result, a second ballot in September-October 2009 achieved a massive 86% endorsement for industrial action on a 69% turnout. Meanwhile, it became clear that the Government was planning a further public service pay cut.

In October 2009 the union also launched a €450,000 advertising campaign, aimed at bolstering its defence of public services and the people who provide them. This included full-page newspaper adverts, nationwide billboard advertising, advertising inside buses and DART trains, a leaflet drop to over a million households, and a ‘viral’ campaign using Facebook, Twitter and the IMPACT website.

A 24-hour public service strike took place on 24th November 2009 involving IMPACT and other public service unions. This led to resumed talks with Government representatives after unions received indications that the Government might negotiate an alternative to the imposition of pay cuts. IMPACT entered the talks on the basis of its agreed priorities, 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.

Between the end of November and early December 2009, sectoral negotiations about the transformation of public services had progressed so far that negotiators on both sides had finalised texts on transformation in health, local government, education, and the civil service and noncommercial semi-state bodies. These would have formed agreements in each sector subject to an overall deal being concluded. In addition, 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 this 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.

The cabinet discussed the proposal at its meeting of 1st December and, following that meeting, the employers’ side confirmed to 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 finalized, the ICTU Public Services Committee decided to suspend a second one-day

IMPACT Local Government, Education and Local Services Division

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 ICTU negotiators the employers said the Government had decided not to proceed to conclude an agreement. It had reneged on the proposed deal.

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.

The Government’s decision to reject the deal revealed its determination to drive down wages in the public and private sectors. The 2010 budget included 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.

The Government’s main proposed provisions for the new scheme for new entrants include raising the minimum public service pension age from 65 to 66 years (in line with changes to the old age pension), setting a maximum retirement age of 70 years and basing pensions on ‘career average’ earnings rather than final salary. Public service unions decided to engage with management in an industrial relations framework, as opposed to a consultative process, on the detail of the proposals and details of the scheme for new entrants. An outcome was concluded in the Labour Relations Commission, which was noted by the ICTU Public Services Committee. Legislation is required to give effect to the new scheme.

Industrial action 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.

On foot of this, renewed discussions between public service management and unions got underway in Croke Park on 12th March. The talks were facilitated by Kieran Mulvey, Kevin Foley, Anna Perry 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. IMPACT subsequently sought and received clarifications on aspects of the proposals, which significantly clarified and strengthened its safeguards for workers. The union then put the proposals to a ballot of members concerned, who backed it by a large majority.

The final budget of the outgoing Government imposed a further 10% pay cut for new entrants to public service recruitment grades. Staff who have previously been in temporary or permanent public service employment will not be subject to the % additional cut if they are recruited to the same grade or a grade analogous to their previous employment. This includes those who have previously been on fixed-term contracts or who were on approved breaks in service like leave, temporary assignments or secondments. The additional pay cut, which comes on top of the so-called pension levy and the average 7% pay cut imposed last year, applies to new entrants appointed on or after 1st January 2011.

Pensions Significant changes in pension arrangements for new entrants to the public service were announced in the

Travel and subsistence Civil service general council reports 1504 and 1505 set out agreed travel and subsistence rates for the civil service, which are generally applied across the public service. In 2009, the rates were reduced by 25% through legislation. No review of the rates has taken place since June 2008 when civil service unions lodged a claim to the civil service conciliation and arbitration scheme for the implementation of the agreed rates. The claim was processed as far as the arbitration stage. However, the unions judged that the arbitrator was unlikely to find in their favour in the current climate, particularly as Government had imposed the cuts through legislation.

Therefore, the unions proposed a joint informal review of travel and subsistence rates in accordance with the normal criteria, which take account of motoring costs, hotel costs and foreign travel. The informal review will take account of figures gathered at the end of April 2011.

Agreement to a joint informal review does not imply any change in the existing Government policy.

Minimum pay The new Government elected in February 2011 said it would reverse the €1 an hour cut in the statutory minimum wage. This was a priority campaign issue for IMPACT and ICTU after the cut in the pay floor was introduced by the outgoing Government in its last budget.

However, the new administration is to press ahead with reform of the Joint Labour Committee (JLC) structure, which sets minimum pay and other conditions, above the statutory base, in certain sectors. Unions, who fear the declaration that “reform options will examine the rate of pay for atypical hours” could lead to a reduction in weekend and overtime rates set by JLCs, have vowed to keep up the pressure on the new Government.

