NIPSANEWSMARCH/APRIL 2014 Tel: 028 90661831 www.nipsa.org.ukTHE NEWSPAPER OF THE LEADING PUBLIC SERVICE TRADE UNION

DVA WORKERS RALLYAGAINST SHUTDOWN

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DVA workers and their supporters have taken their cam-paign to the streets of Coleraine in a march and rally only aweek after Transport Minister Stephen Hammond an-nounced he would close all local vehicle licensing officesthereby centralising all functions at DVLA Headquarters inSwansea.

The anger at the March 13 decision to proceed was clear asmarchers carrying NIPSA flags and placards marched over theBann into the town centre.

NIPSA representative Clare Wilson, who has worked for theDVA at County Hall for 28 years, spoke at the rally.

She told protestors: “Last Thursday was the worst day of mycareer and I think that probably goes for most of the staff. Wewere upset and angry, we thought that we would have been lis-tened to, that the Government would listen to the people.

“We know better than anyone that centralisation will be a dis-aster for the public and the motor trade. We went to London with40,000 signatures. We met the Transport Minister, local MPs andMLAs supported us and after that, all we got was a statementsaying that Stephen Hammond had listened carefully.

“He must have had his hands over his eyes and his fingers inhis ears to completely ignore what was said.”

Other speakers included Coleraine Mayor David Harding, JohnDallat MLA and Gregory Campbell MP who said that rather than

force DVA workers to travel to Belfast, work should be brought toCounty Hall.

ICTU Assistant General Secretary Peter Bunting also spoke.He queried what the Secretary of State had done to defend thejobs and was loudly cheered when he called on her to resign.

In a closing speech to the rally, NIPSA Official Ryan McKinneytold the crowd: “Stephen Hammond might have said the jobshave got to go – but the people of Coleraine say no!”

NIPSA News understands the campaign is now likely to be es-calated with further protests being planned in the near future withthe aim of securing work for staff based in local offices.

The union has pointed out that the DVA in Northern Ireland isessentially “under contract” to deliver services on behalf of theDVLA in Great Britain.

NIPSA claims there has been a clear political agenda, comingfrom Westminster, to remove these jobs.

Union sources claim local DOE officials and the local DOEMinister have experienced a “brush-off” when it comes to makinga case for the service to be retained in Northern Ireland.

However, despite this, a campaign led by NIPSA and includingpoliticians, business leaders as well as the local community,held-up the decision for two years.

Continued on page 3

Membersto beconsultedover 1%pay offerNIPSA hasslammed as “ap-palling” the 1%offer for mostpay points tabledby National JointCouncil Employ-ers’ Side in re-sponse to theTrade UnionSide’s £1 perhour pay claim.

Employers’Side has also of-fered a slightlyhigher increaseof between £175 -£580 for the low-est paid.

Deputy GeneralSecretary AlisonMillar told NIPSANews: “This isappalling treat-ment of manylocal governmentworkers, includ-ing leisure staff,refuse collectors,school supportstaff, librarystaff, housingstaff whose payhas fallen byover 18% in thepast four years.”

She added:“Currently infla-tion is running atmore than 2% soin effect the offermeans that – yetagain – NJCworkers arebeing offered apay cut.”

NIPSA is intalks with theother NJC tradeunions about aco-ordinated re-sponse.

Protests held over threat to abolish Housing Executive– See page 3

Call for decent work for women –See pages 4/5

Outsourcingthreat atleisurecentres –See page 6

Povertybombshell in Northern Ireland – See pages 8/9

Privatisingyour NHS –NIPSA’s newresearch –See page 10

Coleraine DVA demoattracted a hugecrowd of workersand supporters

NIPSA NEWSNIPSA Harkin House, 54 Wellington Park,

Belfast BT9 6DP, Tel: 028 90661831 Fax 028 90665847or email: alison.millar@nipsa.org.uk Editorial contact details: Bob Milleremail: bob.miller@nipsa.org.uk

Correspondence should be sent to the above address.

Unless otherwise stated, the views contained inNIPSA NEWS do not necessarily reflect the

policy of trade union NIPSA.

Page 2 NIPSA NEWS News www.nipsa.org.uk

Osborne’s ‘budget beanfeast’ meaningless for most workersEditorial

Budget changes – no impact on public service pensionsFOLLOWING the Budget onMarch 19, most of the mediadiscussion centred on Chan-cellor George Osborne’s an-nouncement in respect ofpensions reform.

