connect december 2015

54 VOL: 17 NO. 4

Season’s Greetings toAll Our Members

CONNECT Christmas 2015 with bleed.qxp_1 25/11/2015 10:12

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Dear Colleague,Firstly, I would like to take this opportunity to wish eachand every one of you and your families a very HappyChristmas and a healthy & prosperous New Year. I hopeyou all enjoy the well-deserved break and that you use itto recharge your batteries as we face into another year,which will be full of many challenges.

Of course the coming year, 2016, will see the centenarycelebrations of the Easter Rising and I am sure we will bebombarded regarding that event by many groups holdingdiverging views, but hopefully you will see the eventcelebrated in an open fashion which is fair to all sides ofthe debate. Prior to the actual Easter celebrations, we willhave the small matter of a General Election and it is hopedthat the Election is not used in an opportunistic way tohighjack what should be a national celebration.

Talk of the General Election has shone a spotlight onthe CWU’s involvement with the Right2Water movementand the Right2Change movement. Members have raisedquestions, and in some cases expressed concern, about ourinvolvement in those movements. I thought, therefore,that it would be worthwhile to outline the journey we havetaken with those movements; in order to assist with thatprocess, you will see later on in this issue of Connect, thePolicy Principles of the Right2Change movement andalso a copy of the Fiscal document, which shows someoptions available to the Irish people to pay for suchpolicies.

CWU’s involvement in the Right2Water movementcame about as a result of a motion to our BiennialConference in 2010 from the Dublin Postal DeliveryBranch, calling for us to campaign against theintroduction of water charges. This motion wasunanimously passed by Conference. In order to give effectto that motion, the Union affiliated to the Right2Watermovement, which is the umbrella group in Ireland formedby trade unions, politicians and community groups tofight water charges and to protect the ownership of IrishWater through a Constitutional Referendum. TheRight2Water movement has seen some strange bedfellowscoming together and to say the least, it has been aninteresting, if somewhat difficult, journey.

Initially, there were five trade unions involved in theunion pillar of the Right2Water movement: namely CWU,Mandate, UNITE, OPATSI and the CPSU. Since then theTEEU has joined the campaign. Since its inception,Right2Water has organised a number of nationaldemonstrations which have seen tens of thousands ofpeople on the streets of Dublin and thousands of peopleon the streets over the length and breadth of the country.We have forced the government to reduce considerablythe charges that were to be imposed on the Irish people,to the extent that the present pricing structure is some

Editorial

Editor: Steve FitzpatrickSub-Editor: Imelda WallIssued by: Communications Workers’ Union,575 North Circular Road, Dublin 1.Telephone: 8663000 and Fax: 8663099E-mail: [email protected] PTWU Journal, THE RELAY andTHE COMMUNICATIONS WORKERThe opinions expressed by contributors are not necessarily those ofthe CWU.Photographs: John ChaneyPrinted by Mahons Printing Works, Dublin.

ContentsEditorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3

TASC Analysis of Budget 2016 Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

FM Downes Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Fiddling while the homeless get colder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7

Telecoms Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-12

ESCCU Credit Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Safety Begins with your Union Workshops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Health & Safety Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Halligan Insurances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Congress: The High Cost of Low Hours Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Justice for Clerys Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-19

Organising Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-23

Postal Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-29

The Rowland Hill Memorial Fund of Ireland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

They’re Losing the Game but they have to fight on . . . . . . . . . 32-33

Right2Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34-42

A New Fiscal Framework for a Progressive Government . . . . . 43-50

CWU Charitable Fund Donation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Climate Change is Union Business - Paris 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Education Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52-53

Forget ATMs, send the army in to guard Enda’s gob . . . . . . . . 54

CWUHA Convoy Report 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55-57

Labelling of Israeli Settlement Goods: EU Interpretive Notice . 58-59

Equality Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60-61

Suas Educational Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Working Time Judgement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

CWU People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64-69

Book Reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

CWU Membership Application Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71-72


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€500 a year less than the recommended pricing from the WaterRegulator. It is now widely accepted that, from day one, IrishWater has been an unadulterated debacle with almost no savinggrace. It must be stressed that the Right2Water movement hasalways accepted that water has to be paid for and thatinvestment is needed in the Irish water system. Our concernhas always been the manner in which Irish Water was set up.Indeed, the indecent haste to install water meters was aboutsetting up an income stream in a separate organisation, whichcould be easily be privatised, as has happened in Portugal andGreece. It has recently emerged that legislation which theGovernment claimed would prevent the sale of Irish Waterdoes nothing of the sort and all that is needed is the signatureof two Government Ministers to allow privatisation to goahead. Irrespective of your views on our involvement in thismovement, it is telling that to-date we still face opposition fromthe Government parties for a referendum on the futureownership of Irish Water. If the Government is honest in itsclaim that there is no desire to privatise Irish Water, then itmakes it even harder to understand why it won’t copper-fastenthat guarantee, giving the Irish people the opportunity to havea say on the matter.

In organising the meetings and the demonstrations throughthe Right2Water movement, it very quickly became apparentfrom the community groups that, while Irish Water was acatalyst for bringing them together, it was but one of a list ofissues that were causing grief in working-class communitiesthroughout the country. As a result of those feelings, twomeetings comprising of representatives of the three pillars(union, political and community) met on two occasions inCWU Head Office to discuss the key issues that wereimpacting on communities on a daily basis.

At the first meeting, a list of Policy Principles was drawnup and an intensive consultation process with all of the groupsthen took place on those principles. Hundreds of inputs weredistilled into what is now the most up-to-date document headed“Right2Change, Equality, Democracy and Justice”. So veryquickly the Right2Water movement evolved into a movementfor change. It is a movement from which the Policy Principleshave come and it is a departure in Irish politics for people tolisten to what our communities want rather than tell them whatthey are getting. So in a nutshell, you could argue that thisdocument is “mum and apple pie”; but it has always been myview that, if you are going on a journey, you have to decidewhere you are going before you can decide whether you canget there. The accompanying Fiscal document gives us optionson how those Policy Principles could be achieved. It spells outclearly how business, corporations and wealthy individualsescaped paying their fair share of tax in this country and itshows in a gradual way, how that balance can be shifted to helpus achieve our goals.

Right2Change is not a political party. It has, however, de-signed Policy Principles which are attractive to many politicalparties and Independent TDs and Senators. In order to gaugethe possible support for those policies, the Right2Change tradeunions held a meeting with all of the Opposition Parties andIndependents, with the exception of Fianna Fáil, Renua and theGreens, whose policies on water are strictly at odds with theRight2Water movement. Following a series of meetings, SinnFéin, People Before Profit, Democracy Ireland, the CommunistParty of Ireland and almost all the Independents have signed

up to support theRight2Change principles,up to and including givinga commitment to champi-oning those policies in theunlikely event that, as agroup, they form the ma-jority following the nextElection. The unions inRight2Change will furnishour members with a list ofall candidates for the up-coming General Electionand that list will identifythose candidates who sup-port the Right2Changeprinciples. It will, ofcourse, be a matter for each individual to make up theirown mind in relation to that Election and the unions willnot be recommending any candidate over another. The pur-pose of this exercise, since the evolution of Right2Change, hasbeen to try and present an alternative government to the Irishpeople in the next General Election. Every government in liv-ing memory has been led by either Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael(‘tweedledee or tweeledum’) and the reality is we have neverhad a choice other than one of those two parties as the leadersof our government. The Labour Party, who I have personallysupported most of my adult life, has already decided to enterinto a voting pact with Fine Gael (although it will not appearon its literature) and therefore will not be part of any possiblealternative government.

In providing the Irish people with a real choice, I believethe Union, through its involvement with the Right2Water andRight2Change movements, is providing a service to thecountry. Even if there is no real prospect of breaking the cycleof Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael led governments, there is thelikelihood that many of the policies we are outlining will beadopted by those parties in order to seek popular support.

Some members have become concerned at the Unionbecoming involved in politics and believe we shouldconcentrate on industrial issues. The reality is that all of ourmembers’ daily lives are impacted by political decisions. Theprivatisation of Telecom Éireann was a political decision. Thederegulation and liberalisation of the postal market was apolitical decision. The attitude in forcing unfair competitionon our members by the Regulator is based on a politicaldecision. Two-thirds of our members are employed by the Stateand are thus subject to political decisions.

As outlined in previous issues of Connect, the reduction inthe social wage, the attack on public services and therepayment of bankers gambling debts by the Irish people areall political decisions. There is little point in being successfulindustrially if meagre pay rises and existing pay are quicklyswallowed up by increased service charges for public transport,health, education, etc. This is no silver bullet, but I hope it does,for once, articulate what the vast majority of people in Irelandwant and I hope it does spell out the choices that need to bemade to see some of those changes happen. Finally, I hope itgives you, as a CWU member, a choice in the upcomingElection that you have not had before.

Steve Fitzpatrick,General Secretary, CWU


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The report notes that changes announced in theBudget have to be considered in light of thefact that three-quarters of the pre-tax income

gains in the last five years have gone those earning€70,000 and above.

“Our research shows that as the economy recovers,more than half of the gains in incomes before tax aregoing to the Top 10% of earners. While income tax andUSC mitigate this, the regressive nature of the taxchanges announced in Budget 2016 give the greatestbenefit to higher earners, and undermine the ability ofthe tax system to deal with rising market inequality,” saysTASC Policy Analyst Cormac Staunton.

Key findings of the analysis include:

• A single earner on €70,000 will gain €902 per yearwhich is 2% of their take home pay.

• A single person on a middle income of €25,000 willgain €227 for the year, about 1% of their take-homepay.

• A person on €35,000 will gain €377 – just over€30 per month or 1.3% of their take home pay.

In the run up to the Budget, TASC recommendedfocusing on increased public spending rather than on taxcuts as a way to make the recovery more inclusive andto create a more equitable and sustainable economy.

“While there are some welcome announcements,particularly in the area of childcare, the increase inspending is insufficient to address the various socialcrises and austerity-related underinvestment” added thereport’s co-author and TASC Policy Analyst, Dr RoryHearne.

“The spending allocations for future years show thatthere are no plans for significant increases and thatspending will in fact fall as a proportion of GDP.According to the Government’s own figures, by 2019 weare likely to end up with the lowest governmentexpenditure in the EU at just over 30% of GDP, againsta Euro area average that will be closer to 50%.”

The report analyses changes in Budget 2016 in relationto income, wealth, public services, taxation, family,personal capacities and the cost of living.

“Given the scale of the adjustments that have takenplace over the crisis period, and the increases in incomeby those already earning the most, cuts to income taxwhich benefited higher earners at the expense of publicinvestment will increase economic inequality” concludedDr Hearne.

The report notes that “this approach will leave Irelandextremely vulnerable and unprepared for the inevitableslow-down in economic growth, which could comesooner than currently projected given the fragility of theinternational economic context and rising globalinequality.”

TASC recommends that in future Budgets should:

• Focus on public investment rather than tax cuts toincrease spending as a proportion of GDP. This willbenefit both the economy and society.

• Re-balance Ireland’s welfare model so that publicservices play a much greater role, rather than thecurrent over reliance on direct welfare payments toaccess necessary goods through the private market.

• Involve greater openness in the Budget makingprocess, including an Equality Impact Analysis priorto the Budget being published.

TASC today released an equality analysis of Budget 2016, which analysedboth the tax and spending changes. It shows that the tax cuts announced will

give the greatest benefit to a single person earning €70,000, which is thesame “sweet spot” as last year’s budget.


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Call 01 855 6666 or email [email protected]


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Wasn’t it fun? All those weeks of playacting, with FineGael making nasty remarks about Alan Kelly, theMinister for Prolonging the Housing Crisis.

How we laughed when an anonymous Fine Gaelcabinet minister told the Sunday Independent, of Kelly:“It’s not that he cares about the homeless crisis but hewants to be the person who fixes it.”

Biting, hurtful and nasty. And perhaps true. After all,Fine Gael know him better than we do.

And what fun we had when Alan called his tormentors“cowards”, for hiding their identities. Meanwhile,“sources close to” Alan anonymously bad-mouthedMichael Noonan.

According to David Davin Power of RTE News,during this playacting Kelly and Noonan were seenamiably enjoying a pint in the Dáil bar.

We were told there was a serious conflict within thecoalition Government. Hand-to-hand ideological combat.It was, of course, a staged spectacle.

It’s the kind of thing guaranteed to stoke up the FineGael and Labour troops, so they’ll work their asses off tore-elect Alan and Michael and the rest of those wonderfulpeople.

A nice tonic for the troops. And a wee bit ofentertainment for the masses.

Thank the Lord all this merry-making didn’t involveserious stuff, such as families being evicted because theycan’t afford rising rents and people dying in lanes anddoorways.

Why are our politicians so bad at things like housingand health?

Here is my favourite-ever quote from a politician. It’sfrom Brendan Howlin, the current Minister for Thrashingthe Social Infrastructure.

No, it’s not the quote from 2011, just before theelection, when he asked for our votes and told us: “Weare against water charges.”

No, it’s from an interview Brendan gave about adecade after he was Minister for Health. Being athoughtful man, he had spent some time reflecting on hisexperience in coalition. He wondered why he and othershad failed to deliver “a first-class public health system”.

He had since realised, he told author Maev-Ann Wren:“If we did that, there would be no reason for sustaining aprivate system.”

And the right-wing want a thriving private health

Fiddling while the homeless get colderIt’s not just rampant incompetence. Ministers share a stagnant and

failed ideology, writes Gene Kerrigan

08/11/2015 – Sunday Independent


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market. They want, according to Brendan, around 30pcof people to pay for private health products.

However, he said: “In order for that to happen, theyreally required the public [health] system to be inferior.Why else, if it was first-rate, would people pay for aprivate system?”

That’s the sound of a penny dropping.It dawned on Brendan, in between shifts as a prop for

right-wing governments, that such governments areobsessively committed to cutting state spending andgenerating profits for private investors.

Sometimes, the failure to provide accommodation tomatch the needs of the citizens, or the failure to providefor the medical needs of the sick, seems a result ofincompetence beyond belief.

It’s not. It’s the result of efforts to meet those needswhile protecting the rights and opportunities of those whoprofit from the market.

It’s your friendly right-wing politics in action.Belatedly, it dawned on Brendan Howlin. As Minister

for Health, he could not take only our medical needs intoaccount - the Cabinet and the civil service and the rest ofthe free-market clergy would ensure that he would do soonly if it involved a nice little earner for private investors.

A hospital isn’t just where medics seek to preserve andrepair our bodies and minds. It’s an investmentopportunity. Housing isn’t just where we hang our hats.There’s big money to be made. Schools aren’t just placeswhere teachers pass on the accumulated knowledge ofgenerations.

Just about everything is an opportunity for speculativeinvestment. And it doesn’t end there. In order to ensurethe freedom of the market, all the activities of the Statemust be subordinate to the market.

It is better that families go through the trauma ofeviction, of living for months or years in small hotel orB&B rooms, of bunking with relatives or sleeping in acar, than that the freedom of the market should beinterfered with.

This is the dominant political theme of our age. It’sobserved with religious fervour by politicians, the mediaand the civil service.

It applies to housing and health and education just asit applies to iPods and cars.

The same quick-buck ideology that brought the crashdominates the chaos of the housing market. Blind beliefrules all. So it was that an NESC report encouraging rentcontrol was pigeon-holed, while “experts” emerged fromthe woodwork to assure us that rent controls would domore harm than good.

Experts are always available to justify not doingsomething. Or to tell us we can count on a soft landing.

Now, after weeks of playacting, as well as the odd pintin the Dáil bar, Alan Kelly and Michael Noonan emergewith a partial rent cap. This pleases those who aredesperate to ease the housing crisis.

But that’s just one of the measures on which Alan andMick have agreed.

Building standards are to be lowered. In the age ofPriory Hall and Longboat Quay, the market now rulesthat current building standards are too high.

Speculators will be encouraged to throw up more dog-box apartments. There will be relaxation of rules about,for instance, the amount of light available to eachdwelling.

Get ready for clusters of small, dark dwelling units -and all in the name of helping the homeless.

Landlords have been refusing to accept tenants whoreceive rent supplement, forcing them into homelessness.Under Alan and Mick’s new rules, landlords will get a100pc tax incentive to accept people on rent supplement.

The sensible, more direct way of ending thediscrimination would be to use the stick, not the carrot.If you discriminate against any sector of the populationyou will be stopped from renting to any other sector.

That would work, quickly, but it would “interfere withthe market”, so it’s a no-no.

Landowners hoard their land until they see prices rise- take it off them at the price they paid.

Speculators get planning permission, then hold back,hoping to force up prices. Use it or lose it.

Small businesses are still forced to the wall bypredatory landlords operating unfair rent reviews. Usethe tax system to break their grasping hold.

Meanwhile, some wonder why NAMA is sellingbundles of properties so large that only a handful ofvulture funds can bid for them - at knockdown prices.Because it provides quick money for the Government,and because of reverence for the market. Furthermore,our Government has expressed a reverence for vultures.

In September 2014, the United Nations moved to limitthe damage being done by vulture funds, passing a draftresolution proposed by Bolivia. The Kenny/Burtongovernment is so committed to the free market that itvoted to support the vulture funds against those on whomthey prey.

Too often, we see incompetence where the realproblem is ideological stagnancy.

Yes, you look at the housing crisis and recall AlanKelly’s predecessors - Phil Hogan, Martin Cullen, NoelDempsey. Not, perhaps, the sharpest tools in the box.

But they also shared a reverence for the market.In Health, James Reilly, Micheál Martin, Mary

Harney, Brian Cowen. All sharing a belief in the primacyof the market hierarchy.

Meanwhile, for the second week, the retiring governorof the Central Bank, Patrick Honohan, has warned thatthe growth figures on which the government relies areunreliable.

Not, of course, that there’s anything to worry about.


Telecoms Update

CWU Calls for Decent Work Standardsin National Broadband Plan

In a recent consultation process that theDepartment of Communications opened inadvance of going to the tender phase of theNational Broadband Plan the CWU called forgovernment to ensure that tax payer fundingonly goes to companies who maintain thehighest employment standards.

The tendering process that will see hundreds ofmillions of euro being invested in telecomsinfrastructure will get under way in the comingmonths if the process remains on schedule. Thisrepresents a very significant government interventionin the market and it is deemed necessary to providehigh speed broadband to those parts of the countrywhich are not going to attract commercial investment.It should be noted that the land mass covered by thisinvestment is around 96% of the country whichunderlines just how serious the digital divide hasgotten in rural Ireland despite recent positivedevelopments regarding investment and build outs.

The CWU maintains that the procurement processshould ensure that the winning bidder maintains thehighest employment standards whether that is inrelation to direct employees or sub-contracted workers.It is not acceptable that state funded contracts do nothold employers and sub-contractors to account whereappropriate standards of employment includingcollective bargaining are not respected. In broad termsthe telecoms market is unionised and it would not beacceptable for such a major intervention in themarketplace not adhere to this standard. As such theprocurement process should ensure the winningbidders can demonstrate a strong track record ofdecent work standards, respecting workers’ rights andmost importantly the basic human right to collectivebargaining. Respecting the right to collectivebargaining should be a condition of the bid. This willhelp to ensure that decent standards are maintained andthe project is delivered to a high standard.

In addition to this the CWU continued to argue itsposition that high speed broadband should be treated

like a utility given the economic and social dividendsthat it produces. In addition to the very real economicimperative for developing a next generation network,there are considerable social implications arising fromdecisions in this area, as alluded to in the NGBTreport. As a small open economy on the fringes ofEurope with a substantial rural and dispersedpopulation, access to high-speed broadband willbecome an increasingly vital part of our sense ofsocial cohesion and connectedness. Those areas thatare left behind and denied access to this infrastructurewill be at a serious economic and social disadvantage,and it is the view of the CWU that a genuineknowledge economy must be all-inclusive; access toNext Generation Broadband would be based on theprinciple of equal access regardless of location.

The reality is that Ireland has a substantial rural(40%) and highly dispersed population. The averagefor Western Europe is around 5-10%. In contrast tothis, 40% of the country’s population live in thegreater Dublin area – a stark indicator of the extent ofthe urban-rural divide that exists on this island.Furthermore, it has been suggested that, in looking atCSO data, 70% of the population live on just 10% ofthe land mass available.

Notwithstanding that, this initiative should bewelcomed as an opportunity to finally address theserious shortcomings that exist within telecomsinfrastructure inIreland, with a viewto meeting the tar-gets that have been setout within theDigital Agenda forEurope, whichstrongly arguesthat “ultra fastinternet access”is a critical build-ing block for jobsand growth.

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Framework AgreementThe National Executive recently agreed the followingAccess Network Operations Framework agreement.

A number of issues in relation to Access NetworksOperations have been under discussion between theCompany and the CWU (the parties) for some months asfollows:

• Field Technicians subsistence arrangements• NRT resourcing• Response to Force Majeure or storm situations.