Report 2009–2011

7

Modernisation and industrial relations Croke Park agreement: Local government modernisation Under the Croke Park agreement, each sector is required to establish an implementation body and produce action plans for the implementation of the agreed modernisation measures. The Local Authority Implementation Committee (LAIC) was established in July 2010. The committee, which reports to the National Implementation Body (NIB) through its independent chair, former trade union leader Dan Murphy, has equal representation from unions and employers. IMPACT national secretary Peter Nolan is a member of LIAC and acts as secretary for the union side.

LIAC held 11 meetings before the end of March 2011.

Following discussions between the parties, a national local authority sectoral action plan was agreed on in September 2010. The plan, which is available on the IMPACT website, includes objectives under six headings: Restructuring, shared services, procurement, e-government, redeployment, and productivity and performance.

The Local Government Management Services Board (LGMSB), which represents employers, identified seven priority objectives: Attendance management and revised sick leave schemes, fortnightly pay, a review of on-call arrangements, a review of traditional working arrangements, standardisation of annual leave, standardisation of the working week, and standardisation of retained firefighters’ payment systems.

A revised action plan was produced by the employers in January 2011 in response to the national implementation body’s (NIB) request for amendments to reflect measures announced in the 2011 budget. The revised plan, which sought earlier implementation of measures already outlined, was not agreed with IMPACT.

Status of action plan priorities Following the employers’ agreement to withdraw proposals to reduce the uncertified sick leave facility from seven to five days a year, agreement was reached on revised attendance management and sick leave schemes. IMPACT sought and received assurances that employers at national level did not intend to alter the method of payment for staff on sick leave.

It has been agreed that fortnightly pay will be determined by each local authority and that local consultation will take place before the change is introduced. Employees who are paid monthly will also have the option to be paid fortnightly.

Employer proposals to change arrangements for call-out and on-call payments have been rejected by IMPACT. It is

8

likely that further discussions will take place. IMPACT stressed that employees only participate in these schemes on a voluntary basis.

The local government Croke Park modernisation chapter did not contain commitments to ‘five over six’ or ‘five over seven’ working weeks, split shifts, or annualised hours.

Attempts by employers to introduce these practices were referred to the Labour Relations Commission. Following discussions at the LRC, the national implementation body said that employers can raise these matters with the union but any discussions would not be under the auspices of the Croke Park agreement.

IMPACT prevented the unilateral implementation of increased working hours in local authorities on 1st April 2011 after the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) recommended that no change should occur before the Croke Park national implementation body had ruled on the matter. The union cautiously welcomed the referral to the national implementation body as a “small but significant step in defending conditions of employment” and repeated its view that standardisation of leave and working hours, which is required under the Croke Park agreement, does not mean imposing increased hours or less leave on all staff, which is not required under the agreement. This followed employer proposals to reduce annual leave entitlements and increase the working week, which were emphatically rejected by the DEC. The matter was referred to the LRC in March 2011 following coordinated local campaigns to highlight the unfairness of the proposals.

IMPACT proposed that the public appointments service be used as a resource for the provision of redeployment posts. This was agreed and a circular, which was subsequently issued by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, is available on the IMPACT website. Mayo County Council’s attempts to lay-off site technicians were successfully opposed by the union.

Discussions on the method of payment for retained fire fighters are continuing.

Employment levels The moratorium on public service recruitment remains in place under the Croke Park agreement. Government, employers, unions and the IMF-EU-ECB ‘memorandum of understanding’ all acknowledge that the agreement will generate the most substantial savings through the reduction of staff numbers and the subsequent redeployment of staff to protect and, where possible, enhance service delivery in priority areas. The Croke Park national implementation body has estimated that the number of public servants fell by 16,000 between 2008 and 2010, which is now generating savings of €900 million a year.

Local government staffing numbers are expected to fall to 2001 levels by the end of 2011.

The local government chapter of the Croke Park agreement put local government employment at 37,242 wholetime equivalents in June 2008. By December 2010 that had reduced by over 7,000 to 30,703 – a reduction of over 17%. The Government’s end-2011 employment

IMPACT Local Government, Education and Local Services Division

control figure for local government is 30,750. This means that the local government sector achieved its 2011 staffing target at least a year early. IMPACT has raised this at the LAIC because the Croke Park agreement says the recruitment and promotions moratorium must apply “until numbers in each sector have fallen to the appropriate level specified in the employment control framework.”