The purpose of this framework agreement is to recordthe following agreement in principle between theparties:

• In general Field technicians will be assigned to therole of NRT team member and their terms andcondition's amended to reflect the role including thepayment of €2000 per year in addition to their payplatform and the application of COT subsistenceregulations

• Response to Force Majeure or storm situationsarrangements as detailed below

Storm ResponseContext

Field Operations has developed a standard approach forresponding to Force Majeure or storm situations. Itoutlines the sequence of events from the time that initialindications are received until a return to normal faultvolumes is achieved. A Force Majeure is defined as anevent that causes major damage to eir plant, whichusually leads to an abnormal rise in the number of faultreports. For the purposes of this document a forcemajeure event will be referred to as a storm.

In order to provide predictability to customers, and toensure that high fault volumes are not allowed to

continue indefinitely the resource plan for a storm needsto be dimensioned to ensure that normal fault levels arerestored within a period no greater than two weeks. Astorm will be declared by the Field Operations Director.

The key parameters for a storm are:-

• Fault carry-over levels at twice the normal volume atNational or Service Operations Manager (SOM) leveland

• Normal carry-over levels cannot be attained fromwithin the Fixed Access Service Teams (FAST)resource pool within five working days.

Current Situation

The key to preparing and implementing an effectiverecovery plan is the rapid deployment of all availableresources to the areas most affected by the storm.

Heretofore a key element of our response has been tostand down all provisioning activity and deploy thoseresources onto repair. This provisioning activity is nowcarried out by contractor resources.

Proposal

In order to restore normal fault levels within the twoweek target it is necessary going forward to deploy allavailable resources on repair activity for the duration ofa storm event.

It is proposed to deploy resources in the followingsequence:-

Fixed Access Service Team (FAST)Fixed Access Build with appropriate faultlocalisation skillsOvertimeExternal contractors

The scale of the deployment of resources under eachresource category will depend on the severity and thegeographical impact of the storm.

Pay negotiations commence with

The Union and HCL have commenced negotiations on the Union’s claim for apay increase for members in HCL following the expiry of the last agreementand further meetings are planned with the company to progress the claim.

Telecoms Update


Access PlatformsSafety ReviewCWU Health & Safety Representatives have, for the lastnumber of months, raised the issue of access platforms’weight loads, in which some vans were in excess of thedesign gross vehicle weight. A joint CWU/Companyreview took place in late September 2015 and theproblem was most common in the FAST Cabling workstreams.

The review of the four work streams, which use accessplatforms, identified the recommended tool kit, signage,PPE, stores and associated recommended weights foreach work stream as set out in the table below.

1. The review has identified that there are now 30platform vans in the incorrect work stream. In orderto comply with road safety legislation, it will benecessary to arrange for van platform transfers soas to match the load requirement with the loadcarrying capacity of the platform. 30 vans will betransferred in the coming weeks. Detailedinstructions will issue to FLMs.

2. The Opel Vivaro platform, which has a limited loadcarrying capacity of 125kg, will be twinned up with

a utility vehicle where this is not already the case.All heavy stores and equipment must be carried inthe UV truck.

3. The FLM will include Access Platform tool andstores compliance checks per work stream andvehicle type as part of their regular safety checks.

4. All platform vans will be weighed three times peryear – once during the CVRT test and twice per yearduring the statutory inspection of the platform.Where vans are found to be overweight, theTechnician must consult with the FLM to reduce theload to the design limit.

A further review of access platforms is underway todetermine if the weight carrying capacity can beincreased through improvements to the fit out of the van.Details will be made available from this review in thecoming weeks and it is also expected that any new accessplatforms that will be introduced into the fleet will wherepossible be issued to the FAST cabling teams.

A document which sets out a detailed schedule oftools, equipment and stores for each work stream,together with load carrying capacity of the platform vanwill be circulated to all drivers via their FLMs.

We understand that the van transfers may causeinconvenience for drivers and we would ask for yourcooperation.

Drivers must not carry loads which exceed the loadcarrying capacity of a vehicle. Where a Technician isconcerned that his/her van may be overloaded, theTechnician must consult with their Front Line Managerto make arrangements to store excess tools and materialsin the team lockup.

Telecoms Update

Work Stream Recommended weight of kit,PPE, stores, etc

Fast Repair 250kgFast Cabling 340kgBuild UV 118kgBuild General 263kg

Ruthless employerCPM acts in anunjust andinhumane mannerIn the Spring 2015 issue of Connect we published anarticle on the outcome of a case taken by the Union onbehalf of a member who was unfairly dismissed byCounter Products Marketing Ireland (CPM), acompany employed by eir to provide customer winbackand sales services.

Following a hearing at the Labour RelationsCommission, the Rights Commissioner issued a damning

report in which he found the member concerned had beenunfairly dismissed and CPM showed “absolutely noregard for fair procedure” and he awarded compensationin the amount of €20,000. The Union also made claimsin respect of CPM’s illegal salary reductions and thesecame about when having told the member concerned ofits intention to make him redundant, CPM informed himit did not expect him to work on that day because of thenews he had received and advised him he should gohome. However, CPM subsequently deducted one day’ssalary on the grounds the member concerned was absentfrom work. CPM also made a deduction for allegeddamage to a company vehicle and in response to thesecomplaints, the Rights Commissioner stated; “I find thecomplaints in respect of wages for the 16th January anddeduction of the excess in relation to the car well foundedand I hereby require that the respondent pay the claimant

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EIRCOM has a new name, “eir”, and a new logo aftergoing through a €16m rebranding. The changesinclude a new range landline, TV, mobile phone andfast broadband bundles.

Owen Murphy, eir product quality officer, can now bespotted driving the county’s highways and byways in thefirst eir van in Kerry.

Owen, from Barradubh, started his career with the P& T company 42 years ago. “During my time with thecompany I have seen it change to Telecom Éireann, thento Eircom and now eir,” said Owen. Covering East Kerry,South Kerry and West Cork as quality officer, Owen

loves his role. He also spent three years in England, from 1993 to

1996, working with British Telecom. “My colleagues andI were carrying out underground and overhead cabling inareas like Basildon and Dunmow,” he said.

In the past months, Owen has also been busy workingon the eir’s fibre-optic cable project from New York toBallinspittle.

The eir rebrand comes as part of a €16m investmentthat will mark the largest rebranding exercise in 20 yearsin Ireland, replacing 1,500 uniforms, 1,500 vans branding,and over 110 stores nationwide.

Telecoms Update

Walking on thanks to new branding

compensation in the amount of €674 for breach of theAct”.

It was too much to expect, that in the aftermath of theabove finding, CPM would treat its employees withdignity & respect and comply with the law, however, thisis not the case. Below is a frightening report of anincident involving a member in CPM who was goingabout his daily work selling services on behalf of eir.

“On the 25th September 2015 at 1:30 p.m., Ientered an estate when a group of youths attackedthe van which I was driving with sticks and rocksand as you can expect I was very shaken by this. Ifollowed company policy and informed the Gardaí,Leaseplan who own the van, and CPM HRDepartment. I informed HR I was very stressed andnervous following the incident and I was in no

position to continue working that day and I neededto go home. HR informed me they could notauthorise my absence. The following week, CPMdeducted a half day’s pay from my salary and whenI questioned why this had happened, I was informedit was company policy not to pay an employee if hegoes home sick.”

It is inconceivable that a company could act in such aninhumane way. At no stage did CPM contact our memberto enquire about his wellbeing following the attack andtheir priority was to ensure he did not get paid for theabsence.

CPM is the most ruthless employer the Union has hadto deal with and as we have demonstrated to date, we willnot be found wanting in supporting our members inCPM.

Owen Murphy, eir product quality officer, with the first eir van in Kerry.

11


12

JOINT CONCILIATION COUNCIL (JCC)AGREED REPORT 616 provided for performancemanagement process for graded employees who

prior to this agreement were not in receipt of a bonusopportunity and certain NMCT graded employees. Belowis a summary of the out turn for the first year. Asmembers are aware there is an individual/team elementto the scheme for the first two years. The table belowconfirms that in Networks 85% of participants recordedeither a “Meets” or “Exceeds” rating for the year. The outturn for a number of groups and some individuals is, atthe time of writing, close to completion and thesepayments should be made in the coming weeks

2014/2015 out turnThe end of year performance ratings for the over 1,500graded staff in Networks is as follows:

Individual/Team calculationThe agreed calculation formula applied to cater for theindividual/team element for the first two years of thescheme is set out below:If “y” = no. of members in team and “m” = no. ofmembers in team who meet or exceed targetThen team element “t” may be calculated by: “m” x1.5%/ “y” = “t” (team element)“i”= individual element (i.e. 1.5%) for all team memberswho meet or exceedBonus = “i” + “t”. This is best illustrated with an example

Example 1 (18 member team):12 members “meet”, 6 do not=> “i” = 1.5% for 12 members=> “t” = 12 x 1.5% / 18 = 1%=> 12 get 1.5% + 1% = 2.5% ( “i” + “t”) for those who“meet” or “exceed”=> 6 get 1% (team element only) for those who “did notmeet”

Example 2 (18 member team):6 members “meet”, 12 do not=> “i” = 1.5% for 6 members=> “t” = 6 x 1.5% / 18 = 0.5%=> 6 get 1.5% + 0.5% = 2% ( “i” + “t”) for those who

“meet” or “exceed”=> 12 get 0.5% (team element only) for those “who didnot meet”

In some cases the individual/team element is not relevantto the roles of some members and in such situations isnot applied.

Thrive/TalentEvoFollowing the October SEC meeting the memo belowregarding the use of TalentEvo for some graded staffissued via the Branches to all members:

“Sent: 22 October 2015 16:18Subject: Thrive TalentEvo

To: Eircom SEC and Scale A District Branch Secretaries

Colleagues,

A number of queries have been made regarding the useof Thrive/TalentEvo for Performance Management in thecase of a low number of graded members. The matter wasdiscussed at the SEC meeting today and some membershave already signed up on the system. We have agreedwith the company that in these circumstances whereThrive/TalentEvo is used the output will map directly tothe graded three point system i.e. “does not meet”,“meets” and “exceeds”. Please bring to the notice ofmembers.”

Sick Leave and PerformanceManagementS/L guidelines were also presented to the SEC at theOctober meeting. It is important that all membersunderstand that these guidelines are not black and whiterules or intended to be punitive – they are intended toensure that consistency and fairness apply. There willalways be individual circumstances that need to be takeninto account when assessing the impact the S/L hasrelative to this scheme.

In the case of incidental-normal sick leave, 1 month orless, no impact, productive time only i.e. sick leave is notfactored in calculation and there is no impact on thebonus available. Sick leave greater than one month lessthan six then bonus paid pro rata. Sick Leave greater thansix months – examine each case individually

AR 616 - Performance management and bonus out turn 2014/2015

3. Exceeds 20%2. Meets 65%1. Did not Meet 15%

Telecoms Update


13

55 Dawson Street, Dublin 2. Phone: 01-6792344 Fax: 01-6790802 Email: [email protected] Web: www.esccu.ie

e-services & communications credit union ltd. is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

esccuChristmas Opening Hours 2015

MembersThe credit union will closeon Wednesday 23 rd of December

at 5pm.

We will re-open on Wednesday 30 th

of December from 9am to 5pm.

We will be closed on Thursday

31 st December and re-open fullyon Monday 4 th of January

2016.

The last Credit Committee meeting for loan approval will take place on Tuesday

15 th of December 2015 - however we would recommend that with postal applications you have your loan application in by the week before 8th of December 2015.

Don’t forget to register for online access on www.esccu.ie

We would like to wish all our members a

very happy and peaceful Christmas

and a prosperous New Year


14

As advised in the last journal a fantastic new resourcefor Safety Reps was launched on Workers MemorialDay by the Minister for Business and Employment,Mr. Ged Nash TD. The publication of this resourcewas an initiative of the ICTU Health and SafetyCommittee with the support of the Health and SafetyAuthority.

In order to publicise the book the Irish Congress ofTrade Union organised a number of Training eventsaround the country which were well attended by CWUSafety Reps. These training events also includedworkshops where Safety Reps addressed topics such as;why is there not enough safety Reps, what resources

safety reps need, how can the role be re-energised andhow can we create better links with the Branch structure.The CWU Safety Reps were vocal in their views andmade an extremely important contribution to the trainingevents which will in turn drive the ICTU and CWUagenda with regard to Safety Reps going forward.

It is important to remember that Health and Safety is aTrade Union issue and Safety Reps play a vital role isprotecting our members Health and Safety. We mustensure that Safety Reps are elected and receive the fullsupport of the Branch and Union. In all 67 CWU SafetyReps and activists attended the course with 36 from PostalBranches and 31 from eir Branches.

Safety Begins with yourUnion Workshops

Safety Representative Training – eir

Safety Reps – An Post

Following discussions at the eir National Health andSafety Committee the Company has advised of fourindicative dates for the three day Safety Reps courses.The intention is to offer the training to all 100 Safety

Reps. Due to unavailability etc. not all Safety Reps maybe able to attend but it is expected that up to 80 SafetyReps will attend. If necessary eir has advised that afurther course will be organised.

The venues for the training are:

Date Venue NumberCourse 1 14th – 16th December 2015 Castlebar AEH 20 from Sligo / Galway Region

Course 2 27th – 29th January 2016 Dublin – Walkinstown AEH 20 from Dublin

Course 3 16th – 18th February 2016 Cork (Churchfield) 20 from Cork

Course 4 23rd – 25th February 2016 Portlaoise (knockmay) 20 from Laois / limerick

In the last issue of Connect the Union highlightedconcerns it had with regard to Health and Safety Trainingand in particular the training of Safety Representatives.In that regard the Union recently met with the Companyand we have agreed a requirement to draw up anagreement regarding Safety Reps. Discussions havecommenced and we would expect to have an agreementconcluded quickly.

The issues we intend to cover include the following:

• The Role of the Safety Rep• Where Safety Reps are required

➣ Size of unit➣ Number of employees➣ Type of Work

• How Safety Reps are selected• Safety Committees• Training of Safety Reps

➣ Course Syllabus➣ Union Input➣ Expenses

• How Safety Reps carry out their duties?➣ Engagement with management➣ Engagement with Union➣ Raisin matter of concern➣ Escalation of issues➣ Safety Audits➣ Interactions with Inspectors

• Facilities made available to Safety Reps• Arrangements to consult and liaise with other Safety

representatives in the Company


The Union has been advised that the tenderingprocess for new safety footwear is underwayfollowing which a new two year contract will besigned. Given the levels of concern expressed bymembers and discussions at the National ExecutiveCouncil the Union has written to the Companyrequesting a review of the Safety Footwear. In ourcorrespondence we expressed the view that theawarding of the contract provided us with anopportunity to review the provision of the footwearwith a view to examining all options. This is providedfor in the regulations governing the wearing of PPE.

We have highlighted the following areas thatrequire discussion:

1. The same footwear is currently provided to staffregardless of where they work. Regulation 63of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work(General Application) Regulations 2007requires the employer to make an assessment ofthe hazards in the workplace to identify thecorrect type of PPE to be provided so that it isappropriate to the risk. We do not believe that aone size fits all approach is appropriate nowparticularly given the changing profile of mailwork and the different types of risks. We see arequirement to look at each staff groupingseparately with a view to examining whichoption is most suitable for them i.e.

Mail Centre staffDelivery Staff using vans / trucksDelivery staff using bicyclesDelivery staff on walking routesOther staff

2. We should assess the Safety Footwear to see ifit is appropriate for the risks and conditions thatapply.

3. We have concerns about the health issues thatare arising as a result of the long term use of theSafety Footwear. Members have expressed theview that the long term use of the Safety

Footwear is detrimental to their health as it isuncomfortable and in their view not designedfor long term use.

4. The unavailability of half sizes createsdifficulties as the Safety Footwear does not fitcorrectly. This appears to be a particulardifficulty for female Postpersons

5. The changing profile of Delivery Officesfollowing redesigns i.e. longer deliveries.

6. The provision of only one pair per year causesdifficulties as on some occasion wet safety wearmust be worn which creates health difficultiesfor the members concerned

7. The replacement of Safety Footwear remains adifficulty. While we have an agreement thatdefective Safety footwear will be replacedwithin a week this does not happen in practicewith staff forced as a result to either wear noprotective footwear or defective footwear

8. The failure of the Company to provide Casualswith Safety Footwear in a timely mannercontinues to cause difficulties despite the factthat we have an agreement on this issue whichprovides for the Safety Footwear to be suppliedas soon as possible after employment

9. The failure of some Managers to wear theSafety Footwear continues to be a cause ofconcern. This is particularly true of SeniorManagers. This is regularly brought to ourattention following the publication of Postnewswhich highlights the number of SeniorManagers, up to and including the currentDirector of Mails, who appear on the floor ofDSUs or Mail Centres without Safety Footwear.These Managers should be leading by example

The Company has indicated that it is amenableto this review. In order to prepare for these discussionit is the Union’s intention to survey the membershipin the New Year on the issue and we would ask allmembers with concerns to complete the survey.

Health & Safety Update

Safety Footwear – An PostMembers continue to raise concerns with the Union in relation to the SafetyFootwear. Within An Post the Safety Footwear is an item of Personal ProtectiveEquipment (PPE) and as such is covered by the Health and Safety regulationsgoverning the wearing of PPE. In that regard all staff members, including casuals andManagers, are expected to wear Safety Footwear where it is prescribed.

15


16

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Terms and Conditions apply. 33% No Claims Discount is available to new business policies, if

claims free for seven plus years. Information correct at time of going to print November 2015.

Happy Christmas from

Halligan Insurances


17

Almost as soon as key details from the new study on lowhours work found their way onto the front page of theIrish Times, employer and business interests were busyclaiming vindication.

No problem with zero hour contracts in Ireland. Caseclosed, nothing to see here.

In fact, the very morning these details appeared, Iattended a gathering at which employer representativesmade that very claim.

It was a clever, if somewhat dishonest attempt toobscure a reality that is actually far more troubling anddamaging than it may at first appear.

Anyone familiar with this issue will know that, unlikethe situation that obtains in the United Kingdom, ‘zerohour contracts’ have been effectively outlawed in thisjurisdiction since 1997, as Minister Ged Nash pointed outin a recent article.

The 1997 legislation was introduced followingcampaigns mounted by trade unions and effectively set a15 hour weekly minimum threshold for workers.

So ‘zero hours’ was not the story here and it neverwould be, making the loud employer protestations ofinnocence very hollow and somewhat suspicious.

But the growth of low hour and precarious work hasbeen a feature of every developed economy in recentyears and there was never any reason to believe Irelandwas an exception: quite the contrary, with the economiccrisis providing fertile ground for the spread of suchabusive practices.

Trade unions have consistently argued that theprevalence of these practices meant the state had to

formulate stronger legislation to protect workers – themajority of them female and low paid – and stop theircorrosive impact on wider employments standards.

In reality, the study carried out by the University ofLimerick (UL) expert group was initiated to discover justhow deep and widespread these problems were.

The Nevin Institute recently pointed to the spread ofprecarious work, as it impacted “not only on youngpeople, women and migrants but on older workers tooand not always in the more traditional areas ofconstruction, retail, hotels and restaurants."

Indeed, the recent Dunnes dispute graphicallyillustrated a key element of this new employment culture:the use of low hour rosters on an industrial scale, as ameans of cutting employer costs and a none-too-subtle‘control’ mechanism for staff.

In the aftermath of April’s 24 hour stoppage, someDunnes workers suffered significantly for the brave standthey took.

Unfortunately, the new UL study has merelyconfirmed our worst fears, as it outlines how ‘If andWhen’ contracts are prevalent across key areas of theeconomy, from: accommodation/ food and retail and keyareas of the health and education sectors.

They undermine existing employment protections andthreaten peoples’ security of income.

Ironically the study reveals that some employersattempted to argue that low hour flexibility saved thestate money through non-payment of social welfare.

But the reverse is the case, with the social welfaresystem providing an annual de facto subsidy to bademployers through social welfare supports.

In reality, we all end up bearing the cost of low hourswork and low pay.

It was partly to address these obvious concerns, thatCongress launched the Charter for Fair Conditions atWork, which aims build a national conversation about theimportance of decent work across this island.

Although the UL study does paint a somewhat grimpicture, it also presents us with a critical opportunity toaddress it.

In that respect, the report’s key - and very positive-recommendations need to be acted on with urgency.

This particularly applies to proposals for an ‘hoursfloor’, along with a deterrent in the case of employerabuse of the 72 hour notice period and a wider review ofthe entire ‘If and When’ culture.

Government please take note.

The High Cost of LowHours WorkPosted on November 05, 2015 at 11:40 PM

CONGRESS WEEKLY BLOG CONGRESS WEEKLY BLOG CONGRESS WEEKLY BLOG

Congress GeneralSecretary Patricia King on thedamage done by lowhours work practices


18

CWU is supporting the Justice for Clerys Workerscampaign. The campaign was launched followingthe sudden closure of Clerys, which resulted in thedismissal of hundreds of workers who are membersof SIPTU and Mandate.

Months on from the closure of the country’s most famousdepartment store, the sense of shock amongst thoseaffected is still palpable, as is the shock at the speed andruthlessness with which Clerys was closed. On hearingthe news, Margaret O’Dea, one of the workers at the storewho had 44 years’ service said;

“I started to cry. I was shocked. All my years thereand, just gone, and you’re getting nothing. It’s just greed.There is money there. They just don’t want to give any ofit to workers. I am very sad that human beings couldtreat other human beings like this”

The liquidator has informed the unions there is nomoney to pay anything above the statutory redundancyterms and as things stand, the taxpayer will have to forkout €2.4 million in redundancy payments, while the newowners of Clerys will make millions if they get approvalfor their plans to redevelop the site. An Taoiseach EndaKenny told the Dáil; “The treatment of Clerys workerswas grossly insensitive and appalling” and his colleagueGed Nash, Minister of State at the Department of Jobs,Enterprise and Innovation stated; “Clerys staff weretreated in a cold and callous way.” While statements fromthe Taoiseach and the Minister are all well and good, theircolleague Richard Bruton, Minister for Jobs, Enterpriseand Innovation is refusing to change company law toprevent a reoccurrence of what happened in Clerys.

Members are requested to give whatever support theycan to the Justice for Clerys Workers campaign andbelow is an article by Ethel Buckley, Divisional Head,Services Division, SIPTU. For more information on theevents which brought about the closure of Clerys, werecommend reading an article which was published in theIrish Times on September 11th, 2015 entitled “Clerysclosure: Questions remain over deal done in dead ofnight”.

Article by Ethel Buckley,Divisional Head, ServicesDivision, SIPTU“On Friday 12th June 2015, at around lunchtime, a

statement was released to the Clerys SIPTU andMandate Shop Stewards and their Organisers that thedepartment store had been sold to a consortium calledNatrium, headed by Irish businesswoman DeirdreFoley.

After lunch on 12th June, SIPTU sought a meetingwith the new owners. As far as the unions knew, theintention of the new owners was to keep the departmentstore running as a going concern.

What the unions didn’t know was that a series ofmeetings had taken place in A&L Goodbody’s onDublin’s North Wall Quay in the early hours of thatmorning during which the operating arm of the companywas sold to an insolvency expert. That afternoon apetition was brought to the High Court and KPMG wereappointed provisional liquidators.

At around 5.00 p.m. staff in the store were asked toprepare for an early closing at 5:30 p.m. as there was anannouncement to be made. As the store and concessionholder staff counted up their tills, there was still a beliefthat the meeting was with the new owners. Staff werecalled to the iconic staircase at the rear of the store. Itwas only when the meeting was underway that they wereinformed that the people standing before them wereliquidators from KPMG and that the store would ceasetrading with immediate effect. Locksmiths and privatesecurity were on hand to change the locks and removethe staff. Some workers attempted to stage a sit in, butdue to a lack of numbers and no way of accessing foodor electric points for charging phones, it was abandonedafter a few hours.

The following day a meeting was convened in LibertyHall for all union members affected, amid huge mediacoverage. At the meeting a decision was taken to launcha Justice for Clerys Workers campaign and to hold animmediate protest outside the store. SIPTU also

JUSTICEFORCLERYSWORKERS


19

undertook to work with the relevant Governmentdepartments to ensure speedy payment of entitlements tothe workers. At the meeting a decision was taken tolaunch a petition, which is still going and has gatherednearly 25,000 signatures. The petition calls on Natriumto meet with the staff. Just shy of 10,000 people arefollowing the campaign on social media via the Justicefor Clerys Workers Facebook page.

On the Tuesday after the closure a lunchtime ‘Underthe Clerys Clock’ protest was held at the shop. At thisevent, trade unions, politicians and the general publicshowed great solidarity for the workers. Despite theshort notice for this protest, about 1,500 people attended.

The groundswell of support for the Clerys workerscontinued over the following weeks with the workers andtheir union representatives meeting with Ministers JoanBurton and Ged Nash, as well as TDs from all parties.They also attended a special meeting of Dublin CityCouncil, where the closure was debated and motionspassed supporting the workers and restricting anyplanning permission to change the use of the store untilNatrium met with the workers.

The protests continued with the focus moving to theoffices of A&L Goodbody, the registered offices ofNatrium. Every fifth week the focus of the protest movesback to the store on O’Connell Street to mark the closure,with great public support still evident.

Despite all the condemnation of the treatment of theClerys workers, at this point in time it appears that theactivities of the seller, purchaser and their advisors werewithin the law. While it might have been lawful, it wasn’tright. As it stands, there is nothing to stop what happenedto the Clerys workers happening to other workers. That’swhy the Justice for Clerys Workers campaign, with thefull support and backing of the Irish Congress of TradeUnions, is calling on the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise

and Innovation Richard Bruton to change company lawto ensure workers get a 30-day consultation periodbefore collective redundancies and that a failure to do soresults in directors being barred for a number of years.

As we have received no firm commitment from theMinister, the workers and their supporters now picket theDepartment of Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation onKildare Street at 2.00 p.m. every Tuesday to highlight thisissue. This is done in conjunction with ICTU and theworkers are grateful of the support shown every week bysister unions. The workers are still campaigning for aface-to-face meeting with Deirdre Foley and the otherdirectors of Natrium.

As well as legislation we are also lobbying Dublin CityCouncil on a robust Special Planning Control Schemefor O’Connell St. This is in the consultation process andwe strongly urge the Council to maintain the currentusage of Clerys Department Store. The campaign has metwith various groupings within the Council to press thisissue home and it is our intention to ensure the buildingmaintains its current status and use.

On Friday 16th October, the campaign received agreat shot in the arm when Christy Moore played aconcert in Liberty Hall in support of the workers. A greatnight was had by all, with Christy telling us of how heused to come up to Clerys as a child to see Santa, andstopping in the middle of Ordinary Man to reflect on thefact that the workers “didn’t even receive a handshakeor a cheque”. During the night, SIPTU Shop StewardsSusie McGowan and Gerry Markey, spoke of thecampaign so far and how far it had come. Gerryremarked that we will keep going as long as it takes toreach our objectives. Over the coming weeks you can logonto the Justice for Clerys Workers Facebook page,where we update supporters on our progress andannounce upcoming events.”

Clerys workers protesting outside the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, calling on Minister Richard Bruton to change the law to protect workers.


20

In recent weeks the Maynooth based company, SectoServices, has signed an agreement with the CWU thatrecognises the union as the sole representative body for theirstaff. The staff can now be represented for collectivebargaining purposes on matters relating to terms andconditions of employment. In addition to this, Sectorecognises the CWU as the official representative body forstaff in relation to disciplinary and grievance issues as theymight arise.

This is a significant and welcome development as SectoServices are fast becoming a significant player in the telecomsinfrastructure and maintenance market. The company has aproven track record of delivering turnkey infrastructuresolutions to the telecommunications, broadcast, data centresand utility industries in Ireland and the UK.

In agreeing to bargain collectively with the CWU thecompany is demonstrating a clear commitment to its staff -to respect their voice in the workplace and their role in thesuccess of Secto Services.

The CWU welcomes this agreement and looks forwardto developing a positive and productive working relationshipin Secto in order to ensure that staff concerns and issues are

represented in a professional manner. Managing Director, David Cox, stated “Secto

management are happy to enter this agreement with theCWU and we want our staff to join the union. By beingmembers of the union staff will have the opportunity tocommunicate as a group, to articulate and help resolve issuesas they might arise and crucially, it allows for a moreenhanced contribution to the continued success of Secto. Wewant to see the company continue to expand and grow withthe knowledge of being supported fully by all staff. Theagreement we have with the CWU provides a framework forthis to happen and we look forward to working with the staffto develop this into the future.”

CWU General Secretary, Steve Fitzpatrick, said “TheCWU welcomes this progressive approach by Secto andlooks forward to meeting all staff with a view to invitingthem to join the union. I hope that we can quickly establisha local committee in Secto to give staff a framework inwhich they can represent their issues locally with ourassistance. This agreement gives Secto staff, as stakeholdersin the business, a great platform for engaging withmanagement”.

Secto Services Signs Recognition Agreement with CWU

CWU members were shocked to hear of the announcement thatMedtronic is closing its customer care centre in Cherrywood,Dublin and moving its operations to Poland. The decision willresult in up to 175 job losses for our members.

On 2nd November, management informed staff that the callcentre was likely to be shut by next June. Redundancies areexpected in three phases with the first happening in January.The company have now entered into a consultation process tonegotiate redundancy terms.

Upon hearing the news, the CWU held an emergencymeeting for all its members working in the Cherrywood site.Understandably, this was a very emotional meeting with staffstill coming to terms with the new reality of their situation.

Over the last year, a significant number of workers havechosen to be represented by the CWU and have been activelycampaigning for collective bargaining in the Cherrywood site.So far, management have refused all attempts to engage withunion members.

Despite this, the CWU is committed to providing support,guidance and advice to our members throughout this processto ensure the best possible outcome for our members.

Medical device group Medtronic became Ireland’s largestcompany, following a $49.9 billion acquisition of the Dublinsurgical supplies group Covidien in January. Medtronic andCovidien employ around 4,000 people across six facilities inIreland.

JOB LOSSES ANNOUNCED AT CHERRYWOOD CALL CENTRE


2121

Now in its tenth year, the UNI ICTS Contact CentreWeek of Action (19 – 23 October) aims to highlight keyissues for contact centre workers – from stress to salaries– and the difference having a union can make. This year,the emphasis was on part-time and temporary workerswho contend with some of the most difficult conditionsin the industry.

“This work often involves intense performancemonitoring, tightly controlled schedules and breaks aswell as high rates of turnover, all of which can contributeto increasing levels of stress and anxiety,” said Alan Tate,Head of UNI ICTS.

This year, as always, the CWU joined in this campaignto raise awareness of the benefits of being in a strongunion and getting involved at a Branch level.

A stall was set up in the lobby of Telephone House,giving all staff the chance to ask about the union and totalk about any issues that might be affecting theirworking lives and, of course, to get the all importantcupcake!

Together with Dublin C&A Branch Secretary LiamO’Laighin and new Branch activists Gagandeep Singhand Organisers talked to hundreds of people on the dayand many potential new activists expressed an interest ingetting more involved in their union.

The Branch continues to go from strength to strength,so if you would like to get more involved in your unionor would just like information about the benefits ofjoining, why not get in touch at [email protected].

CONTACT CENTERWEEK OF ACTION

Cornmarket StaffWelcomed to the CWU

We are very pleased to announce that the CWU hasrecently signed a neutrality agreement withCornmarket. As a financial services provider for manypublic service unions, it was felt that it would only beappropriate if Cornmarket staff were given the sameopportunity to benefit from joining a union as thecustomers they service.

Under the terms of the agreement, the company

respects the right of staff to belong to the CWU and theright to be represented throughout the grievance anddisciplinary procedures. In addition, the company hasagreed to facilitate paid release for training of staffrepresentatives. New staff in Cornmarket will also begiven information on joining the CWU during theircompany induction.

Following the signing of this agreement, Organiserswere on site in Cornmarket over two weeks, talking tostaff and inviting them to join the CWU. The receptionwas very positive with many staff coming to find outmore about the benefits of being a member of theCWU. Application forms have started to arrive and welook forward to receiving more in the coming weeks.If you would like more information, please contact IanMcArdle at [email protected].

UNI CALL CENTREWEEK OF ACTION

2015

21


22

Workers in a Dublin call centre are resisting attempts

by management to impose a longer working week for

no extra pay.

Employees of the credit management firm IntrumJustitia, based on the Navan Road, were informed thatthey would be required to sign new contracts thatwould increase their working week from 35 hours to37.5 hours.

Following the announcement some of the staffapproached the CWU seeking advice on how tounionise their colleagues.

In the space of two weeks, a majority of the staff

joined the CWU and a workplace committee was putin place.

Because the workers in Intrum Justitia hadorganised and displayed a sense of unity, managementagreed to meet the CWU committee to discuss theissue.

The CWU committee rejected outrightmanagement’s proposals to undermine their terms andconditions, but offered to help the company achievesavings elsewhere.

Management agreed to the offer and discussions areongoing. In the meantime, the CWU is continuing tobuild its membership in Intrum Justitia.

INTRUM JUSTITIA INJUSTICE

A number of CWU members ended up in hospitalfollowing an apparent gas leak in the emergency callcentre in Navan.

The incident, which occurred on 17thOctober, is one the union is takingseriously and it highlights thefundamental lack of respect shownto these workers by Conduit andBT Ireland.

A number of staff on the dayshift suffered from headaches,nausea and nosebleeds aftergetting a smell of gas in the callcentre.

They evacuated the buildingand waited on a BT managerarriving. BT management told staffthat the centre was safe to work in –without carrying out adequate healthand safety check.

It has also been reported that the managerrefused to call the fire brigade as would be expectedduring such an incident, citing financial reasons.

The staff refused to go back into work as they were

not satisfied the centre was safe and went home for theday. Their symptoms got worse and three of them wentto the local accident and emergency.

Incredibly, the night shift staff were sent intowork after this and one of them also ended

up in hospital. It appears that BT Ireland and

Conduit have serious questions toanswer and based on the reportsfrom staff their duty of caretowards the employees will,rightfully, be the subject ofintense scrutiny.

The CWU has contactedMinister for Communications

Alex White TD and ComReg tomake them aware of the incident. This incident displays the disregard

shown to workers. The CWU is calling onConduit and BT Ireland to respect their

employees’ right to collective bargaining and to ensurethat the culture of disrespect for workers in theEmergency Call Answering Service is put to an end.

CWU MEMBERS HOSPITALISED after employer FAILSto ensure duty of care

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CWU members working in the 999emergency call service have won a10% pay rise by organising into astrong union.

The pay rise will be implemented from 1stNovember and will be backdated to 1st July 2014– around the time the CWU began organising inthe Emergency Call Answering Service (ECAS).

The union is campaigning for a living wage of€11.50 per hour, collective bargaining and basicdecency and respect in the ECAS.

Not only do our members working in the ECAShave to endure low pay, they are subject to a harshand disrespectful regime of management thatroutinely suspends workers for even the mostminor of faults.

Although the pay rise is welcome, it still fallsshort of the living wage that these workersdeserve. The CWU will continue to campaign forthis.

The contract for delivering the ECAS wasawarded to BT Ireland in 2009. BT thensubcontracted the work to Conduit.

Although many of the emergency call operatorshave joined the CWU, both BT and Conduitcontinually refuse to meet the union.

Earlier this year, the CWU conducted a surveyof our members working in the ECAS to establishtheir concerns.

When asked if their rate of pay was fair, 100%of respondents said no. 93% said they wanted tobe collectively represented by the CWU and 100%said they wanted paid sick leave.

When asked if they thought BT managerstreated workers with respect, 100% answered no.

Since BT and Conduit refuse to listen to theirworkers, our members began contacting local TDsand councillors to make them aware of the seriousissues in the ECAS.

So far, our members have met with IndependentTD Maureen O’Sullivan, Sinn Féin’s PeadarToibin TD, Labour’s Dominic Hannigan TD andFine Gael TDs Damien English and HelenMcEntee.

In September, Maureen O’Sullivan TD raisedthe issues affecting ECAS workers in the Dáil.

In a question to Joe McHugh TD, Minister ofState at the Department of Communications,Deputy O’Sullivan highlighted a survey conductedby the CWU earlier this year which showed 100%dissatisfaction with the rate of pay.

She said: “We know the work is essential to thesafety of the public and yet the employer continuesto ignore legitimate concerns from the workers”.

She continued: “The workers want to be treatedwith dignity and respect and they want the right tobe recognised by a trade union. In other words,they want the right to collective bargaining. Thatwas also supported overwhelmingly in the survey.I ask the Minister to use his influence to ensure thecompany respects the workers’ basic right tocollective bargaining, as that is where these issuescan be addressed.”

Our members’ campaign is obviously having aneffect. The recent pay rise did not come aboutbecause of the goodwill of Conduit or BT. It cameabout because ECAS workers organised into aunion and campaigned for it.

The CWU will continue to put BT and Conduitunder pressure until they respect the right tocollective bargaining and deliver a living wage forIreland’s emergency call workers.

VICTORY!10% pay rise for emergency call operators

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Postal Update

“In a nutshell, the decision by senior management atAn Post to shut-down the national postal service, hasbeen portrayed to us a decision fully supported by you

and your office, with full knowledge as to the likelyconsequences.”

“In response to your specific queries, let me make itabsolutely clear that there was no involvement on mypart, whether directly or indirectly, in any decisions

made by An Post regarding the handling of thedispute. Specifically, neither I, nor anyone on mybehalf, gave political support to An Post for any

decision, if indeed such a decision was made “to shut-down the national postal service”. No approval was

sought or granted for any such action.”

“Accordingly, I am writing to formally advise you thatit is necessary to issue employees working in thoseareas, with protective notice of temporary lay-off.With immediate effect, employment in those areas,will be on a day to day or part thereof basis, until

normal working can be resumed in An Post.Employees will be advised separately of this decision.”

Steve’s letter toMinister Alex White,14th October 2015

Minister Alex White’sresponse to Steve,16th October 2015

Elaine Bermingham’sletter to Seán McDonagh,2nd October 2015


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PORTLAOISE POSTAL STAFF ‘IN TEARS’By Lynda Kiernan – Leinster Express, 6th October 2015

Staff at An Post’s Portlaoise sortingoffice were sent home from work intears last Friday night October 2,fearing for their jobs.

“They were told to sign outbecause there was no work. Someactually went out crying, and somedidn’t sleep over the weekend,worrying about their mortgages andkids. We didn’t know what willhappen, we have never seen anythinglike this. We were half expectingthey were going to start dismissingstaff,” one worker said.

There are about 200 staff in the

Portlaoise centre, some with An Postfor almost thirty years, since it wasbased in Coote Street.

While the CommunicationsWorkers’ Union suspended its actionyesterday, Monday, staff were stillleft shocked by management.

“Why An Post is doing this, wehave no idea, nobody in seniormanagement told us. We want to doour jobs,” said the staff member. “Itdoesn’t make sense, we feel there isa sinister reason,” the worker said.

Last week, An Post advertised fortenders for equipment to changeparcel sorting from a manual to

automated system. Reacting to thatnews, the worker said “it probablywould lead to job losses”.

Industrial action over pay wasbegun last Thursday night by thestaff of IO Systems, the contractorthat maintains letter sortingmachines. It is believed to be overpay cuts.

An Post workers will follow unioninstructions and carry on acceptingpost from the public, despite an orderfrom An Post not to.

Both Deputy Sean Fleming andSenator John Whelan havecondemned An Post’s actions.

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Postal Update


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The main points of the proposalsimpacting on members are asfollows:

Pay & Allowances • For the duration of the current contract, the shift

premium recommended by the Labour Courtshould apply to those providing a 24 hourpattern,. i.e. 20% or 21 %.

• The individual working an early / late system inthe DMC to receive a premium of 13%.

• Three Technical Assistants in the DMC toreceive Saturday Attendance payment of €14

• An annual 2% of basic pay bonus to be paid.

• The Labour Court recommended shift premiumlevels revert to the previous levels at end ofcurrent contract which is specified as 30thSeptember, 2016. The level of shift premiumsto apply, will be determined by the LabourCourt.

• The DMC Flexible Cover Scheme to remain inplace and a variation introduced at PMC.

Pay DeductionsMembers to be paid for hours actually worked duringthe dispute period prior to the strike last September,based on the shift premiums recommended by theLabour Court.

Shift PatternsThe recommended shift patterns set out below wereshaped in consultation with the individual mailcentres. They address our concerns in respect of theretention of a 12hour cycle over a 5 day attendanceon the cessation of weekend working. This broadlymaintains the existing attendance pattern and timeoff arrangement at each location.

Dublin Mail Centre (DMC)• 10 technicians on a 5.5 days x 12 hour rotation

(Sunday night to Saturday morning)

• 1 technician working a two cycle patternrotating between an early and late shift. In this

pattern the opposite shift to be covered byrotation from the 10 technician rota.

Athlone and Cork MailCentres (AMC & CMC)• 3 technicians rotating on a 12-hour schedule –

5 day x 24 hour attendances on a three weeklycycle.

• 2 technicians on a day shift to provide all cover(annual and sick leave) for technicians andtechnical assistants.

Portlaoise Mail Centre (PMC)• 5 technicians rotating on a 12-hour pattern – 5

day 24 hour attendances on a five weekly cycle(12, 12, 13, 0, 0). All annual leave cover to beprovided by the 5 shift technicians from withinthe agreed rota.