Local government sectoral and vocational developments

FÁS work experience

Environmental scientists/technicians

The Croke Park agreement provides for FÁS work experience programmes throughout the public service, but says they should not be used to replace vacant posts. This is also clear in the relevant departmental circular, which is available on the IMPACT website. The union is in dispute with Roscommon County Council over its attempts to use the scheme to fill vacancies.

Efficiency review group Former Minister John Gormley established a local government efficiency review group under the chairmanship of Pat McLaughlin. IMPACT’s submission to the group drew attention to the highly centralised nature of government in Ireland and agreed the development of shared services in local government. The published report contained 106 recommendations including the creation of administrative support services for combined local authorities. The report also recommended substantial further reductions in staffing and further staff reviews in Dublin City and Cork. The DEC considered the efficiency review group report and noted that any changes arising from the report would have to be introduced in the context of Croke Park commitments.

Family friendly policies There has been a disappointing erosion of family friendly policies across the local authority sector. Many branches have reported employers’ attempts to limit term-time schemes and flexi-time. The LGMSB has refused to participate in a joint referral on the matter and a number of branches have referred such issues to the Labour Relations Commission. Separately, the Monaghan branch is contesting management attempts to alter their flexischeme and a Labour Court hearing is awaited.

Union concerns about promotion and grading issues were referred to the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) where the employers agreed to conduct a review. At the time of writing, other unions involved have not clarified whether they will participate in this. IMPACT has once again sought the assistance of the LRC on the matter.

Fire services The fire services sub-committee met regularly throughout 2009-2011 and considered a claim for a revised roster allowance. The DEC wished a happy and healthy retirement to the former chief fire officer in Waterford county Tony McCarthy, who is a former chairperson of the union’s Waterford County branch and was a senior spokesperson for the union’s fire services sub-committee.

Libraries A number of branches were engaged in negotiations to ensure adequate staff levels were maintained and the DEC reiterated its position that library grade duties are not transferable with those of equivalent clerical and administrative grades. The Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown branch ensured that no co-operation was extended to management when it attempted to run a library without library grades. The national vocational group is to hold a training course for branch librarians.

Local authority veterinary inspectors The vocational group is seeking discussions on revised application of the efficiency and effectiveness allowance and is considering undertaking a study on the future development of the service.

Report 2009–2011

9

Rapid coordinators IMPACT is preparing to use the Protection of Employees (Fixed Term Workers) Act 2003 to defend the interests of Rapid coordinators. It is also challenging employers’ attempts to worsen working conditions as a result of funding cuts imposed by Pobal.

Social workers and housing welfare officers Separate claims for social workers and housing welfare officers in Dublin city and the rest of the country have been referred to the Labour Relations Commission (LRC). The employers are opposed to conducting separate discussions on the claims despite the fact that the structures in Dublin are vastly different to those in the remainder of the country. In the current climate, progress on the claims will not be easily achieved.

Education IMPACT’s new deputy general secretary Kevin Callinan was assigned overall responsibility for policy, pay and conditions in the education sector on his appointment in the summer of 2010. This was with a view to developing proposals for the most appropriate organisational structure for the sector within the union. The main challenges facing IMPACT in the sector are to: l Continue to assert IMPACT’s increased membership and role l Improve membership density in schools-based grades l Achieve improved job security for SNAs and negotiate on the Croke Park agenda l The joint forum on pay and conditions of grant-funded schools staff l Reverse the pay cuts imposed on grant-funded schools staff l Deal with the effects of VEC rationalisation l Deal with the Hunt report in the Institutes of Technology l Recruit staff in education centres with a view to establishing a vibrant branch and l Identify and quantify savings arising from the Croke Park agreement.

10

Croke Park agreement: Education sector modernisation Under the Croke Park agreement, each sector is required to establish an implementation body and produce action plans for the implementation of the agreed modernisation measures. Kevin Callinan is a trade union representative on the education sector implementation group (ESIG), which has an independent chair and equal representation from unions and management. The action plan produced by the Department of Education and Skills (DES) contains an elaboration of the various change agenda items set out in the agreement, broken down under the following categories: Teachers, special needs assistants, VEC staff (other than teachers and SNAs), institutes of technology (academic staff), institutes of technology (non-academic staff), universities and higher education institutes (academic staff), and universities and higher education institutes (non-academic staff). In March 2011, the DES agreed to share with IMPACT its assessment of progress and plans on shared services, procurement and student support.

The sectoral deliberations were overshadowed by the initial decision of three education unions to reject the Croke Park agreement. By April 2011 ASTI and the TUI had joined the process and further discussions were taking place with IFUT.