Outstanding IssuesThe outstanding issues identified in the Labour CourtRecommendation will be mediated by Phil Flynnwithin six weeks with any unresolved issue referredto the Labour Court for binding decision. Thisprocess will include the DMC Flexible Cover claimif the proposals are accepted.

CWU RecommendedAcceptanceThe Union is satisfied the proposals are the very bestachievable and recommended acceptance. Sincerethanks to the Branch and its representatives for theirsupport and discipline over the last two years.Finally, the CWU acknowledges with sincere thanksthe efforts of Phil Flynn.

IO Systems Dispute Phil Flynn Settlement Proposals

IO Systems CWU membersaccepted the proposals.

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Mails left in the DMC during the IO Systems Dispute

Minister Alex White opens new Dundrum Post Office at thesame time as An Post was shutting up shop! An Post customers left standing on their heads!


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Someone needs to tell our great leader that a littleknowledge is a dangerous thing. Every time Enda Kennyopens his mouth, he runs the risk of exploding a landmine.The potential for damage is incalculable. His handlers areso fearful that they would rather he never spoke at all.Perhaps the army should be deployed to form a ring of steelaround the taoiseach’s gob, in the interests of nationalsecurity.

Mr Kenny’s white-knuckle story about soldiers defendingthe banks’ cash supplies gets weirder by the day. He told it,with vivid detail and theatrical gesticulations, at theEuropean People’s Party conference in Madrid last month.According to him, Patrick Honohan, the governor of theCentral Bank, said in 2012: “It looks like this weekend...you’ll have to put [the] army around the banks and aroundthe ATM machines and introduce capital controls like theyhad in Cyprus.”

How his EU colleagues must have drooled at the thoughtof the petit, strawberry-blond teacher from Castlebar callingin the generals to guard Ireland’s dosh. Except, it neverhappened.

Gradually, the story crumbled. It became less NancyDrew Saves Berlin and more The Secret Life of Enda Mitty.Back home on terra firma, the taoiseach ditched the word“army” in preference for the more oblique “security” andadmitted that he had received “no specific” briefing fromMr Honohan on the issue. Mr Honohan said: “That’s notterritory the Central Bank is or was involved in.”

Mr Kenny has form for telling tall tales. In January hewaxed lyrical about workers’ grovelling gratitude for taxcuts in Budget 2014. He said that people were contactinghim, saying: “Well, I’m not sure whether it was a mistakeor not but I seem to have got extra money in the last month.”

Journalists were sceptical. Who were these batty workerswith the inclination and the price of a stamp to send thank-you letters to a taoiseach who had been fleecing their paypackets for three years? Yup, Mr Kenny’s handlers lateradmitted: it never happened.

Then there’s Two Pint Man. If Éamon de Valera was wontto look into his own heart to know what the nation wasthinking, Mr Kenny looks into Two Pint Man’s mouth andplants his own fantasy words in it. He keeps encounteringthe ne’er-do-well, anti-water charges protester on hisperambulations around Dublin.

Every time they meet, the fellow has a pint in each hand.“I said to him what he was holding in his hands would payfor water for him for nearly ten weeks,” the Taoiseach toldthe Dail. Two Pint Man, one must presume, carries his

protest placard in his third hand.Whatever his grasp of recent Irish history, our leader’s

knowledge of 20th-century world history is truly alarming.In 2012 – that was a vintage year for Enda’s imaginings – hedelivered the oration at the annual Michael Collinscommemoration in Beal na mBlath and gushed about howthe Big Fellow brought Vladimir Lenin to Ireland “to see howthe National Loan worked”. The main flaw in that story isthat Comrade Lenin never set foot in Ireland.

There is a common thread of Our Boys-style derring-dorunning though Mr Kenny’s stories. Sigmund Freud wouldhave had a theory or three about them. Nine years ago,speaking in the Dail on Fine Gael’s Criminal Law (HomeDefence) Bill, Mr Kenny told a scintillating yarn about hisown swashbuckling experience, claiming that he was oncemugged “by two people high on drugs with a knife”.

Describing the episode as daunting, he said: “Until theday I die, I will remember the rasping sound of a knife beingpulled from a leather scabbard...” Not even Johnny Deppcould compete with that for piratical melodrama.

There were, however, no civil rights campaignerslaughing at the story. Mr Kenny chose to deliver himself ofhis tale in a climate of fear and loathing. The bill wasintroduced after the acquittal of Padraig Nally, a Mayofarmer, for the manslaughter of John Ward, a Traveller heshot dead after happening upon him in his farm house in2004.

Nally had successfully pleaded self-defence and the bill’spurpose was to allow people to use lethal force, if necessary,against intruders in order to protect themselves. Mr Kenny’shair-raising story was not exactly designed to defuse publicfear. He must have known that. He is not stupid.

So we laugh and dismiss his flights of fancy at our peril.His fondness for purple prose and gilding the lily is not asimple eccentricity that occasionally tickles the nation. Ithas its perils.

Alexander Pope, who coined the phrase about a littleknowledge being dangerous, said that “shallow draughtsintoxicate the brain”. Truth matters because it is the bedrockof trust. If you cannot believe what a political leader says,how can you trust him with your country? Mr Kenny is alikeable man and there is an endearing little-boy needinessin his proclivity for puffing himself up. It hints that, deepdown, he feels unappreciated.

What would Two Pint Man say about that? We will findout come the general election. That is, if Mr Kenny’sconstant companion can bear to put down one of his pintsto mark his ballot paper.

FORGET ATMS, SEND THE ARMY IN TO GUARD ENDA’S GOB

The taoiseach’s fondness for gilding the lily is not a simple eccentricitythat occasionally tickles the nation, it has its perils

© Justine McCarthy, November 4 2015You will be aware from the previous Connect, theCWU is attempting, on two fronts, to secure payincreases for our members in An Post against abackground of absolute resistance by Management toentertain either claim. The Union sought the assistanceof the Labour Court to progress both claims, i.e. 6%cost of living increase together with consolidation ofthe 12.5% change allowance.

In respect of the Union’s 6 % cost of living payincrease, the Labour Court issued its findings whichcontains the following points:

• An effective pay freeze has applied in theCompany since 2008. In these circumstances itis understandable that the trade union group isnow seeking a pay increase.

• There is no dispute concerning the difficultfinancial and commercial circumstances theCompany has experienced in recent years and iscontinuing to experience.

• The impact of the price increase recently allowedby the Regulator cannot be fully known at thistime.

• There is a need for engagement between theCompany, its shareholders and the Regulator,where appropriate, on the contribution of pricingand growth to the future financial stability of thecore business.

• The Court believes that the continuance of thecurrent pay freeze, as proposed by the Company,is not a viable proposition.

• The parties should engage in further discussionin respect of the range of additional efficiencymeasures raised in the course of negotiations atthe LRC and seek to reach agreement on as manyof these measures as possible.

• The parties should identify and verify thepotential of these measures to fund in part (ouremphasis) increases in the pay of the workersassociated with this claim.

• The discussions should commence as soon aspracticable and should conclude not later thanthree months from the date of thisRecommendation. The assistance of theMonitoring Group should be sought, ifnecessary, to facilitate agreement within thattimeframe.

• If the parties fail to reach final agreement withinthe proposed timeframe, outstanding issues maybe referred back to the Court for a definitiverecommendation. Should that be necessary, theCourt will facilitate the parties with an earlyresumption of the hearing.

While we are somewhat disappointed at this furtherdelay in finalising our pay claims, it is the Union’sintention to engage positively and professionally withAn Post on the basis and strict timeframe set out bythe Court. The destructive forces that operated at thebehest of the current mails directorate, asdemonstrated in the recent IO Systems dispute, willnot divert us from our work.

In doing so, we expect the Company to do likewiseand considerably adjust its current position, thatconcession of any basic pay increase is not warranted.Furthermore, Management must address its failure tosecure adequate funding of the USO with theshareholder and Regulator, as set out by the Court,rather than continue with its penalisation of staff.

The Union understands the Labour Court willshortly issue its recommendation with regard to theconsolidation of the Change Allowance. Therefore, thepossibility now exists for An Post to address in aconstructive, fair and reasonable fashion, our payclaims within a short timeframe. We havedemonstrated over the last ten years our ability to dealsuccessfully with the Company’s change agenda.Equally, we have also demonstrated in more recenttimes we retain the ability to deal with matters in thetraditional manner when necessary. Our intention is toconclude agreement with An Post in advance of theAGM season next February, failing which we willexamine what options remain available to us at thatstage. It’s now time for An Post to deliver!

Postal Update

Pay: it’s time for An Post to Deliver

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CREDIT UNIONMEMBERSHIP EXTENDED!

Includes:

An Post employees

Former employees

Pensioners

Postmasters andtheir post office

assistants

Companies where AnPost has a

shareholdingwww.anpostcu.ie

an post employees’credit union ltd.

Spouses, children,grandchildren,

parents, brothers& sisters

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Rowland Hill, a great administrator and reformer of Postoffice affairs was born in 1792. He is best known as theinitiator of the Penny Post. In tribute to his work theRowland Hill Memorial Fund of Ireland was establishedin Britain in 1882. An independent organisation wasfounded in Ireland in 1928, under a Deed of Trustapproved by the High Court of Justice.

Today, the Rowland Hill Memorial Fund of Irelandprovides financial assistance for serving or retired staff,of An Post and eircom, and their dependants. It alsoprovides financial assistance for retired staff, of theformer Department of Posts and Telegraphs and TelecomÉireann, and their dependants. Assistance may be givento those who find themselves in need due to age, povertyor infirmity. The Rowland Hill Memorial Fund of Ireland

is managed by a voluntary committee of Trustees.

The Fund is worthy of your support because: -

1. It is administered by an independent and voluntarybody of Trustees.

2. Thousands of staff and their dependants have beenhelped over the years when they were in urgent needof help.

3. Subscriptions may be deducted from your pay. Afew cents deducted regularly will mean a lot tosomeone in need.

4. The suggested subscription is 50 cent per week.

Please fill out the form below and send it to HonorarySecretary, Rowland Hill Memorial Fund of Ireland,G.P.O., Dublin 1.

The Rowland HillMemorial Fund ofIrelandRowland Hill, a great administrator and reformer ofPost Office affairs, was born in 1792. He is best knownas the initiator of the Penny Post. In tribute to his workThe Rowland Hill Memorial Fund was established inBritain in 1882. The Rowland Hill Memorial Fund ofIreland is a benevolent fund that has been in existencesince its inauguration in 1928.

It has as its object, the relief of distress amongmembers of staff of the former Department of Posts &Telegraphs, An Post, Telecom Éireann and eircom,throughout the State, whether still in service, or retired,who have fallen into necessitous circumstances. It alsoaffords assistance to Widows, Orphans and otherdependants of staff, when in need.

The Fund is managed by a body of trustees who areassisted by a committee of recommendation, composed

of officers of An Post and eircom, and officers who areofficials of staff associations. Neither the trustees normembers of the Recommendation Committee receiveany remuneration for their services.

To apply for assistance, please write to:

The Honoray Secretary,The Rowland Hill Memorial Fund of Ireland,G.P.O., Dublin 1

or alternatively, contact one of the eircom or AnPost Welfare Officers.

The Rowland Hill Memorial Fund of Ireland

I hereby authorise the deduction of __________ per week / fortnight / month from my wages / salary for payment

to the R.H.M.F., commencing ______________20___.

Name (Block Letters) ___________________________________________________________________________

Staff / Pension No. __________________ ( An Post / eircom)(Please delete as appropriate) (Please delete as appropriate)

Signature _____________________________________________ Date_______________________________

✃


THEY’RE LOSING THE GAME BUT THEYHAVE TO FIGHT ON

Despite setbacks, the Government will dig in its heels over water privatisation© Gene Kerrigan – Sunday Independent 19/07/2015

It’s a “solid” result, says Comical Betty.

Alan Kelly, the Minister for Looking Uncomfortable onTelevision, says he’s “very satisfied” that 57pc of peoplehave told him where to stick his Water Tax.

They’re on the back foot, and that’s encouraging, yes.But Enda Kenny and Joan Burton will stand by IrishWater to the bitter, bitter end. This is only partly aboutmoney, it isn’t about water leaks - in fact, it’s hardly aboutwater at all. It’s about politics.

It's about the overall long-term strategy of thisGovernment, and their senior management in Brussels.And it’s about the immediate political needs of Mr Kennyand Ms Burton.

High up on the list of things politicians hate is thedreaded U-turn.

They cringe at the thought of their mates across the floorof the Dáil pointing fingers and jeering – “You did a U-turn, you did a U-turn!”

It’s a sign of weakness. Politicians like to give animpression that they know what they’re doing and thatthey mean what they say. Nothing damages thatimpression as severely as a U-turn.

Particularly when done under pressure.

And even more so when that pressure comes from thepeople.

Doing a political U-turn demonstrates that pressureworks. And that you misjudged the balance of supportand opposition. And that the thing you said just had to bedone didn’t have to be done at all.

Most of all, a U-turn says your air of authority is a sham.

But, I hear you say, isn’t this the Government of U-turns?Aren’t these the politicians who said they’d restrict theuse of the guillotine in the Dáil? And who have beenshamelessly using it to limit debate on legislation?

Yes, but that’s not a U-turn.

Aren’t these the politicians who said they’d cap salaries

Yes, it’s encouraging that despite all the threats and the bribes only 43pc have paid the WaterTax. And there’s great entertainment to be had in listening to Irish Water’s head of

communication, Elizabeth Arnett, putting a positive spin on the bad news.

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for advisers and then competed with one another to seewho could get the biggest breach of the cap for his ownadviser?

Aren’t these the politicians who promised to protect thedisabled? And, in the words of campaigner JoanneO’Riordan: “Enda Kenny looked me in the eye before thegeneral election and promised me one thing and then,once again, did another”.

Aren’t these the politicians who vowed to eradicatecronyism? And weren’t even Fine Gael backbencherstaken aback at the Taoiseach’s blatant cronyism in theMcNulty scandal?

Didn’t Enda Kenny tell people in Roscommon theirhospital services would be safe with Fine Gael and didn’tthat turn out to be so much faecal matter of the bullvariety?

Didn’t the Government trumpet the merits of debt write-downs in 2012, when they told us falsely thatwrite-downs of Irish debt were just around the corner?And didn’t the same Government join in the EU hard-Right’s threat to lay waste to Greece rather than agree tothe write-down that every credible economist of the Leftor the Right says is necessary?

Didn’t Enda Kenny say, “I will end the scandal of peoplewaiting on trolleys”? And isn’t the scandal just asscandalous after over four years in office?

Didn’t Labour sign a pledge to oppose student fee rises,and didn’t they produce fee rises as soon as they got intooffice?

Didn’t Labour say they’d oppose cuts in child benefit -then, in office, didn’t they implement such cuts?

Didn’t they campaign against a VAT increase, thenimplement one?

Didn’t they oppose a rise in car tax? Didn’t they opposean increase in wine tax? Didn’t they, before the election,stand up against a 3pc Dirt tax - and in office stand overa 14pc increase?

Didn’t Joan Burton promise no cuts in lone parentbenefits without childcare reform? And, without any suchreform, didn’t she attack the family anyway?

Didn’t Brendan Howlin say, just before the last election,“We’re against water charges”?

Of course, but these aren’t U-turns.

They’re “tough decisions”.

A tough decision betrays a promise about something thatmatters to others. This is fine, as long as you put asideenough money to ensure a couple of carefully targetedtax cuts shortly before the next election.

A U-turn is when you back down on a policy you initiated- when that policy is part of your overall, long-termstrategy.

The Water Tax is such a policy. And that’s why they’lldig their heels in.

The immediate need of Fine Gael/Labour is to win thecoming general election. Scrapping Irish Water beforethe election would be disastrous. They would appearweak, uncertain and panicky - when they most need toseem strong and authoritative.

The long-term overall strategy, agreed with their hard-Right chums in the EU and the European Central Bank,needs the Water Tax.

It’s not about generating funds to repair the leaks – it’sabout producing a revenue stream to keep down thedeficit. It’s, more than anything, about the obsessiveright-wing need to privatise public services - the need toturn them into businesses by selling them off to the usualsuspects.

From the start, this was about privatisation. The attemptto build a database with our PPS numbers; the high-priceexecutives and their bonuses; the online admission oftheir intention to sell Irish Water - quickly taken down -the stuff about how Irish Water “may disclose customerdata to the prospective seller or buyer”.

Oops, they said, we didn’t mean that.

This is all in line with the politics of Fine Gael/Labourand their hard-Right boss, Ms Merkel. Among the legionof the Right, privatisation isn’t so much a policy as areligious tenet.

The determined opposition to the Water Tax came fromthe ground up. Much as some on the Left might like tobelieve they created it, much as some on the Right throwaround silly claims about the “sinister fringe” - this is anexpression of political rejection of two things: theincessant dipping into our pockets; and the ideology-driven need to sell off a public service.

The strength of the rejection, and the Government’s needto pretend that this is about fixing leaks, led to temporaryconcessions. They cut prices, they offered bribes. Havingspent half a billion on meters they rendered thempointless by imposing a price cap. Anything to reel us in.

The fact that they’ve got back just €30m is a setback, butthey’ll spend endless amounts of our money trying tobeat us down, so they can sell Irish Water.

Comical Betty has spent €600,000 on advertising, andshe’s preparing to spend many more hundreds ofthousands in the near future. Enda and Joan figure we’llcrack before they do. They might be right, they might not.


“It shall be the first duty of the Government of theRepublic to make provision for the physical, mental andspiritual well-being of the children, to secure that no childshall suffer hunger or cold from lack of food, clothing, orshelter, but that all shall be provided with the means andfacilities requisite for their proper education and trainingas Citizens of a Free and Gaelic Ireland.

Likewise it shall be the duty of the Republic to take suchmeasures as will safeguard the health of the people andensure the physical as well as the moral well-being of theNation.

It shall be the duty of the Republic to adopt all measuresnecessary for the recreation and invigoration of ourIndustries, and to ensure their being developed on themost beneficial and progressive co-operative andindustrial lines.”

Democratic Programme for the first Dáil, 1919

Policy Principles for aProgressive Irish Government

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human needs. As such, water provision and sanitationshould not be subject to the profit motive or the freemarket and should be made available to all, free at thepoint of use, and on the basis of need, not means.

‘Irish Water PLC’ and domestic water charges will beabolished within the first 100 days of a progressiveGovernment.

‘Irish Water PLC’ will be replaced with a singlenational water and sanitation board which will be solelyresponsible for the provision, transmission, sanitation,management and operation of the public water andsanitation supply in the public interest.

This policy will see a full referendum to enshrine anew Article in Bunreacht Na h’Eireann. The date of thisreferendum would coincide with the establishment of thenew national water board.

Article 28 Section 4:2:1:“The Government shall be collectively responsible forthe protection, management and maintenance of thepublic water system. The Government shall ensure in thepublic interest that this resource remains in publicownership and management.”

installation and ensuing costs.This policy will see conservation measures legislated

for including mandatory planning permissionrequirements, incentivised and subsidised water savingdevices, and a public education campaign.

Our water infrastructure is in desperate need ofinvestment in order to upgrade the system and repairleaks. This policy provides for an investment of between€6 and €7 billion to be provided through a progressivetaxation model, details of which are available in theaccompanying ‘Fiscal Framework Document’.

Funding our water services through progressivetaxation measures will ensure citizens always have accessto water based on their needs without the possibility ofwater shut-offs due to unpaid bills in the future. It willalso ensure our water services will never be privatisedand that Ireland remains with zero water poverty.

* Acknowledgement – The Right2Water Unions acknowledge thesupport and advice in framing the above referendum position ofSeamus O’Tuathail S.C. and Treasa Brannick O’Cillin, candidateBarrister at Law Degree, The Honourable Society of Kings Inns.

Everyone has a right to gainful and decent employmentwhich would provide dignity, respect and a living wage.A full employment economy requires several layers: anexpanding public sector including public enterprise; agrowing cooperative sector, non-profit and labour-managed sector; and a growing public enterprise. At thevery least, where people cannot find work, the state mustact as an employer of last resort, directly employingpeople in socially productive activity.

A progressive government will vindicate people’s rightto decent work through a revolution in the workplaceembodied in a far-reaching Decent Work Act. This willeliminate precarious employment, provide under-employed workers with the right to seek additional hoursin their workplace when they become available, introducethe right to collective bargaining (by referendum ifnecessary) – enabling economic and political democracy,end bogus self-employment, and legislate for overtime

Right2Water

Right2Jobs & Decent Work“After the war people said, ‘If you can plan for war, why can’t you plan for peace?’ When Iwas 17, I had a letter from the government saying, ‘Dear Mr. Benn, will you turn up whenyou’re 17½? We’ll give you free food, free clothes, free training, free accommodation, andtwo shillings, ten pence a day to just kill Germans.’ People said, well, if you can have fullemployment to kill people, why in God’s name couldn’t you have full employment and goodschools, good hospitals, good houses?”

Tony Benn, Member of the British Labour Party

Water is a human right, essential for life and for all our This policy will provide for an end to water meter

35


and unsocial hours pay. Employers who refuse torecognise their workers’ right to collectively bargainshould not be able to avail of any tax refunds or benefitfrom any State assistance.

In order to provide equitable non-discriminatoryaccess to the workplace a progressive Government willlegislate for the right to publicly available, accessible,high quality affordable childcare, part-time, full-time andafter-school provision.

This policy will also see the abolition of compulsoryor exploitative elements of Government activationschemes such as JobBridge.

The future is wage-led – in particular, the ending oflow pay. The medium term goal should be to make theLiving Wage the statutory floor.

Exploitation of workers, particularly low-paid workersin vulnerable sectors, is exceptionally high in Irelandwhile inspections by the National Employment Rights

Authority (NERA) and the Health and Safety Authority(HSA) is limited. Legislation providing for inspectionsfrom licensed trade union officials in relation to breachesof both employment and health and safety laws – in linewith “right of access” laws in other countries likeAustralia and New Zealand – should be implemented.

The PRSI system should be expanded to include theself- employed in order for them to avail of the samesocial welfare benefits as all other workers.

We will defend the right to take effective strike actionand will remove the obstacles contained in the IndustrialRelations Act 1990 that are designed to prevent this. Wewill also reform the Insolvency Acts to put workers at thetop of the queue in a liquidation situation and reform theCompany’s Acts to make it more difficult for privatecompanies to split their assets and avoid their liabilitiesto their workers.

We believe that Housing is a basic human right, that thisright should be enshrined in Bunreacht na hÉireann andthat the obligation on the State to adequately housepeople should thereby be enforceable by the Courts.

As a direct result of the State’s failure to deal with thisissue our country is now living through a homelessnessepidemic.

Having a home is a social and economic right. Withoutit, a person has no security of person or identity. Aprogressive policy will develop a range of housingmodels to vindicate this right, starting with the ending ofhomelessness and the clearing of social housing waitinglists. The current crisis in rents should be addressedthrough rent controls and market based rent supplementsin the short-term but in the long- term the state needs tointervene in the market to mobilise the investmentrequired to modernise the sector, including the provisionof income-related rental accommodation to low andaverage income earners. The State also needs tocommence a national home building project. Peopleshould also be offered the opportunity to own their homesthrough limited equity ownership or non-speculativehousing. Housing policy should be based on need andchoice, not speculation.

People will be offered homes through a range ofinnovative models including limited equity ownership,or non- speculative housing, cooperative housing andcommunity interest tenancies.1 A new planningframework will incorporate anti-speculative policies (e.g.the Kenny Report) and socialise unused and derelict sitesthat will support sustainable housing development. Wewill provide adequately for Traveller accommodationneeds in a culturally appropriate manner. Housing policyshould be based on need and choice, not speculation andcapital accumulation.

We will ban economic evictions and keep land banksheld in NAMA in state ownership to be used as a buildingblock for a public housing programme. Further, we willlegislate for the reform of the private rental sector andlegislate to give security of tenure and for improved rentregulation.

1 These are just some of the alternative models to provision ofhousing – all based on non-speculative housing. For example, limitedequity housing is comprised of a small mortgage/down-paymentcombined with cost-rental payment which provides ownership;however, when the house is sold the only return is the small mortgageinflation indexed.

Right2Housing

“Housing is a human right. There can be no fairness or justice in a society in which somelive in homelessness, or in the shadow of that risk, while others cannot even imagine it.”

Jordan Flaherty, award-winning journalist, producer and author

36


Healthcare is a human right, from ‘the cradle to thegrave’. As such this Health policy encompasses physicalhealth, mental health and emotional wellbeing, child careand elder care. Access to quality healthcare should not bedependent on income. The long-standing policy wherebysuccessive governments promote and incentivise theprivate healthcare industry is inefficient anddiscriminatory against those on low incomes. The role ofgovernment should be to create a universal healthcaresystem free at the point of entry which provides thehighest possible level of care for all citizens, irrespectiveof social or economic factors.

The current healthcare crisis in Ireland, wherehundreds lie on hospital trolleys and tens of thousandswait more than 12 months for appointments must beaddressed. Any future government must acknowledgeerrors in past policies and invest in the mental andphysical wellbeing of the nation, instead of a privateindustry. A well-funded and efficient public healthcaresystem would provide economic and social benefits forindividuals and wider society in general.

— the right of access to all healthcare services regardlessof income will be vindicated through free primary healthand dental care, heavily subsidised prescription medicineand access to tertiary and outpatient services free at thepoint of use. In addition, we will substantially increaseinvestment in nursing home care and mental healthservices.

— this policy provides for the right to accessible, highquality affordable care, including respite care, forvulnerable adults.

The care of the vulnerable elderly and vulnerable

children is increasingly commercialised. The completeabsence of a public care infrastructure and thecommercialisation of personal care coincide with a risein forms of employment that are forcing people to live inways that are so time-pressed that they have no time tocare for those they love. The rise in precarious, insecure,and/or 24/7 working, long costly commutes andemigration make ‘caring’ unsustainable over time.

Civil society organisations are both the means andexpression of more engaged citizens. The fundamentaldemocratic role of these organisations should beacknowledged and actively supported. We will supportcommunity-focused policies and investment which willbuild on the voluntary activities of people andcommunities – in particular, in rural areas throughstrengthening the local infrastructure from re-openingGarda stations and post offices, to more developedinfrastructures such as transport, telecommunications andhousing. As part of this approach, we will placecommunity arts at the heart of cultural policy increasingaccess to and participation in arts and cultural initiatives.We will reverse the cuts to community developmentprogrammes and restore the autonomy of these groups toengage in critical action.

We will validate the importance of unpaid caring infamilies and communities in a constitutional amendmentthat removes the gender-biased article 41.2.2 (thatassumes that only women are carers) and replaced by acare-recognition article that is gender neutral; asignificant investment in caring in the communityincluding supports for carers, and a new child-raisingallowance that allows parents to spend more time raisingtheir new-born children.

Right2Health“The social conditions in which people live and work can help create or destroy their health.Lack of income, inappropriate housing, unsafe workplaces and lack of access to health caresystems are some of the social determinants of health leading to inequalities.”

World Health Organization [WHO], 2004

Right2Debt Injustice“Blessed are the young for they shall inherit the national debt.”

Herbert Hoover, 31st President of the United States

The past recklessness of financial speculation is imposingan intolerable burden on people’s future. Debt justicerequires a European Debt Conference to restructure and

write-down sovereign debt throughout the Eurozone; theintroduction of a Financial Transaction Tax in order torepay states for the private bank debt they assimilated;

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Right2Education

“I speak – not for myself, but for all… I raise up my voice – not so that I can shout, but sothat those without a voice can be heard. Those who have fought for their rights: Their rightto live in peace. Their right to be treated with dignity. Their right to equality of opportunity.Their right to be educated.”

Malala Yousafzai, youngest ever

Nobel Prize Laureate

Everyone has the right to education. The provision ofeducation should be truly free – without the necessity for‘voluntary contributions’ – up to at least primary degreelevel. The provision of professional and technicaleducation should be affordable and available to all andshould be equally accessible.

Three basic priorities for any new governmentshould be:

1 To reduce the ratio of students to teachers fromamong the highest levels in the EU to the lowest.

2 The restoration of and increased provision of SpecialNeeds Assistants (SNA’s) – which should be seen asan investment in the most vulnerable of our children.

3 Investment in early childhood education should beprovided in line with a progressive childcare policy

which would facilitate the option for parents to enteror leave the workforce.

Education is an investment in the future of the nationwhereby we can develop a productive and cohesivesociety. More funding for the apprenticeship programmeand a coordinated jobs policy promoting labour intensiveindustries should form part of any future governmenteducation programme. A modern dynamic economy isdependent on well-educated citizens, increasingemployment opportunities and providing theopportunities to create new services and technologies.

A Progressive Government will secularise theeducation system and promote an education model thatdevelops critical thinking with an active citizenshipfocus.

Multi-nationals benefit from a highly educatedworkforce therefore a proportion of corporation taxshould be ring fenced to fund third level educationfollowing the elimination by this Government of fees.

the effective repudiation of Anglo- Irish debt throughretention of the Anglo-Irish bonds in public, an end tobank-driven mortgage debt resolution through a state ledand democratically accountable programme ofrestructuring and writing down of mortgage debt with ahalt to evictions on the basis of inability-to-pay; andrestructuring of money-lending debt which traps peoplein 100 percent interest loans.

Four further steps to address the debt crisis, inIreland, Europe and Globally:

— Build alliances with progressive citizen-ledmovements in Europe to develop and promote alternativeproposals for realistic and responsible debt reductionstrategies for people across Europe.

— Establish a Debt Audit to determine the level of debtattributed to the private financial sector as a first step inrecouping that money from those who caused this crisis,and fully participate in the UN Committee on SovereignDebt Restructuring

— Establish a moral case for debt repudiation andcompensation by means of a popular debt audit that willalso be a tool for public, grass roots, education

— To acknowledge that we already have a nationalisedbanking system and to halt privatisation of these banksand build a public banking system. This system will berooted in responsibility to communities in addressingmortgage arrears and provide an accountable andtransparent method/ source of social credit for socialneeds, rather than for private profit

38


We need to undertake a programme of substantialdemocratic reform. There must be real and meaningfulreform of our local and national democratic processeswhich would put citizens at the heart of decision making.We will vindicate the right to greater democracythroughout the economy, society and, most importantly,the political decision-making process: popular initiationof constitutional referenda and parliamentary legislation;the right to recall TDs; citizen nomination of Presidentialcandidates; direct elections to the Seanad; andparliamentary committee membership and chairpersons,overseas voting and mandatory voting for all electorallyregistered citizens.

Citizens should be strongly encouraged to participatein the electoral process. Elections should be held at aconvenient time for the vast majority of the population.

Our Parliament is a key function of our democracy towhich many of our citizens feel disconnected anddisempowered. We will enact parliamentary reformmeasures that will address the number of sitting days,holiday terms, numbers of members in chamber, acurbing of the whip system, election for CeannComhairle by secret vote and other measures to addressparliamentary behaviour.

Government Ministers and TDs to draw downpensions on reaching normal (State) retirement age. In

the event of proven corruption by public representatives,including Ministers, the forfeit of pensions should occur.

We will reduce the powers of local county Managersand transfer those powers and accountability to locallyelected representative councillors.

Hosting one general election every five years providestoo large a gap for real democratic representation –particularly as there is no accountability for brokenpolitical promises subsequent to an election. A reductionin the electoral cycle in General Election’s from fiveyears to four years should be implemented in order toprovide more collective democratic accountability.

Corruption in democracy is democracy denied;therefore, we will establish an Anti-Corruption Agency ona par with the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) to investigateand recoup to the state any assets and incomes accruedthrough political corruption. This agency, with similarwide-ranging powers to CAB, will investigate public andcorporate financial corruption, fraud and tax evasion.

Any functioning democracy requires a diverse mediaand media ownership should not be disproportionately inthe hands of a small number of wealthy individuals orcorporations. We will expand the Irish media landscape,facilitating democratic ownership and participation bycommunity groups, NGOs, civil society groups and tradeunions.

Right2Democratic Reform“A community is democratic only when the humblest and weakest person can enjoy thehighest civil, economic, and social rights that the biggest and most powerful possess.

Asa Philip Randolph, leader in the African-American

Civil Rights Movement

Right2Equality“When I was poor and I complained about inequality people said I was bitter, now I’m richand I complain about inequality they say I’m a hypocrite. I’m beginning to think they justdon’t want inequality on the agenda because it is a real problem that needs to be addressed.

Russell Brand, actor, entertainer and

author of “Revolution”

The right to equality encompasses social and economicrights which are implied and un-enumerated rights in ourConstitution. These rights should be protected inlegislation which will address the issues of poverty.

We respect women’s right to bodily autonomy andself- determination. We will campaign for repeal of the8th amendment and we will legislate for abortion inIreland.

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Right2Sustainable Environment“Our economic system and our planetary system are now at war. Or, more accurately, oureconomy is at war with many forms of life on earth, including human life. What the climateneeds to avoid collapse is a contraction in humanity’s use of resources; what our economicmodel demands to avoid collapse is unfettered expansion. Only one of these sets of rules canbe changed, and it’s not the laws of nature.”

Naomi Klein, author“This Changes Everything:

Capitalism vs. The Climate”

The dominant economic model is ‘at war’ with thenatural world. Unfettered capitalism and globalisationcontinues to place unsustainable burdens on the Earth’snatural assets including its water, its air, its fauna andflora and threatens the very continuation of mankind.

Fighting climate change is not a ‘cost’ – it is anecessary strategy for human survival whichsimultaneously provides another means to promote acollective and democratic economy. The first steps in thisstruggle will be the introduction of a Green New Deal –a sustained and substantial drive to bring all buildings inthe residential, commercial and industrial sector up to thehighest level of conservation necessary, to expand andupgrade the quality of public transport with significantreductions in fares, the increased mobilisation of R&Dto urgently progress the development of ocean/sea basedrenewable energy to complement other forms of green

technology.We will legislate for ambitious and binding climate

change targets, including a ban on fracking, atransposition of the Rio de Janeiro Agreement intodomestic law and we will use Bolivia’s Law of the Rightsof Mother Earth as a guide.

A Progressive Government will make protection of therights of Mother Earth a Constitutional imperativesubject to democratic control and declare that naturalresources, including water, are a public good and cannotbe privatised.

We further commit to encouraging and supportinglocal campaigns against corporate threats to theenvironment and to launch a major public educationcampaign, including in schools, on the dangers of climatechange and the threats posed by corporate exploitation ofthe environment.

We stand for the separation of church and state ineducation, health and other areas while affording duerespect for those people who wish to practice theirreligion.

Many people still face workplace and service-relateddiscrimination based on disability, gender, age, colour,sexual orientation, Traveller status, ethnic origin, familystatus, marital status and religious/other beliefs. We willrun major education and mobilisation campaigns to enddiscrimination both in the workplace and in servicesgenerally, and we will introduce stronger sanctions forbreaches of equality legislation; we will repeal Section37 of the Employment Equality Act; we will democratisethe national and secondary school systems.

We will reform the work permit system to make iteasier for workers to leave exploitative employmentsituations without threatening their immigration status.

Improving access to work for migrants, including

reforming Ireland’s labour migration policy, revising theeligible categories of employment, revising the right ofemployees to change employer and lowering the salarythreshold required for new employment permits forsectors where a shortage has been identified.

Over 4,000 people are consigned to Direct Provisioncentres, including over 1,500 children. Detainment inthese Centres represents a form of institutional abuse thatdenies adults and children basic human rights. We willend the system of Direct Provision and we will ensurethat the children of asylum seekers suffer nodiscrimination in relation to health or education due totheir parent’s asylum status.

Market inequality undermines economic efficiencyand social solidarity. Alongside strategies to end low-paywe will establish a High Pay Commission to proposemeasures to reduce income inequality.

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The assets of our nation were declared in the 1916Proclamation as belonging to the citizens of Ireland, aProclamation which also pledged to cherish all thecitizens of the state equally.

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership(TTIP) is one of the biggest threats to people’s ability toprovide labour, social, and environmental protection andrepresents a proposed transfer of economic and politicalsovereignty from the Irish citizens to multi-nationalcorporations. A progressive government will opposeTTIP through whatever mechanisms possible. ShouldTTIP be ratified without the consent of the Irish people aprogressive Government will provide for a referendumon our continued membership of the European Union.Opposition to the Comprehensive Economic and TradeAgreement (CETA) and Trade in Services Agreement(TiSA) should also be a priority for this government andany other trade agreement that contains an Investor StateDispute Settlement mechanism (ISDS).

This government will re-commit to neutrality and anon- militaristic foreign policy starting with the banningof the use of Irish airports for military purposes.

In Northern Ireland, we will work for the fullimplementation of the Good Friday Agreement and theSaint Andrew’s Agreement. Further, we will provide fullsupport to the people of Northern Ireland in theirrejection of austerity – to be vindicated through inter-governmental negotiations. A Progressive Governmentshall actively promote economic, social, cultural andpolitical co-operation on an all-Ireland basis which willhelp to promote the development of unity among peopleand undermine sectarianism and division.

Solidarity with the developing world will be reinforcedthrough meeting official development assistance targetsand political, diplomatic and economic assistance withvictims of occupation; in particular, the Palestinianpeople. Trade sanctions should be implemented againstcountries who breach international laws – up to andincluding the banning of imports of all goods. TheAmbassadors of countries who committ war crimesshould be expelled.

Further, we will join with other progressiveGovernments to restrain the undemocratic activities ofthe International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Indigenous Sector: We need a prosperous indigenousenterprise sector – to provide decent jobs, social security,and economic growth where money is reinvested in local

communities. We need a plurality of enterprise modelsto maximise the shared benefits of growth throughout the

economy in the areas of infrastructure, manufacturing,services as well as in the areas of caring, community andthe arts.

Rejecting privatisation, we will expand publicenterprises into new economic activities and provide forlocal government enterprises and new business modelsbased on co-determination between public, private andcivil society ownership.

We will promote worker-owner co-operativeenterprises, whereby workers share in the decision-making process, and in the risks, profits and benefits. Inthese companies the right to work is prioritised andemployment-security is an integral objective of thebusiness model limited wage differentials promotessustainability. We will establish institutional supports forthis sector to provide access to capital, patient bankingand management assistance; provide employees theoption of buying out companies that close down andintroduce tax incentives for new cooperative ventures.

We will establish a new basis for supportingindigenous enterprise through job creation agenciesthrough a programme of Companies of Excellence whichcan lead the modernisation of the indigenous sector; inthese companies employees and employers accept co-responsibility as the fundamental principle of managingthe company: commitments to R&D, investment,innovation, labour rights and participation. This will formthe basis of sectoral planning frameworks to grow Irishbusinesses in a coordinated and focused way.

Income Supports: A major reform of income supportsto provide security for people in paid work and out ofemployment is required: pay-related unemployment andsickness benefit; pay- related state pensions; enhancedfamily supports (maternity benefits, paid paternitybenefit, care and family leave and child-raisingallowances). A priority will be the introduction of a ‘costof disability’ payment and the ending of child povertyand deprivation which focuses on access to adequateresources and quality services along with enhancedlabour market and social protection supports for one-parent families. We will bring all social protectionpayments up to the Minimum Essential Standard ofLiving over the medium-term. These reforms requiremoving from a welfare system based on poverty-avoidance and means-testing to a system based on social

Right2National Resources“That’s the standard technique of privatization, defund, make sure things don’t work, peopleget angry, you hand it over to private capital.”

Noam Chomsky

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42

solidarity and mutuality through an enhanced socialinsurance system and universal payments in whicheveryone benefits including the full participation of theself-employed. To this end Basic Income strategies willbe actively explored.

This effective New Social Contract will be funded bya long- term phasing in of an enhanced social wage, oremployers’ social insurance, to the average paid byemployers in other European countries.

Natural Resources: The natural resources of Irelandbelong to the people of Ireland. The campaigns over ouroil and gas reserves, woodlands, clean seas,archaeological and heritage sites, and community lifepoint to the growing issue of ‘resource democracy’. Wewill constitutionally enshrine the ownership of naturalresources with the Irish people. Natural resources will beentrusted to public and transparent control providingpeople the right to benefit from sustainabledevelopments.

A national programme of repatriation, and subsequentpublic ownership, of surrendered natural resources willbe initiated with those who seek, or who have been

allowed to secure, access to our natural resources free orwithout proper re- imbursement/value to the Irish people.Where this requires negotiations these will have theobjective of securing maximum value to the Irish citizensfrom their resources in a manner applicable in similarsized nations with potentially similar resources such asNorway. We will bring under public ownership the gasand oil resources off the Irish coast to allow revenue andprofits to be used for the Irish people and the Irisheconomy.

Public Banking and Insurance: The fundamentallesson of the crisis is that we cannot rely on privatebanking based on short-term shareholder interests. Weneed a national public banking system for bothhouseholds and enterprises – one with a missionstatement that makes the bank partners in people’s livingstandards and business success, and promotes the publicinterest. We will promote public interest and mutualityin banking and insurance. To this end we will set upPublic Banking and Insurance Review to promote publicbanking and an insurance system based on mutuality andco-operation rather than profit.

Get into print!Anyone wishing to submit articles or photos

to appear in the Connect journal,please, either:

email to [email protected] post to Imelda Wall,

Communications Workers’ Union,575 North Circular Road,

Dublin 1.