Education centres Members in education centres want to develop a national branch for education centre staff. The DEC has supported this initiative and encouraged members in the centres to become actively involved in the establishment of the new branch. An ad-hoc vocational group for education centre staff has been established and an annual general meeting of this group has been arranged to elect an executive and put proposals on the creation of a new branch to the Central Executive Committee.

Institutes of technology IMPACT’s Institute of Technology (IOT) branch has successfully revived meetings with the employers’ umbrella body the IOTI. The long-standing sports officer claim is being addressed. Circulars on contracts of indefinite duration and incremental credit for acting up are imminent. The union side is also close to agreeing an updated industrial relations procedure document with the IOTI. The Hunt report on a national strategy for higher education, presented by the outgoing Government in January 2011, is now under review. The report recommends alliances between, and amalgamations of, institutes of technology. Talks on the integration of the Limerick IT and the Tipperary Institute are underway.

IMPACT Local Government, Education and Local Services Division

The public service recruitment moratorium and employment control framework continue to present problems in ITs where a number of temporary staff did not have their fixed-term contracts renewed. IMPACT has referred a number of cases to the Rights Commissioners and the Labour Relations Commission.

National Educational Welfare Board The National Educational Welfare Board branch had a successful AGM and has eventually had an action plan proposed by management. This centres on an integration plan with the school completion programme and other stakeholders. The branch has been successful in personal Rights Commissioner cases although the longstanding issue of a working from home allowance remains unresolved. A favourable Rights Commissioner recommendation on the upgrading of clerical officers in regional offices is yet to be implemented.

School completion programme The public sector pay cut was imposed on members of the School Completion Programme (SCP) branch even though most are not direct VEC employees with access to the pension scheme. Despite some concerns about contracts, the branch is satisfied that the SCP area will function until 2013 at least. IMPACT is in talks with the education department on these matters where the union is pressing for a joint review of the service with a view to its consolidation.

School secretaries The enthusiasm that greeted the establishment of a forum on pay and conditions for school secretaries was quickly replaced by frustration when a series of engagements with the education department and representatives of management boards failed to achieve results. At the last meeting in September 2010, the department sought to defer consideration of minimum pay rates for school secretaries and caretakers until March 2011, to align the issue with the wider public sector under the Croke Park agreement.

to worsen terms and conditions or impose unnecessary or repugnant contractual clauses. IMPACT has issued an advisory note and guidelines to members and is continuing to engage with schools where problems arise.

Supervision and substitution arrangements, which continue to cause concern for a significant number of school secretaries, are being discussed with a reluctant education department. Although this issue does not affect every member of the branch, it indicates the wider lack of respect for the valuable contribution made by school secretaries. The union is currently representing many school secretaries on issues of status, respect and dignity in the workplace. These are challenging and invariably protracted issues which damage ongoing good relations as well as being devastating for the workers involved.

Special needs assistants IMPACT’s Special Needs Assistants’ (SNA) branch consolidated in 2010 when its ADM was instrumental in influencing the political response to the union’s campaign against cuts. The then Fine Gael education spokesperson Brian Hayes attended and subsequently changed his party’s position on special needs.

A few years ago SNAs were the invisible staff in education.

Now, thanks in part to the work of the IMPACT branch, they are recognised as a vital part of society’s duty to children with special needs. For many, ‘SNA’ is shorthand for dedicated, under appreciated and underpaid public servants. Through their union SNAs voices are heard when special needs issues are discussed in the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Education and elsewhere.

IMPACT’s increased profile among SNAs has been largely responsible for maintaining membership numbers at a time when jobs are disappearing. The imposition of the cap on SNAs at 10,575 could be presented as an achievement except for the absence of a fair redeployment scheme, which maintains insecurity around SNA jobs. This issue has been the union’s top priority and the branch is seeking a referral to the Labour Court.

Frustration turned to outrage in November 2010 when the department instructed schools to impose the public sector pay cuts on school secretaries and others, even though they are not on public service pay scales and have never been recognised as public servants. An overwhelming vote for industrial action has been approved by the DEC. Boards of management pushed to provide written contracts of employment during 2010. While the union welcomed this as a step towards management fulfilling its obligations as employer, many boards used the opportunity

Report 2009–2011

11

Vocational education committees The VEC branch is well consolidated and continues to attract new members. Its greatest challenge is now the outgoing Government’s decision to reduce the number of VECs from 33 to 16, well below the 22 recommended by the McCarthy Report. The branch has met the employers’ body and the Department of Education and Skills on the issue and it is working on an updated policy on the future of the VECs. A complaints policy for parents and children over 18 has been agreed and a fuller disciplinary policy is being discussed.