Find us under:CWU Ireland


43

When a new progressive government takes office afterthe next election it will face considerable challenges – inparticular, the need to drive investment in our economicand social infrastructure. Years of recession, stagnationand austerity have produced a debilitated economy and asociety riven with deprivation and lost opportunities.

On June 13th the Right2Water trade unions will host amajor and unique event. Representatives of trade unions,civil society organisations, Right2Water groups andprogressive political parties and independents will debatethe policy principles that will inform the newgovernment: decent work, debt justice, public servicesand social protection, natural resources, indigenousenterprise, political reform to name just a few topics.

In this document – ‘A New Fiscal Framework for aProgressive Government’ – we outline how we canmaximise the resources that will enable the necessaryinvestment to transform these policy principles into

reality. We publish this analysis as a contribution to acontinuing debate – as a guideline and an invitation toothers to participate, to bring forward their own analysis,estimates and priorities.

Most of all, it shows what a new governmentcommitted to democracy, economic justice and aninclusive- ‐recovery can do.

We look forward to the coming debate. And we look forward to the prospect of electing the

first left- ‐led government in the history of the state – a government that will take us down a

better pathway.

Yours sincerely

John Douglas Eoin Ronayne Stevie Fitzpatrick Billy Wall Jimmy Kelly

1. A progressive government will phase out thestructural deficit – the main fiscal benchmark –by 2020, consistent with the EU’s Stability andGrowth Pact. This will provide additional revenuein order to implement fiscal adjustments.

2. Ireland is a low- ‐spending economy. In 2015,spending on public services, income supports andinvestment would have to increase by €11 billionto reach the EU average (after allowing fordemographic factors, multi- ‐national accountancypractices and defence spending). A progressivegovernment will prioritise social and economicinvestment – first, through the extra resourcesprovided under the EU rules, and second, throughdiscretionary taxation revenues.

3. A progressive government will nearly doublepublic investment, research and development andour national innovative capacity by 2020 andincrease spending on public services and incomesupports by over €6 billion, or over 10 percent.

4. A progressive government will introducediscretionary revenue raising measures targetedat wealth and capital, in addition to increasingthe social wage (employers’ social insurance).This will raise €4.1 billion over the four- ‐yearperiod 2017 – 2020.

5. A progressive government will launch a majordiplomatic and economic initiative to assert that theEU measurement is unsatisfactory andinapplicable to Ireland’s small open economy andthat Ireland has already met its Medium Term

Objective. If this succeeds, the progressivegovernment would have a further €4 billion forfiscal adjustments.

6. A progressive government will pursue investmentinitiatives through the European Fund for StructuralInvestments and the exemption of investmentfrom the excessive deficit calculations. In the firstyear, a progressive government will negotiate a €2billion special once- ‐off investment package paidfor the by redemption of bank bonds.

7. To promote expand growth and economicefficiency and to provide further resources for socialand economic investment, a progressivegovernment will seek to re- ‐orientate enterprisepolicy towards the indigenous sector, pursue adecent work/Living Wage strategy, create specialpurpose vehicles for social investment, pursuepolicies to write- ‐down household debt and launchpublic sector employee- ‐driven innovationinitiatives.

8. Crucially this Fiscal Framework fulfils theRight2Water policy of abolition of domestic watercharges and funding water provision, sanitation andinvestment from progressive general taxation. Inaddition to the elimination of regressive domesticwater charges where, during the programme (2017to 2020) further scope arises for tax cuts, aprogressive government would enact policies thatbenefit those in most need by addressing such taxmeasures as VAT, refundable tax credits and otherprogressive tax measures.

Summary of Proposals

Introduction

A New Fiscal Framework For a Progressive Government


44

A New Fiscal Framework

The intention of this paper is to estimate the fiscal spaceavailable to a progressive government to drive economicand social investment and create a modern Europeansocial state. We provide guidelines as to the distributionof that fiscal space (i.e. spending increases and tax cuts)but do not propose specific measures. It is based on theGovernment’s no-policy change baseline projectionscontained in the Spring Statement and focuses on theyears 2017 to 2020.1 We will first examine the non- discretionary space available under Ireland’s MediumTerm Objective (MTO) as prescribed under thepreventative arm of the Stability and Growth Pact. Wewill then move on to estimate the fiscal space availableunder discretionary measures.

1. Non- Discretionary Fiscal Space 1.1 Non- discretionary fiscal space refers to the amount

of additional resources available without recourseto fiscal adjustments (e.g. taxation and spendingmeasures). Under this heading the two guidingfiscal benchmarks are the structural deficit andDebt/GDP rule (the latter is discussed in section 4.3below). The Government’s 2015 StabilityProgramme Update contains a no- ‐policy changebase- ‐line projection; that is, the trajectory of thestructural deficit without tax increases or spendingcuts. On this basis, the structural deficit will beeliminated by 2018. However, under Ireland’sMTO, this is unnecessary. The structural deficitneed only be reduced by 0.5 percent each year untila target of -0.5 percent is achieved.2 It is proposedto exercise the maximum space allowable under theMTO as shown in Table 1.

1.2 While there are a number of ways to estimate thefiscal space in nominal terms, the following uses asimple linear measurement based on structuraldeficit as a % of GDP and uses this as a proxy.

Table 2 shows that in 2017, a progressive governmentwill be able to increase adjustments (spending increases,tax cuts) by €1.1 billion from maximising the MTO’sfiscal space.4 This will rise to €2.6 billion by 2020. Intotal, over this four year period a new government willan additional €6.4 billion in new resources without fiscaladjustments.

1.3 The above focuses on the structural deficit. Whileusing estimates based on the ExpenditureBenchmark might give different results – inparticular, 2020 – the expenditure benchmark is nota rule:

‘While this expenditure benchmark tries to cater forsome of the policy mistakes occurred in the 2000s,it cannot be considered stricto sensu a spending ruleat EU level but rather a policy instrument providingguidelines to ensure consistency betweenexpenditure developments and GDP growthprospect . . . Specifically, Member States will haveto monitor and control public spendingdevelopments in line with a realistic potential GDPgrowth over the medium- ‐term in order to ensure theachievement of the MTOs.’5

This fiscal framework adheres to this formulation –controlling public spending developments (which includetax reductions) in line with a realistic potential GDP toachieve the MTO; that is, the effective elimination of thestructural deficit.

Table 1:Structural Deficit Elimination (% of GDP)

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

GovernmentBaseline

-2.3 -1.3 -0.3 0.8 2.1

Progressive Alternative

-2.3 -1.8 -1.3 -0.8 -0.5

Table 2: Potential Fiscal Adjustments: € million3

2017 2018 2019 2020 TOTAL

2017 – 2020

Fiscal Space

1,100 1,200 1,500 2,600 6,400

1 It is assumed the next general election will be held in early 2016. Therefore, the first budget presented by a new progressive government willbe Budget 2017. However, we discuss the prospect of an emergency budget in 2016 below in section 7.3.2 EU Commission Staff Working Document Country Report Ireland 2015: ‘After the correction of the excessive deficit, pursue a structuraladjustment towards the medium- ‐term objective of at least 0,5 % of GDP each year.‘ http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/pdf/csr2015/cr2015_ireland_en.pdf3 Nominal figures in this and subsequent tables are rounded to the nearest €100 million.4 The reason this is less than in 2016 is because recent Government negotiations won a derogation from the EU fiscal rules for 2016, with thestructural deficit falling only 0.3 percent of GDP – or 60 percent of what is prescribed in the EU rules.5 EU Commission, National Expenditure Rules: Why, How and When’, Economic Papers 473 | December 2012:http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/economic_paper/2012/pdf/ecp473_en.pdf

> PROPOSAL: Move to MTO compliance by 2020


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2. Discretionary Adjustments: PublicServices, Income Supports andInvestment

2.1 Beyond maximising the fiscal space under theMTO, fiscal adjustments will have to be sourcedfrom compensating measures –discretionaryrevenue measures (DRM). Example: an increase in€500 million in public expenditure will have to bepaid for by an increase of €500 million in revenue

2.2. Public services, social protection and incomesupports to be prioritised.

Ireland is a low- ‐spending economy. Using the traditionalmeasurement – public spending as a proportion of GDP– we need to account for a number of factors: inflatedGDP levels due to multi- national accounting, theelderly and youth demographic and defencespending.6

When multi- national accounting, elderly and youthdemographic and defence budgets are factored in, Irelandremains a low- ‐spending economy. In 2015, primaryspending (i.e. total government spending excludinginterest payments) would have to increase byapproximately €12.7 billion – or 19 percent in 2015.

2.3. This lack of investment in our social infrastructureand income supports results in two deficits: first, inan under- ‐performing economy - ‐ under- ‐investmentreduces productivity and inefficiency in theeconomic infrastructure. Second, in high livingcosts; this includes paying market rates forhealthcare, inflated public transport fares, lack ofaffordable childcare, reduced family supports, andthe lack of pay- ‐related benefits for workers in theevent of sickness, temporary unemployment,occupational injury and retirement.

Given the social repair tasks facing a new progressivegovernment – improving public services, reducingpoverty and deprivation– and the aspiration to European- ‐level of public services and incomes supports resourceswill have to be maximised.

To reduce these high living costs and increase economicproductivity will require discretionary taxation measures.

Table 3: EU and Ireland Primary Spending: as a % of GDP 2015 Estimate7

EUPrimary Expenditure

IrelandPrimary

Expenditure

Ireland(excluding multi-national

accounting)

Ireland(excluding MNC/elderly

demographic)

Ireland(excluding MNC/elderly/

youth demographic)

Ireland(excluding all previousand defence spending)

45.0 33.2 36.4 39.7 37.6 38.6

6 It is not wholly satisfactory to factor in defence spending as this is a policy choice by governments, unlike elderly and youth expenditurewhich is driven by demographics. However, we include it as many commentators refer to this in measuring Irish expenditure.7 Sources: EU Ameco database http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/ameco/user/serie/SelectSerie.cfm andDepartment of Finance Budget 2015. Age and defence expenditure is from Eurostat 2013 data (the latest year available)http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=gov_10a_exp&lang=en Differences in age and defence spending as a percentage ofGDP between 2013 and 2015 will be fractional. The table aligns Irish expenditure with EU spending. For instance, if Ireland had the sameproportion of elderly, the demographic demand on spending would increase by 3.3 percentage points of GDP factoring in pensions,medical/nursing care and community care. However, if we had the same number of young people (below 16 years), the demographic demandon spending would fall by 2.1 percentage points of GDP. If Ireland spent as much on defence as the EU, spending would rise by 1 percentagepoints of GDP. All GDP ratios use the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council’s hybrid GDP benchmark which measures fiscal capacity.8 Implicit tax rates measure revenue as a percentage of their appropriate activity. For instance, implicit personal tax rates and the social wagemeasure revenue as a proportion of gross wages and salaries; implicit VAT rates measure VAT revenue as a percentage of private consumption.Implicit tax rates are less distorted by output volatility than measurements that use GDP/hybrid GDP as the denominator. Data from EurostatTrends in Taxation 2014: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/3217494/5786841/KS- ‐DU- ‐14- ‐001- ‐ EN.PDF/7bec4a16- ‐f111- ‐4386- ‐a4b4- ‐8f1087be1063?version=1.0

> PROPOSAL: Public services, investment andincome supports to be prioritised to increase

economic productivity and reduce high living costs.

3. Discretionary Adjustments: Fundingproductivity and reduced livingcosts.

3.1 As a consequence of a low-spending regime, Irelandhas a low-tax economy compared to the averageEuropean benchmark but just as in the case ofpublic spending, this low-tax status also requires

explanation as it is not evenly spread across theeconomy.

Implicit or effective8 Irish personal taxation is below theEU average. However, given the net demographic/defence spending dividend, this level is approximatelyappropriate. Indirect taxes are certainly higher than isnecessary.


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It should also be noted that the implicit tax rate for Irishpersonal taxation increased substantially since thebeginning of the crisis. It rose by over 20 percent at atime of falling real wages, reduced hours and cuts inincome supports (e.g. Child Benefit). Since 2012, thereis some evidence that the effective tax rate has increasedfurther, mainly due to wage increases and the lack ofindexation.

While it is proposed that the overall effective tax rateremain broadly the same, there may be changes withinthe ‘envelope’. For example, a higher tax rate on highincomes could be introduced to fund an extension of thestandard tax rate band, introduce new intermediate taxrates or reduce regressive taxation and charges (e.g.VAT).

3.2 The Social Wage and Capital Taxation

The main driver in Ireland’s low-tax status is the verylow level of the social wage, or employers’ socialinsurance as seen in Table 4. To reach the EU-average,revenue from employers’ social insurance would have toincrease by over €8 billion. This is the primary reasonfor the spending gap between Ireland and the EU. In otherEU countries the social wage is a significant contributorto public services and income supports. Our low level ofpublic spending and, so, our low levels of public servicesand income supports derives from the low Irish level ofemployers’ social insurance.

This will provide the majority resources for expandingpublic services and income supports – for both those inwork and out of employment.

3.3 The Government’s projections provide space forincreases in the social wage. The Governmentprojects wages to rise annually, on average, by 2.7percent up to 2020. A long-term phasing-in need notresult in a loss of enterprise performance. Indeed,the reduction in living costs (e.g. introduction ofaffordable childcare, reduced public transport fares,demand side impact of pay-related sicknessbenefits, etc.) can boost consumer demand and, so,enterprise turnover.

3.4 Further reductions in living costs and, so,improvements in living standards can be achievedthrough discretionary increases in capital andwealth taxes and taxation on financial activitywithout undermining economic efficiency.

❖ The Nevin Economic Research Instituteestimates that extending the current propertytax to financial property and large realproperties (i.e. a wealth tax) can boost revenueby up to €300 million annually. However, theMinister for Finance projected wealth taxrevenue at between €400 and €500 million.9

❖ Historically, inheritance taxation revenue wasmuch higher in the 1960s and 1970s withrevenue averaging 0.5 percent of GDP.10

Moving towards this average would boostrevenue considerably.

❖ The OECD estimated that Ireland had a muchhigher level of income tax expenditures whichundermined the progressivity of the taxsystem. In 2005, Irish income tax expenditureswere €6.6 billion higher than the EU average.Additional tax expenditures were introducedin 2006 and 2007 but since then, there has beena reduction of such expenditures. Nonetheless,it is likely that Ireland is still an outlier.11

Table 4: Implicit Tax Rates 2012 (%)

Implicit Personal Tax Rate (Employees)

Implicit VAT Rate (Impact on Households)

Implicit Social Wage(Employer’s Social Insurance)

EU 26.3 7.5 20.5

Ireland 22.7 7.4 7.7

> PROPOSAL: A progressive government will notintroduce discretionary measures to raise

the overall effective tax rate on personal taxation

> PROPOSAL: : to increase the social wage,or employers’ social insurance’

incrementally and over the long-termto reach the appropriate benchmark

with the EU average.

9 INERI: Wealth Tax: Options for its Implementation in the Republic of Ireland:http://www.nerinstitute.net/download/pdf/neri_wp_no_6_2013_mcdonnell_wealth_tax.pdf (and personal communication). Ministerial estimate:Parliamentary Question June 7th 2011: https://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2011-06--07.107.0&s=%22wealth+tax%22+section%3Adebates#g109.410 OECD: Revenue Database11 OECD Ireland Economic Survey 2009: http://www.finfacts.ie/biz10/OECD_Economic_survey_Ireland_2009.pdf


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3.5 As a guideline, we assume increases discretionaryrevenue measures (increased taxation on capital,wealth, financial activity, reduction of regressive taxexpenditures in the personal and corporate sectors,along with increases in the social wage) amountingto 0.4 percent of GDP.12 If this were to be realised itwould raise revenue by €4.1 billion over the fouryears 2017-2020.

> PROPOSAL: Increase taxation on wealth, capital and financial activity, along with reduction in regressive tax expenditures

consistent with maximising economic efficiency.

12 A progressive government will systematically review corporate tax relief to ensure that they support wealth generating activities rather thanbe used as tax avoidance. It would be premature to state that such a review would result in additional revenue13 This rule requires that the debt- ‐to- ‐GDP ratio reduces by 1/20th of the difference with 60 percent of GDP

4. Summary of a New FiscalFramework

4.1 The following is a summary of a new fiscalframework that a progressive government can beguided by. We produce this as a guideline. Eventsand priorities will change over the years; however,this provides one example of the resources availablefor economic and social investment

A small fiscal buffer has been included to accommodatespending overruns or underperforming tax revenue.

Table 5: Summary of Fiscal Adjustments: 2017 – 2020

2017 2018 2019 2020 Total2016-2020

Revenue

Discretionary Measures (wealth, capital, social wage) 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,100 4,100

Primary Public Expenditure

Investment 600 700 800 1,100 3,200

Public Services & Income Supports 1,200 1,300 1,500 2,300 6,300

Total Spending 1,800 2,000 2,300 3,300 9,400

Fiscal Buffer 200 200 300 400 1,100

Total may be affected by rounding

In this summary:

❖ Discretionary tax measures raise €4.1 billion overthe four years 2017-2020

❖ Investment rises by €3.2 billion over the four years

❖ Expenditure on public services and social protectionrises by €6.3 billion over the four years

❖ Total primary spending increases by €9.5 billionover the four years.

❖ A progressive Government implementing this fiscalstrategy will abolish domestic water charges withinthese parameters.

As we stated previously, this is a guideline, theparameters a new progressive government could operate

within. Priorities may change so as to reshape thedistribution of fiscal space between different tax andspending categories.

4.2 The guideline summary shows a tight fiscal spacein the first years of a progressive government, dueto the requirement to reduce the structural deficit.However, this space starts to widen by 2019 andafter 2020. Once our Medium Term Objective hasbeen reached, there will be more scope to increaseinvestment in the economic and socialinfrastructure.

4.3 This framework also ensures that Ireland meets thedebt/GDP rule.13

Despite nominal debt rising, the growth in GDP fromadditional investment ensures that the debt/GDP burdenfalls well within the scope the fiscal rules.


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4.4 In all probability, a progressive government will beable to increase economic and social investmentabove the levels outlined in Table 5. This is due notonly to the conscious omission of multipliers (e.g.the additional investment) in order to create upsiderisks but the fiscal buffer which allows for unseenexpenditure or taxation under-performance.Expenditure on public services and income supportsshow higher multipliers than tax increases, which

would boost growth and put further downwardpressure on the structural deficit.14 A final noteshould be made of the government’s estimate of theunderlying taxation growth out to 2020. Whileappropriately cautious, the eventual tax revenueoutturn could exceed targets. This can be seen fromthe tax revenue growth in 2015 to date – exceedingprofile by 4 percent and last year’s outturn by 11percent.15

5. Need to Reform EU Fiscal Rules 5.1 There is a need to radically reform the EU fiscal

rules and not just because they are inappropriatelyapplied to Ireland’s small open economy.

5.2 The structural deficit – ‘The actual budget balancenet of the cyclical component and one-off and othertemporary measures’ – is a hypotheticalmeasurement which, in turn, is based on otherhypothetical measurements such as the potentialGDP and the natural rate of unemployment or ‘NonAccelerating Inflation Rate of Unemployment’.None of these can be observed in the real economy.Different international organisations such as the EU,the IMF and the OECD come to significantdifferences when measuring the structural deficit ina particular country. And the structural deficitmeasurement can be subject to considerablerevisions in a very short period. Basing fiscal policyon hypothetical and non-observable measurementsis hardly robust or designed to instil confidence.

Using the structural deficit as a means of coercinggovernments into deflationary fiscal policies isideological.

5.4 Probably the most damning indictment of the EUfiscal rules is that they cannot accomplish what theywere designed to do – that is, ‘prevent’ a fiscal crisisthat most EU countries suffered recently, or providean ‘early warning’ system. If the EU methodologycould achieve this, then it would have been evidentearly in the last decade when Ireland was cuttingtaxation, increasing public spending and relying onthe revenue/growth from an asset bubble.

However the EU methodology didn’t catch this16. Priorto 2007, Ireland was compliant with the current fiscalrules. In fact, between 2000 and 2006 the EU rulesranked Ireland’s public finances as the healthiest andmost sustainable of any Eurozone country apart fromFinland. It wasn’t until the recession hit Ireland that theEU methodology identified a problem in the publicfinances. As a preventative or early-warning

Table 6: Cyclically adjusted deficit, percentage of potential GD

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

3.6 (-0.2) (-1.2) 0.9 1.5 0.7 1.4 (-2.2) (-7.5)

5.3 The rules imply that structural deficits can only beaddressed through deflationary fiscal adjustments –either tax increases and/or spending cuts. But as theGovernment shows in the Spring Statement, and aspresented in Table 1, the structural deficit is reducedby growth itself, without any resort to fiscaladjustments. Between 2016 and 2020, growth alonewill reduce the structural deficit by 4.4 percent.

measurement, the structural deficit and the EUmethodology is not fit for purpose.

> PROPOSAL: A progressive government willdeclare the structural deficit unworkable and workwith other Eurozone countries to radically reformthe EU fiscal rules in order to base it on observable

and robust measurements.

16 Cyclical Adjustment of Budget Balances Spring 2015:http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/db_indicators/gen_gov_data/documents/2015/ccab_spring_en.pdf17 ESRI Special Article The Structural Balance for Ireland: http://www.esri.ie/UserFiles/publications/QEC2014SPR_SA_Bergin.pdf. This

6. An Alternative View of the StructuralDeficit

6.1 It has been argued, in particular by the ESRI, thatIreland has effectively eliminated the structural

deficit and, so, we are in MTO compliance.17 NERIhas also stated that the structural deficit is wellbelow the Government estimate.18 This conclusionis based on the unsatisfactory measurements usedby the EU in assessing a small open economy like


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Ireland. The EU’s one-size-fits-all measurement ismore suitable to large, closed economies likeGermany and France. Similarly, the Department ofFinance has described the results of the EU’smethodology as not ‘plausible’.19

If this is the case, the constraints on spending ease evenmore. In this scenario, Ireland is bound by the ReferenceRate.20 Ireland would have approximately €4 billion

more available for social and economic investment overthe four years.

> PROPOSAL: A progressive government to mounta strong initiative with the EU Commission and

other relevant bodies to have our economymeasured by appropriate

tools by declaring our MTO to have been reached.

analysis was produced prior to Budget 2015 and was based on assumptions that were not realised in the budget. Therefore, the structural deficitis, using the ESRI analysis, probably between 1 and 1.5 percent. However, this would still leave considerable extra resources for a progressivegovernment over the four year period.18 Personal communication. NERI will be providing further information in their upcoming Summer 2015 Quarterly Economic Observer.19 Stability Programme Update 2011: http://www.finance.gov.ie/sites/default/files/spuirelandapr2011.pdf20 Reference rate is the 10- ‐year average of potential GDP. Fiscal adjustments cannot exceed this threshold without compensating discretionaryrevenue measures.21 ESB and Vodafone to invest €450 million in 100% fibre broadband network: https://www.esb.ie/main/press/pressreleaseWS.jsp?id=4074

7. Additional Investment Resources 7.1 In addition to intensifying the current Government’s

engagement with the new European Fund forStrategic Investments, a progressive governmentwill consider two further initiatives to increaseinvestment in our economic infrastructure.

7.2 A progressive government will utilise the recentflexibility introduced by the EU Commission whichallows investment of up to 0.5 percent of GDP to beundertaken without being included in the ExcessiveDeficit. In 2017 this would equal €1.1 billion. Anexample of such investment could be a further roll-out of Next Generation Broadband, similar to thejoint ESB-Vodaphone initiative.21

7.3 The Government estimates that capital resourceswill benefit from the redemption of €2 billion ofcontingent convertible capital notes (CoCos) in AIBand PTSB in 2016. While this will not impact onthe general government balance as they areconsidered an investment, a progressive

government can use this money to introduce anemergency investment budget in 2016. Examples ofthis investment could be social housing andwater/waste infrastructure. There would need to benegotiation with the EU Commission over the useof this money but as it would be a once-offtemporary measure, it would not impact on thestructural deficit (in fact, it would help improve thestructural balance as the investment would increaseeconomic productivity). This could be negotiated aspart of a new agreement on the appropriate fiscalmethodology for Ireland (see sections 5 and 6above).

8. Non-Fiscal Policies That Can CreateMore Resources

8.1 It is a mistake to confine fiscal policy to budgetaryadjustments. Nominal or structural balances reflectthe relative health or otherwise of an economy.Therefore, economic, social, labour market andcredit policies can have a positive impact on acountry’s budget – creating new and additionalrevenue from sustainable and shared growth. Wehighlight some of these areas that can make apositive fiscal contribution.

8.2 Enterprise policy that gives renewed emphasis onindigenous enterprise can promote growth; in

particular, through stronger organic links to theeconomy (e.g. sourcing, skill development, etc.).This requires a substantial public intervention asIreland’s indigenous enterprise base is the weakestamong small open European economies.

8.3 Wage-led growth can ensure that future privateconsumption is sustainable. And where this wage-led growth privileges the low-paid, labour marketpolicy can maximise consumption gains andbusiness turnover.

8.4 To maximise social housing investment and topromote a modernisation of the private rentalsector, off-balance sheet options should be

> PROPOSAL: A progressive government willintensify engagement over the European Fund forStrategic Investments, utilise flexibility under the

EU fiscal rules regarding investment andintroduce an emergency budget to use the €2billion revenue from redemption of contingent

convertible capital notes


explored. Special purpose vehicles can ensuresubstantial investment without impacting on thegeneral government balance. Such vehicles need notbe confined to traditional local authority housing;they can promote cooperative housing and a newpublic enterprise initiative to provide qualityaccommodation at cost-rental price in the privaterental sector. Excessive rent acts as a brake on theproductive sector.

8.5 Reducing personal debt – primarily mortgage debt– has the potential to maximise sustainable privateconsumption and improve living standards.Different mechanisms need to be explored but themost economically efficient is to align mortgageprices and house values. This can involve write-downs and restructuring under protocols overseenby an accountable public debt agency.

8.6 Innovation – both product and process – has thecapacity to drive efficiencies and productivity.However, for the benefits to be maximised,innovation must be a democratic process.

Employee-driven innovation has that capacity.Innovation driven by the actual front-line producersof goods and services is more likely to besustainable and broad-based. A first step would beto introduce employee-driven innovation in thepublic sector which can then act as a demonstrationeffect throughout the economy.

8.7 One of the major lessons to be learned from thecrisis is that credit is too important to be confinedto private shareholder value-driven institutions. Aprogressive government will examine the options ofestablishing a large scale public banking systemboth in retail and specialist sectors. Suchinstitutions, while operating under commercialcriteria, would be led by different criteria thanshareholder-value; namely, sustainable investmentin the public, corporate and household sectors.

8.8 These and other policy reforms have the capacity topromote potential GDP which will open* up evenmore fiscal space for a progressive government topursue economic and social investment strategies.

9. Risks9.1 We have based our framework on the Government’s

projections. Therefore, our framework contains thesame risks. These have been highlighted in theStability Programme Update: householdindebtedness, continued domestic and Europeandeflation, vulnerability in Irish banks’ asset books,etc. Most importantly, deviations from theGovernment’s baseline scenario could arise fromexternal or domestic sources, with differingimplications for growth and public finances.

9.2 The Government has identified these risks: worldoutput, savings ratio and interest rates (the latterhaving the most potential to undermine forecasts).It is also concerning that the Government’s baselineprojections are based on unchanged oil prices andthe value of the Euro up to 2020, a state of affairsthat is likely to change.

9.3 Within our own projections, we have sought to useformulations that create upside risks (e.g. we havenot introduced a multiplier for additional investmentexpenditure). Further, we have provided a fiscalbuffer which amounts to over €1 billion in the fouryears 2017- ‐2020 in case of any slippage. However,the impact on growth and fiscal projections fromnegative domestic and external developmentscannot be ignored.

9.4 That is why it is all the more vital that a newgovernment move quickly to develop its investmentprofile – to drive productivity and efficiencies.Without substantial investment, we are at risk oflosing competitiveness vis-à-vis other economiesthat maintain investment. A high investmenteconomy is the best protection against any futuredownturns or unexpected developments.

CWU and Medisan Annual support for families overthe Christmas by purchasing toys for Temple StreetHospital, The Family Resource Centre in Inchicore,the Women’s Family Support Centre in Rathmines,Artane and Galway Centre, and the Mercy Hospital in

Cork.The Fund also supported the distribution of hats,

scarves, gloves and socks to the homeless in fourcentres in Dublin: Peter McVerry, Brother Kevin, BowStreet and Merchant’s Quay Centres, and Crosscare.

Donation of €22,000.00 was made from theCWU Charitable Fund

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Climate Change is Union Business

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We are facing a major challenge. The facts andscience are there. Our global emissions of greenhousegases continue to climb and the (business as usual)scenario takes us to a global temperature increase of+3 to 4°C compared to pre-industrial levels. Thisscenario would trigger an unprecedentedhumanitarian crisis threatening our very existence.We need to stay below +2°C if we want to givehumanity a chance to adapt to the already on-goingclimatic changes.

The root cause of the climate crisis is the same thattriggered the financial crisis: market failure, short-term thinking in financial markets and CEOs fuellingtheir pay with winning short-term returns oninvestment. Only 90 companies are responsible fortwo thirds of global emissions. Governments spendas much money on fossil fuel subsidies as on healthcare. Climate change is a threat to democracy andpeace.

This year is a crucial year. World leaders will meetin Paris at the UNFCCC COP21 from 30 Novemberto 12 December 2015 with the aim of reaching aglobal agreement on climate change. 194 nationsneed to agree on how they will share their efforts toreduce greenhouse gas emissions at national andglobal levels and to mobilise financial resources tohelp developing countries adapt to climate change.

This is a call for action. Climate change is ourbusiness: it is union business. In the lead up to Pariswe need to push for mitigation, adaptation, financeand reporting every five years. Last but not least weneed to mobilise people.

On 14 and 15 September, the ITUC broughttogether 250 union leaders from around the worldincluding from UNI. The Trade Union ClimateSummit endorsed three key demands for the ParisAgreement calling on governments to:

1 put back the language of “just transition” thathas been stripped from the draft agreement;

2 raise ambition before 2020 and invest in thepotential of jobs and climate action and committo a binding review of effort;

3 support the most vulnerable with promisedfinancial commitments.

As a trade union movement, we are asking for a justtransition towards a low carbon economy, includingthe greening of jobs, green skills, social protectionand funding for the poorest and most vulnerablepeople and nations.

What can you do about it? You can do your part asfollows.

• Make your voice heard and mobilize towardsCOP21

• Sign up to the ITUC Climate Justice Pledge:http://act.ituc-csi.org/unions4climate

• if you have not yet done so, you can sign up forthe climate justice pledge as an organisation andask other leaders to do so too. The UNI GlobalUnion pledge includes a:

a. Call for a phase out of fossil fuel subsidies;b. Call for a shift in pension funds investment

portfolio of at least 5% towards climateinvestments;

c. Call on governments to mobilise fundingand contribute up to 110 billion dollars/yearby 2020 for international climate finance;

d. Call on governments to adopt moreambitious emission reduction targets tohave a chance of limiting global warmingto maximum +2°C;

e. Call on governments to reach zero carbonemissions globally by 2100.


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Branch Secretary Stage 2 TrainingOctober 2015

The Union held the Branch Secretary Stage 2 course between October 13th and October 15th. As always it was wellattended by various Branches from the Postal and Telecoms Sector.

Pictured back row l-r: Oliver Butler Navan Postal, Matt Finnegan Cavan Postal, Caroline Maunsell Athlone Tels,Tony Harnett Kilmallock & District Postal , and Collette Healy Cork Tels.

Pictured front row l-r: John Delaney Thurles Postal, Eddie Glenny eir Limerick District,Tom Murtagh Birr/Roscrea Postal, Liam O’Laighin Dublin C&A and Tom Prendergast Portlaoise Postal.

Pictured above: Colette Healy, Eddie Glenny & Liam O’Laighin

Education Update


53

Branch Officer Training – September 15th & 16th

Limerick Postal Committee Training,September 25th & 26th

The Branch Officer training course was held in union head office last September and was attended by new Treasurers,Assistant Branch Secretaries and Assistant Chairpersons. The course covered various aspects of each role and othertrade union topics. Our thanks to all those who attended.

In attendance were:John Beale Kilkenny Postal, Norita Burke Tipperary Postal, John Byrne Portlaoise Mails Centre, Dina ConsidinePortlaoise Mails Centre, Nicola Cooney Castlebar Postal, William Donnelly Enniscorthy Postal, Helen Dunne PhelanPortlaoise Mails Centre, Helen Fleming Limerick Postal, David Kane Mullingar Postal, Tommy Kelly TullamorePostal, Eamon Larkin Kilkenny Postal, Marie Macken Athlone Tels, James Morris Nenagh Postal, Mary MulliganAthlone Tels, John Murphy Cork Outdoor, Julie Mulvaney Navan Postal, Larry O’Beirne Carrick on Shannon Postal,Peter O’Dwyer Waterford Postal, Sadie Quinn Athlone Tels, Lesley Sheridan DPAB, John Stokes Thurles Postal andTom Walsh Galway Postal.

The Limerick Postal Branchattended a CommitteeTraining Course in theCastletroy Park Hotel onFriday 25th and Saturday28th September. Inattendance were GerHanrahan, Helen Fleming,Noel Kinsella, Ken Kiely,Chris Egan, Gearoid OConnor, Sinead Kearney,Michael Tobin and RayNeville. Pictured are someof the attendees in Limerick

Education Update


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Someone needs to tell our great leader that a littleknowledge is a dangerous thing. Every time Enda Kennyopens his mouth, he runs the risk of exploding a landmine.The potential for damage is incalculable. His handlers areso fearful that they would rather he never spoke at all.Perhaps the army should be deployed to form a ring of steelaround the taoiseach’s gob, in the interests of nationalsecurity.

Mr Kenny’s white-knuckle story about soldiers defendingthe banks’ cash supplies gets weirder by the day. He told it,with vivid detail and theatrical gesticulations, at theEuropean People’s Party conference in Madrid last month.According to him, Patrick Honohan, the governor of theCentral Bank, said in 2012: “It looks like this weekend...you’ll have to put [the] army around the banks and aroundthe ATM machines and introduce capital controls like theyhad in Cyprus.”

How his EU colleagues must have drooled at the thoughtof the petit, strawberry-blond teacher from Castlebar callingin the generals to guard Ireland’s dosh. Except, it neverhappened.

Gradually, the story crumbled. It became less NancyDrew Saves Berlin and more The Secret Life of Enda Mitty.Back home on terra firma, the taoiseach ditched the word“army” in preference for the more oblique “security” andadmitted that he had received “no specific” briefing fromMr Honohan on the issue. Mr Honohan said: “That’s notterritory the Central Bank is or was involved in.”

Mr Kenny has form for telling tall tales. In January hewaxed lyrical about workers’ grovelling gratitude for taxcuts in Budget 2014. He said that people were contactinghim, saying: “Well, I’m not sure whether it was a mistakeor not but I seem to have got extra money in the last month.”

Journalists were sceptical. Who were these batty workerswith the inclination and the price of a stamp to send thank-you letters to a taoiseach who had been fleecing their paypackets for three years? Yup, Mr Kenny’s handlers lateradmitted: it never happened.

Then there’s Two Pint Man. If Éamon de Valera was wontto look into his own heart to know what the nation wasthinking, Mr Kenny looks into Two Pint Man’s mouth andplants his own fantasy words in it. He keeps encounteringthe ne’er-do-well, anti-water charges protester on hisperambulations around Dublin.

Every time they meet, the fellow has a pint in each hand.“I said to him what he was holding in his hands would payfor water for him for nearly ten weeks,” the Taoiseach toldthe Dail. Two Pint Man, one must presume, carries his

protest placard in his third hand.Whatever his grasp of recent Irish history, our leader’s

knowledge of 20th-century world history is truly alarming.In 2012 – that was a vintage year for Enda’s imaginings –he delivered the oration at the annual Michael Collinscommemoration in Beal na mBlath and gushed about howthe Big Fellow brought Vladimir Lenin to Ireland “to seehow the National Loan worked”. The main flaw in that storyis that Comrade Lenin never set foot in Ireland.

There is a common thread of Our Boys-style derring-dorunning though Mr Kenny’s stories. Sigmund Freud wouldhave had a theory or three about them. Nine years ago,speaking in the Dail on Fine Gael’s Criminal Law (HomeDefence) Bill, Mr Kenny told a scintillating yarn about hisown swashbuckling experience, claiming that he was oncemugged “by two people high on drugs with a knife”.

Describing the episode as daunting, he said: “Until theday I die, I will remember the rasping sound of a knife beingpulled from a leather scabbard...” Not even Johnny Deppcould compete with that for piratical melodrama.

There were, however, no civil rights campaignerslaughing at the story. Mr Kenny chose to deliver himself ofhis tale in a climate of fear and loathing. The bill wasintroduced after the acquittal of Padraig Nally, a Mayofarmer, for the manslaughter of John Ward, a Traveller heshot dead after happening upon him in his farm house in2004.

Nally had successfully pleaded self-defence and the bill’spurpose was to allow people to use lethal force, if necessary,against intruders in order to protect themselves. Mr Kenny’shair-raising story was not exactly designed to defuse publicfear. He must have known that. He is not stupid.

So we laugh and dismiss his flights of fancy at our peril.His fondness for purple prose and gilding the lily is not asimple eccentricity that occasionally tickles the nation. Ithas its perils.

Alexander Pope, who coined the phrase about a littleknowledge being dangerous, said that “shallow draughtsintoxicate the brain”. Truth matters because it is the bedrockof trust. If you cannot believe what a political leader says,how can you trust him with your country? Mr Kenny is alikeable man and there is an endearing little-boy needinessin his proclivity for puffing himself up. It hints that, deepdown, he feels unappreciated.

What would Two Pint Man say about that? We will findout come the general election. That is, if Mr Kenny’sconstant companion can bear to put down one of his pintsto mark his ballot paper.

FORGET ATMS, SEND THE ARMY IN TO GUARD ENDA’S GOB

The taoiseach’s fondness for gilding the lily is not a simple eccentricitythat occasionally tickles the nation, it has its perils

© Justine McCarthy, November 4 2015

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After months of fundraising, purchasing, packing,loading and labeling finally on 9th September all three Irishvehicles set off to meet our U. K. counterparts in Hull. Thefirst leg of our journey was the ferry to Holyhead, howeverour mood changed before we docked as PatBroderick(Eircom) recieved the news that his Father haddied suddenly. When we docked in Holyhead Pathad to get the ferry for his return journey,so we had to say our goodbyes andcontinue on our way. A fewphonecalls were all it took forSupersub to spring into actionand Ivor Reynolds packed abag and met us in Hull thenext morning, MrsReynolds must be a veryunderstanding woman, ormaybe she was happy tosee him go.

The crossing from Hullto Zeebrugge was fairlyuneventful, and on arrival wewere straight onto the motorwayheading for Germany. After a longdays driving we finally stopped for thenight at a motel in Regensburg, a quickbite to eat and a good night’s sleep were in orderas we knew we had another few long days ahead of us. Thenext few days were spent getting as many miles behind usas we could, and some of the drivers who hadn’t been onconvoy before got a baptism of fire, although our own ladsCharlie and Jimmy aquitted themselves very well and neverhad a problem. We passed the refugee camps at theHungarian border, and seeing the plight of these people firsthand was shocking to say the least. After five long days ofsharing the roads with some of the craziest drivers in theworld, we reached the border crossing at Sculeni, we gotthrough the Romanian side fairly quickly but the Moldovanborder guards were a different proposition, we were stuckin no mans land between the borders while the paperworkwas sorted out , Victoria, the founder of mad-aid, our incountry host, and Doru, who is a local businessman, wentto deal with the problem while all us drivers availed of thefree wi-fi and the sunshine. The problem was sorted and

after our extended break we were off again, the differencebeing now we were on Moldovan roads, the less said aboutthe surface or lack of one the better.

A few miles into our journey towards our base for thenext few days, we had our first encounter with the localconstabulary, one of the Royal Mail drivers was pulled over

and spoken to by the police, he couldnt understandwhat they were saying but Victoria spoke

to the police via our c. b. system andthey let the lads go . We got to our

base in Balti that afternoon andparked up, it was our first early

finish since we’d left homeso a cold beer was welldeserved.

The next morning wasanother early start but itwas what we had all beenworking towards, the day

we delivered our aid, as wewere getting ready to head

off we saw Pat Broderick whohad flown out after his Fathers

burial to join us to finish the job.That illustrates the committment of

the man. We headed to the Phoenix Centreand on arrival we were met by some of the

volunteers who gave us salt cake a traditional welcome gift,and we got to see all the work that had already been done torenovate the once derelict building. One complete wing ofthe building had been transformed from a crumbling wreckto a state of the art facility , all that was needed now wasthe fixtures and fittings that were in the trucks and vans tobe unloaded.