The public service recruitment moratorium and employment control framework continue to present problems in the VECs where a number of temporary staff did not have their fixed-term contracts renewed. IMPACT has been successful in securing enhanced redundancy payments in some cases and has referred others to the Rights Commissioners and the Labour Relations Commission.

12

IMPACT Local Government, Education and Local Services Division

Appendices

Appendix one - salary scales Clerical/administrative Figures current 1st January 2010 unless otherwise indicated.

Clerical Officer, Library Assistant 23,188 - 24,277 - 25,362 - 26,452 - 27,542 - 28,626 29,683 - 30,738 - 31,800 - 32,857 - 33,919 - 35,919 37,3391 Grade 4 Assistant Staff Officer, Senior Library Assistant, Revenue Collector (national grade), Storekeeper Grade B 28,334 - 30,346 - 32,379 - 33,894 - 35,356 - 37,332 38,761 - 40,213 - 41,5481 - 42,8892 Grade 5 Staff Officer, Assistant Librarian, Legal Assistant, Storekeeper Grade A 40,213 - 41,524 - 42,835 - 44,148 - 45,458 - 46,9771 48,4952 Grade 6 Senior Staff Officer, Executive Librarian, Senior Legal Assistant, Clerk of Works, Building Inspector 44,849 - 45,954 - 47,289 - 49,797 - 51,294 - 53,1571 55,0312 Grade 7 Administrative Officer, Town Clerk with population of over 5,000 47,013 - 48,187 - 49,559 - 50,935 - 52,313 - 53,541 54,800 - 56,020 - 57,235 - 59,3221 - 61,4182 Senior Executive Officer 64,426 - 66,011 - 68,496 - 70,983 - 73,474 - 75,938 78,418 - 81,2321 - 84,0362

Town clerks

Technical grades Technician Grade II 27,488 - 28,521 - 29,539 - 30,549 - 31,545 - 32,566 33,565 - 34,590 - 35,604 - 36,565 - 37,632 - 38,8871 40,1322 Technician Grade I 37,632 - 38,275 - 39,117 - 39,961 - 40,788 - 41,628 42,394 - 43,8081 - 45,2272 Executive Technician 40,382 - 41,419 - 42,481 - 43,537 - 44,598 - 45,653 47,1791 - 48,7002 Senior Executive Technician 43,021 - 43,928 - 45,169 - 47,269 - 48,537 - 50,2991 52,0702 Chief Technician 44,493 - 45,585 - 46,872 - 48,161 - 49,457 - 50,612 51,789 - 52,926 - 54,055 - 56,0261 - 58,0052

Local government welfare & social worker Housing Welfare Officer 37,447 - 39,298 - 41,235 - 43,154 - 45,056 - 46,975 48,897 - 50,331 - 51,782 - 52,8011 Social Worker 35,945 - 37,841 - 39,807 - 41,770 - 43,716 - 45,707 47,668 - 49,173 - 50,679 - 51,6791 Professionally Qualified Housing Welfare Officer/Social Worker 43,132 - 45,242 - 47,350 - 49,464 - 51,570 - 53,677 55,788 - 56,8901

Population of over 15,000 64,426 - 66,011 - 68,496 - 70,983 - 73,474 - 75,938 78,418 - 81,2321 - 84,0362 Population less than 5,000 44,849 - 45,954 - 47,289 - 49,797 - 51,294 - 53,1571 55,0312 Population of over 5,000 47,013 - 48,187 - 49,559 - 50,935 - 52,313 - 53,541 54,800 - 56,020 - 57,235 - 59,3221 - 61,4182

1 = After three years service at the maximum.

2 = After six years service at the maximum.

3 = After nine years service at the maximum.

14

These scales do not include the imposed ‘public service’ levy introduced in 2009, but do reflect reduced pay rates introduced in 2010.

Pay scales for new entrants to certain grades were reduced by a further 10% from 1st January 2011. See www.impact.ie for more information.