As we started to unload our aid the cheers and gasps ofthe people let us know how they appreciated the effort wehad made to fulfill their wish-list and some tears were shedwhen they saw the full extent of what we had brought.Jimmy and Charlie had a van full of equipment for a sensoryroom and had to unload at a different entrance as some ofthe pieces were too big to go in the door. As each vehiclewas unloaded the aid was separated as to it’s destination,some of it was to be distributed to needy families and someto the local hospital and the local orphanage. When each

C.W.U.H.A CONVOY REPORT 2015

This year’s convoy was extra special as it marked the twentieth anniversary of the foundation ofC. W. U. H. A. and it coincided with the opening of the Phoenix Centre in Riscan, Moldova. TheCentre is the first of it’s kind in Moldova catering for children with physical disabilities, whootherwise would not recieve any education or therapy. The C. W. U. Ireland and U. K. bothcontributed to the huge effort to get this centre up and running.


56

team finished unloading their vehicle there was a huge cheerand clapping along with thank you’s hugs and handshakes,these people couldn’t grasp why people from anothercountry would do all this to help people they never metbefore, they were amazed . We kept going all day and wellinto the evening and the last job of the day was rolling outsome astroturf that was lent to the centre for the opening.The aid for the orphanage and the hospital was reloaded intoa couple of vans for delivery the following day , and weheaded back to base after another long day.

Early the next morning we broke into two groups, onegroup going to the hospital in Riscan and the other going toan orphanage a few kilometres away. On the way to theorphanage we noticed the extreme difference in livingconditions, there were ornate mansions and all around them

were families living in what would best be described aspigeon lofts, a real example of the haves and have nots. Onarrival at the orphanage we noticed that although clean thebuildings were in bad need of repair , all the children werein their classrooms but the director said we could visit andmeet the children, each class we entered we were met witha sea of smiles and as we were guided around anddistributed presents we learned a lot of those smiles hidtragic and sad histories. The director let the children have ahalf-day so we delivered our aid and went to meet all thechildren in the school yard. They showed us around and toldus about their daily lives, again they were amazed as to whywe chose them to recieve our aid. They didnt care aboutdesigner labels they were just delighted to recieve newclothes and shoes.


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58

Labelling of Israeli Settlement Goods:EU Interpretive Notice

After three years of deliberation on the requirement forgoods produced in illegal Israeli settlements to becorrectly labelled before being sold in the EU, theEuropean Commission has finally issued new guidelineson the need to distinguish between goods produced inIsrael (within the pre-1967 borders) and those producedin illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied PalestinianTerritories. (The European Union does not recognise anypart of the West Bank, Gaza, the Golan Heights or EastJerusalem as Israeli territory.) Goods from Israelisettlements are already clearly labelled by the UK,Belgium and Denmark.

There are two types of labelling requirements in theEU: namely, mandatory labelling and voluntary labelling.The goods in the mandatory labelling category includefresh fruit and vegetables, eggs, olive oil, wine, poultry,organic products and cosmetics. Voluntary labellingrefers primarily to pre-packed food products andindustrial products. The Interpretive Notice issued by theEuropean Commission explains the reasoning formandatory labelling of all produce from illegal Israelisettlements:

“[I]n accordance with EU consumer protectionlegislation, indication of origin becomes mandatorywhen the omission of that information would mislead theconsumer as to the true origin of the product or whensuch omission causes or is likely to cause the averageconsumer to take a transactional decision that he wouldnot have taken otherwise.”

Therefore, the current labels which often state ‘made inIsrael’ or ‘product of Israel’ will no longer be sufficientfor any goods produced in the Occupied PalestinianTerritories (or the Israeli-occupied Syrian GolanHeights). For example, in the case of Palestine, labelswhich currently state ‘product from West Bank’ will nolonger comply with EU labelling standards; suggestedwording from the European Commission is to use‘product from West Bank (Israeli settlement)’. Not onlydoes this allow the consumer to identify goods producedin the illegal Israeli settlements, but it will also ensurethat goods produced by Palestinians will be identifiable,with suggested wording such as ‘product from Palestine’or ‘product from West Bank (Palestinian product)’.

Naturally, the Israeli government was more thandispleased with the decision of the EuropeanCommission, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahustating that the EU is punishing “the side that is beingattacked by terrorism”. Furthermore, Yuval Steinitz, theIsraeli energy minister, trotted out the tired claim that thenew labelling requirements are “disguised anti-semitism”.

Nonetheless, a petition signed by more than 500prominent Israeli figures, including former ambassadors,Israeli prize winners and former MPs, welcomed themove: “This kind of distinction can also serve to reducethe current levels of tension, fear and despair, amongboth Israelis and Palestinians.”

The CWU would like to remind our members that it is the policy of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions toboycott goods from illegal Israeli settlements, until such time as Israel respects international humanitarianlaw.

Union members – and all consumers – can use this non-violent action to pressure Israel into ending itsoccupation of Palestine, lifting the siege on Gaza and allowing Palestinians to live in peace and dignitywith the full right to self-determination which has been denied to them for decades. In the words of NelsonMandela: “We know all too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.”

Members can use the following information if they choose to observe theconsumer boycott.

Supermarket products from Occupied Territories – check product label:

Oranges Fresh Rosemary DatesAvocados Fresh Chives FigsGrapefruits Fresh Parsley Sharon FruitsPotatoes Fresh Sage Golan Heights WineFresh Basil Bell Peppers Meat-Free Mince


59

Companies that operate in the OccupiedTerritories and/or Profit from the

Occupation:

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60

Equality Update

ICTU Disability SeminarWaterford

Pictured left: Minister Aodhán O Ríordáin at the seminar

The CWU attended this very informative ICTU seminarheld in the Tower Hotel in Waterford in the middle of Oc-tober. The theme of the seminar was “Decent Work forPeople with Disabilities” with the keynote address fromMinister Aodhán O Ríordáin, who spoke on foot of therecent launch of the Comprehensive Employment Strat-egy for people with disabilities.

The seminar also dealt with employment strategies forpeople with disabilities and provided an update on activ-ities both north and south of the border. There was a re-port from people with disabilities in employment andtheir experiences which was supplemented by DorothyWatson from the ERSI who gave a presentation on the

educational and employment experiences of people withdisabilities. The presentation detailed the lower levels ofparticipation in the labour market and the reasons forsame.

Robert Forde who is a member of the ESU addressedthe seminar as did Lorcan Byrne and Marion Behan ofthe INMO. Several other speakers gave insightful inputsthe details of which can be found on the ICTU website.

In attendance on behalf of the CWU Equality and Di-versity Committee were Ken Good Letterkenny Postal,Breege Mulroe eir Sligo Section, Ellen Moore PortlaoiseMails Centre, Margaret Jenkins eir Dublin No 1 and LiamO’Laighin from the Dublin C&A branch.

CWU Equality Representative Training

The union was also very pleased to welcome Ade-laide Nic Chárthaigh, from the Suas Programme toour training. Adelaide is the Ireland Education &Business Development Manager for Suas and shegave a comprehensive presentation on the pro-gramme and how the union can get more involved.

The next call for volunteers will be January 2016.

There is more information on Suas in Connect and from the Suas website.www.suas.ie/volunteer-ireland


61

Equality Update

CWU Equality Representative Training

Pictured above back row l-r:Tara Ravenhill Athlone Mails Centre, Derek Williams Dublin C&A, Carl Moorhouse eir Dublin No 2, Imelda Devaney eir Dublin No 3, Deirdre O’Hara eir Dublin No 2, Gregory McGovern Cavan Postal,

Lori Ann O’Connor Dublin C&A and Tom O’Donoghue An Post Kilmallock & District.

Front Row l-r:Geraldine McManus Portlaoise Mails Centre, Paul Farren Westport Postal,

Caroline McCaughey Mullingar Postal, Fiona Duff Dublin Postal Clerks, Chris O’Reilly Gorey Postal and John Tracey Thurles Postal

Once again we had a full house at the equality representative training course, which was attended by a cross sectionof branches. The training addressed a variety of issues from work life balance to equality in trade unions.

This course deals with issues from an employment equality perspective across the nine grounds and is aimed at electedrepresentatives who wish to progress this agenda at branch level.

We wish to thank all the attendees for their active participation.


“At Suas w e are delighted to havebeen chosen as one of the Communi-cations Workers Union’s charities. Wesee education as key to social trans-formation and the first, and most im-portant, step in changing lives.Because of CWU’s’generous supportin 2015/16 , 1000 struggling childrenwill receive Suas literacy mentorshipin DEIS schools serving disadvan-taged areas. 1000 children will have achance to make reading improvementsthat will stay with them for life, alongwith the confidence and self-esteemthat brings. Thank you to all membersof the Communications Workers Unionfor making this possible. Thank youfor giving children a better chance toreach their potential and a brighter fu-ture.”

Allison Aldred, Suas CEO

“I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the children’s company

and it felt good to feel like I had something to offer. It was fasci-

nating to notice the differences in temperament and ability of each

childand to adapt accordingly. Time is money they say but time

freely given in helping others has the most value”.

(Suas Volunteer Mentor)

Research shows that children who don’t learn to read,write and communicate effectively at primary school aremore likely to leave school early. Are more likely to beunemployed or in low skilled jobs. And are more likelyto have health problems both emotional and physical.

In Ireland 1 in 10 children have serious literacy diffi-culties. In designated disadvantaged schools (DEIS) thisfigure can rise to 1 in 3.

Suas Educational Development believes in the powerof education and in partnership with CWU works withDEIS schools in Dublin, Cork, Waterford, Galway andLimerick to help schoolchildren (8-14 years old) to im-prove their reading. What do we do? Basically, Suas re-cruits and trains volunteers to work with schoolchildren

on a one-to-one basis to practice reading and writing inan environment where it is okay to take risks, make mis-takes and learn at their own pace.

Would you like to make a difference in the lives of girlsand boys through education? If so, volunteering on a Suasliteracy support project might be for you.

• As a paired reading volunteer you attend for just 1hour per week for 8 weeks in a school close to you

• The schools you volunteer in are recognised asschools serving disadvantaged communities

• Working with the same girl or boy every week youhelp them to read on a one-to-one basis

• Suas provides full training in advance

But, the Literacy Support Programme is about more thanreading and writing. It’s also about you becoming a role-model in a child’s life. You can give a child a new, biggerperspective on their future.

To date, in 2015, we have trained 900 Mentors. But wehave a huge demand from schools and they need morevolunteers - people like you. Next call for volunteers willbe in January 2016

For further information: http://www.suas.ie/volunteer-ireland

Adelaide Nic Charthaigh [email protected]

‘Education is the most powerful weapon you canuse to change the world’

Nelson Mandela.

“The book has hard words but I

spelled them out. It was the best

book ever. I wish I could do Suas

again”. Kimberlee, age 9

“The puils felt a great sense of self-im-portance having a dedicated mentor.You could see their faces light up whenthey walked into the room and pickedup their book’.

Niall Heneghan, School Principal

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6363

Definition of Working TimeThe Working Time Directive (2003/88/EC) definesworking time as any period during which the worker isworking, at the employer’s disposal and carrying out hisactivity, or duties, in accordance with national lawsand/or practice. Any period which is not working time isregarded as a rest period.

CaseSpain’s largest Trade Union, Comisiones Obreras , tooka case against Tyco Integrated Security, a security systeminstallation company. This case was referred to theEuropean Court of Justice when the National High Courtin Spain asked whether

1. The time spent by workers travelling to their firstjob if they have no fixed or habitual place of workshould be regarded as working time

2. Whether their travel home from their last job inthese circumstances should also be regarded asworking time

The Workers concerned had no fixed place of work. Theyeach have the use of a company vehicle for travellingevery day from their homes to the various places of workand to return home at the end of the day. The distancesbetween their homes and the places where they carry outtheir work varied greatly and could sometime be as muchas a 100 kilometres. In order to carry out their duties theyare provided with a mobile phone and on the eve of theirworking day they receive a task list identifying their worklocations. Tyco did not treat this time as working timebut rather considered it be a rest period.

Court Decision• The Court of Justice declared that, where workers,

such as those in the situation at issue, do not have afixed or habitual place of work, the time spent bythose workers travelling each day between theirhomes and the premises of the first and lastcustomers designated by their employer constitutesworking time within the meaning of the directive.

• The Court considers workers in such a situation tobe carrying out their activity or duties over thewhole duration of those journeys.

• The Court took the view that the workers are at theemployer’s disposal for the time of the journeys

• In addition the Court considers the workers to beworking during the journeys

Impact of this decisionOnce the European Court of Justice issue a finding thedecision is directly effective in the public sector.However, in order for it to be implemented in the privatesector new legislation needs to be introduced and this islikely to take some time. This finding should apply toworkers who do not have a fixed place of work andnormally travels as part of their working day. The typeof industry impacted could include sales reps andtechnicians who do not have a fixed place of work. As aresult of this finding this time is now considered to beworking time. Workers in such circumstances could nowreceive payments for travelling to and from work andcould see their working time reduced

Working Time Judgement

On the 10th September 2015 the European Court of Justiceissued a land mark decision in relation to

the Working Time Directive.


Tommy DeeganRetires

Tommy Deegan retired recently as BranchSecretary, following 41 years’ service with AnPost. He would have been “on the picket” in ’79.

He will be greatly missed and all hiscolleagues wish him health and happiness in hisretirement.

Pictured l to r: P. J. Farrell, Chair, Tommy Deegan,Retiree Branch Secretary, and Sean Morrissey,Treasurer, all from the Kilkenny Branch.

Recently, local postman, Barry Carr, visited the SeniorInfants classes and their teachers, Sorcha and Teresa, atMullingar Educate Together School, Rathgowan,Mullingar, Co. Westmeath.

The classes had already watched some videos onanpostschoolbag.ie, so Barry explained to the childrenabout the journey of a letter once it was posted. Heexplained about the mail centres and how the lettersarrive the next day to their destination.

Some of the questions asked by the children werepriceless and great fun was had by all. All the children

CWU People

Mullingar Educate TogetherSchool Rathgowan, Mullingar,

Co. Westmeath.

Local Postman at Mullingar Educate Together School

are working hard ontheir letters toSanta andthepostmenandwomeninMullingar andcountrywide are looking forward togetting them to the North Pole as soon as possible.

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65

CWU People

JOHN SMALL fulfilled his promise to his workcolleagues at An Post Cardiff Lane Delivery ServiceUnit by making his workplace one of the first ports of

call for the Sam Maguire Cup on its triumphant lap ofhonour amongst the exultant populace of the City andCounty of Dublin.

As seen by the pictures below, John and Sam were wellreceived by his colleagues, many of whom would have beencheering him to victory at Croke Park on the previousSunday.

John’s fledgling career has been mentored by his father,fellow CWU member, Declan Small, Manager of the DublinT.V. Licence Section and also Chairman of BallymunKickham’s G.A.A. Club. John’s success on the footballfield is mirrored by his recent academic achievement ingraduating from St Patrick’s Teacher Training College,Drumcondra, so John and his family have plenty tocelebrate and much to look forward to both on and off thefield of play in the years to come. Well done to animpressive young man!

Sam visits Cardiff Lane


66

CWU People

Pat O’Hara (Dublin No 1 Branch) has retiredfrom eir after forty eight years’ service.

Pat has a strong family tradition of service ineir dating back to the the old department of P&T.

This tradition is carried on by his daughterDeirdre, who is an active member of the CWUDublin No 2 Committee.

Pat was very much associated with ExchequerSt and Dame Court, (Radio Room), before themove to Blanchardstown and then Citywest.NMC.

A proud Longford man, Pat was joined for a“parting glass” at the Stag’s Head by many of hisfriends and former colleagues, who gave him arousing send-off .

Ivor Reynolds (National Executive Council)presented Pat with the Union Scroll, and thankedhim for his long and loyal service as a unionmember.

To Pat and his family. we wish a long andhealthy retirement.

Marathon Man ... Jim Aughney

Pat O’Hara Retires

This year the Dublin Marathon attracted a record numberof 15,216 participants, representing 62 differentnationalities. Among the 10,800 Irish, who took to thestarting line on Monday 26 October for the 36th runningof the event, were CWU members, many of whom wereraising money for very worthwhile causes. Keeping thingsrunning smoothly on the day was the long time marathonrace director Jim Aughney (CWU Managers Branch).

The Carlowman’s efforts over the years, and those ofthe marathon organizing team have been rewarded, notonly with record entrants, but also with a reputation asone of the best run and friendliest marathons in Europe.

Next year marks a new milestone as the 2016Marathon moves to a Sunday rather than the traditionalOctober Bank Holiday Monday date. Jim says “this year,we had over 2,000 participants coming from the UK andNorthern Ireland, but we would like to see this figuredouble for the marathon in 2016. “By moving the race toSunday, we are hoping to encourage runners to spend thefull weekend in Dublin”

If you have been thinking about the challenge ofrunning a marathon ……..now is the time for a new yearresolution and maybe a chance to help a worthy cause inthe process!!

Start of the Dublin Marathon 2015

Jim Aughney Race Director Dublin Marathon

Ivor Reynolds presents Pat with hisUnion Scroll


67

CWU People

The CWU would like to welcome UNI GlobalUnion’s newest affiliate, the Palestinian Postal

Service Workers’ Union

The CWU has a proud history of fighting for workers’ rights both in Ireland and internationally, and in thistradition we extend our solidarity to our brothers and sisters in the PPSWU who are engaged in a struggle on twofronts: firstly, to promote the rights of workers in the postal service; and secondly, for the right of all Palestinians

to live in peace and dignity.


68

CWU People

Donation of €1,000.000 to the Rainbow Club, Cork

Photo shows Veronica on her last day ofservice (29th October 2015) with her team-mates. She is being presented by flowers byher manager John Connors (Dublin No. 3Branch). Veronica was one of the longestserving members within our branch and wewish her a long and fruitful retirement.

Veronica BrowneRetires

Martina O’Connell, Vice-President of the CWU, is pictured at the presentation to the Rainbow Club “After SchoolClub” for Autistic Children. Included in the photo are, Karen O’Mahony, founder of the club, and Trevor

McCarthy, postperson, South City Delivery Office, along with the Rainbow volunteers.

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69

CWU People

Annual Mass forDeceased eircomColleagues

The Jim Connell Society would like to express theirdeepest sympathy with the families of Dolores Flynnand Paddy Grant.

Both were members of the Union and played amajor role in the famous 1979 Postal Strike in theKells area. Paddy was the local secretary at the timeand will always be remembered for the incidentinvolving a fax machine in a multi-national companywhen the Manager refused to allow him and TommyGrimes permission to speak to the Shop Stewarts

regarding setting up a distress fund for the PostOffice Workers. Paddy carried the CWU banner atlast year’s Jim Connell festival in Crossakiel at theage of 83. Dolores Flynn never missed a day on thepicket line in the 19 weeks of the dispute. Doloreswas always there to keep her colleagues going andgive them a lift when times got tough and head wentdown. Both will be remembered and sadly missedby all who knew them in the Kells Postal Branch.

Dolores Flynn RIPPaddy Grant RIP

Dolores Flynn Paddy Grant

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John Fogarty is a Postman in Clonmel and has writtenhis debut novel “Scenes from an Indian Summer”. Thiswas published in September and is available fromAmazon UK and the Book Depository. It was shortlistedfor the RTE Guide/Penguin Book Prize in 2013 (one offive chosen from over five-hundred submissions).

“….there would always be something to lookforward to. And look back on. Life, it seemed wasto be all about endings. And beginnings.”

It is June 1963. At long last the freedom ofsummertime has arrived for Jonno and his brothersPaudie and Jim and friends Judo and Horse. They canleave behind the tyranny of school and the sour looks ofBrother Virgilus. Now they are free to run below thefoothills of Sliabhnamon in their make-believe world ofcowboys and Indians to their heart’s content.

That summer becomes a time of beginnings and

pulls families apart. There are hushed fears and whisperswhen a neighbour disappears into hospital for a week.Poverty is rampant. Life is simpler. The gentle rhythmof country life enfolds us.

This book is a chronicle of a rural past no longer withus. Full of charm and humour yet realistic andphilosophical, w e are whisked down memory lane whichproduces a longing for the good ol’ days!

Books reviewed by Adrienne Power

TWO POSTAL WORKERS/CWU MEMBERS HAVE WRITTEN BOOKS

SCENES FROM AN INDIAN SUMMERby John FogartyAvailable from Amazon UK and the Book Depository

endings. President JohnF Kennedy, with hisimpossible white teethand movie star goodlooks, is visiting Ireland.People in the villagesand towns listen to hisspeeches on the radio.There is great excitement overthe arrival of a new cooker. The blight of emigration

Drivers Branch has written his 14th“Smile – You’re Dead”

last month. It is available fromAmazon. It is described as a “RaunchyThriller”.

It follows the exploits of Eric Smith,

, Cork, now in the

published

ex SAS, now assassin for hire. His newcontract is to kill an American Cardinal on a

Eric has been a lucky man up until nowthrough all his dangerous assignments…ishis luck about to run out?

Fast moving and gritty, this book is a“James Bond for the New Millennium”

visit to Ireland.

SMILE – YOU’RE DEADby James McKeonAvailable from Amazon

James McKeonRetired Members Section of the Cork

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connect december 2015

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