IMPACT Local Government, Education and Local Services Division

Engineer grades

Management

County Engineer 78,368 - 81,185 - 83,995 - 86,809 - 89,623 - 92,5831 95,5402

Dublin City Manager 189,301

Senior Engineer 73,223 - 74,957 - 76,685 - 78,417 - 80,148 - 81,886 84,5001 - 87,1172 Senior Executive Engineer 62,276 - 64,219 - 66,147 - 68,037 - 69,934 - 71,822 73,726 - 76,1161 - 78,5012 Executive Engineer 46,732 - 48,467 - 50,204 - 51,944 - 53,684 - 55,422 57,162 - 58,893 - 60,639 - 62,372 - 64,3711 - 66,3502 Assistant Engineer 40,368 - 42,097 - 43,811 - 45,529 - 47,254 - 48,971 50,687 - 52,408 - 54,136 - 55,9031 - 57,6722 Graduate Engineer (range) 32,194 - 35,437 - 38,666

Other grades Rent Collector (salaried) 26,467 - 27,334 - 28,204 - 29,056 - 29,900 - 30,749 31,592 - 32,435 - 33,163 - 34,5801 Branch Librarian (Part time hourly rate) 12.696 - 13.293 - 13.887 - 14.484 - 15.081 - 15.674 16.253 - 16.831 - 17.412 - 17.991 - 18.572 - 19.668 20.4451

Cork County Manager 162,062 Cork City Manager and County Managers in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, Fingal and South Dublin County Councils 153,260 Level 4 County Managers, Managers of Donegal, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Limerick, Mayo, Wexford and Wicklow and Managers of Clare, Kilkenny, Limerick City, Louth, Meath, Tipperary SR, Westmeath 142,469 Level 5 City and County Managers and Dublin Assistant City Managers, Managers of Carlow, Cavan, Laois, Leitrim, Longford, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary NR, Waterford, Waterford City and Galway City 132,511 Assistant County Managers 90,453 - 94,565 - 98,677 - 102,787 - 106,900 County Secretary/Finance Officer/ Development Officer (ndc) 64,426 - 66,011 - 68,496 - 70,983 - 73,474 - 75,938 78,418 - 81,2321 - 84,0362

City and County Librarian 64,426 - 66,011 - 68,496 - 70,983 - 73,474 - 75,938 78,418 - 81,2321 - 84,0362

1 = After three years service at the maximum.

2 = After six years service at the maximum.

3 = After nine years service at the maximum.

These scales do not include the imposed ‘public service’ levy introduced in 2009, but do reflect reduced pay rates introduced in 2010.

Pay scales for new entrants to certain grades were reduced by a further 10% from 1st January 2011. See www.impact.ie for more information.

Report 2009–2011

15

Appendix two - travel and subsistence rates Motor Mileage Rates Scale A Rates per mile effective from 12th March 2009 Official motor travel in a calendar year

Engine capacity up to 1200cc cent

Engine capacity 1201 to 1500cc cent

Engine capacity 1501cc and over cent

Up to 4,000 miles 4,001 miles and over

64.54 34.91

76.94 39.14

97.95 47.36

Engine capacity up to 1200cc cent

Engine capacity 1201 to 1500cc cent

Engine capacity 1501cc and over cent

40.11 21.70

47.82 24.33

60.88 29.43

Engine capacity up to 1200cc

Engine capacity 1201 to 1500cc

Engine capacity 1501cc and over

Annual Allowance 858

Annual Allowance 912

Annual Allowance 1,015

cent

cent

cent

Up to 4,000 miles 4,001 miles and over

37.19 42.32

45.91 48.29

60.02 58.77

Rates per kilometre Official motor travel in a calendar year

Engine capacity up to 1200cc

Engine capacity 1201 to 1500cc

Engine capacity 1501cc and over

Annual Allowance 858 cent

Annual Allowance 912 cent

Annual Allowance 1,015 cent

23.11 26.30

28.53 30.01

37.30 36.52

Rates per kilometre Official motor travel in a calendar year Up to 6,437km 6,438km and over

Scale B Rates per mile effective from 12th March 2009 Official motor travel in a calendar year

Up to 6,437km 6,438km and over

Domestic subsistence rates Effective 12th March 2009 Class of Allowances

A B

16

Night Allowances

Day Allowances

Normal Rate

Reduced Rate

Detention Rate

10 hours or more

5 hours but less than10 hrs

108.99 107.69

100.48 92.11

54.48 53.87

33.61 33.61

13.71 13.71

IMPACT Local Government, Education and Local Services Division

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

DUBLIN Nerney’s Court, Dublin 1.

Phone: 01-817-1500 Fax: 01-817-1501/2/3. Email: rnolan@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