In particular, the hype wasabout individuals having

control of their pensionfunds and no longer needingto buy a pension annuity.

However, for members ofpublic service pensionschemes, the announcementwas meaningless, as pen-sions will continue to be

based on defined benefitsproducing a final salary/ca-reer average pension.

The Budget announcementrelates only to personal pen-sions or pensions in a de-fined contribution scheme.

NIPSA has slammed theCoalition Government forits “appalling” treatmentof health service workersafter it was announcedthat a cost-of-living in-crease of 1% would not bepaid to staff who were toreceive an increment rise.

The union claimed theMarch 13 announcementsent out a negative messageto staff and effectively meantthat only those on maximumof their pay scale would re-ceive the 1% pay increase.

Deputy General SecretaryAlison Millar told NIPSANews: “This is an appallingway to treat health serviceworkers who are deliveringfront-line and back officefunctions to keep our healthservice working at a time ofcrisis.

“Every day there is a newstory of how the sick andvulnerable are being left withneeds that have not beenmet whether that be in A&E,in residential care, socialcare, etc.

“This is not due to a lack of

care or professionalism onthe part of staff workingunder immense stress –there is simply not enoughresources.

“Despite this, week inweek out tens of thousandsof pounds are being handedover to the for-profit privatesector to deliver our care.

“If these resources werespent in the health service.then this would be a betterand more efficient way of de-livering our health and socialcare service.”

NIPSA is lobbying theHealth Minister and FinanceMinister to ensure that – aspay is a Devolved matter –the 1% cost-of-living in-crease recommended by thePay Review Body is paid toall staff, whether or not theyare to receive an increment.

NIPSA is also in talks withother health service unionsabout how to respond if theAssembly seeks to denytens of thousands of healthservice workers their cost-of-living increase.

LAST month the NevinEconomic Research Insti-tute (NERI), an economicintelligence think-tank setup by the trade unionmovement and supportedby NIPSA, launched its re-port on pay levels in theNorthern Ireland econ-omy.

The facts are startling –with 25% of the workforce(169,000) earning lessthan the living wage, 17%(115,00 workers) officiallyclassified as low paid, and9% (61,000) on the mini-mum wage. Those worstaffected include youngpeople, women and part-time workers. Low pay ismost prevalent in the ac-commodation, goods, re-tail and residential andsocial care sectors.

The same day as NERIissued its findings, re-search by the Joseph

Rowntree Trust showedthat between 2006/7 and2011/2012, the average in-come in Northern Irelandfell by 10% against a fallof 7% in the UK.

Not long before thesereports were issued,Chancellor George Os-borne announced hisfourth budget amid a fan-fare of praise about thenew savings levels, amaximum of £15,000 perannum non-taxable.

Richard Murphy, the taxjustice campaigner,pointed out the meaning-lessness of these newlimits to the vast majorityof citizens when he re-minded us that medianearnings in the UK are£26,500.

The situation is evenmore stark in NorthernIreland where 57% ofworkers earn less than

£20,000 a year. Howmeaningless is this new,much-vaunted £15,000savings level if you earnless than £20,000 a year?

This is the reality ofwage levels in NorthernIreland and it against thiscontext that we must viewthe so-called welfare re-form plans.

The cuts in benefitsarising from welfare re-form, if implemented bythe Northern Ireland As-sembly, will lower evenfurther the incomes thatlow paid workers cur-rently receive.

The “welfare reforms” –as numerous reports havealready demonstrated –will have a differentiallyharsher impact on lowpaid workers as well asthose unfortunate to havelost their jobs and thosesuffering ill health. It will

also result in untold dam-age being done to theNorthern Ireland econ-omy.

The campaign for a liv-ing wage in Northern Ire-land is beginning to takeshape but a living wagecannot be reduced purelyto a decent hourly rate ofpay. If you are on a zerohour contract or are un-deremployed due to theavailability of part-timework, it is likely you willnot secure an acceptableincome for your familyeven at a decent hourlyrate.

Public bodies procuringservices from the privatesector must ensure thatfirms stipulate that theywill guarantee their work-ers a sufficient number ofhours at an acceptablehourly rate to enable themto have a decent life.

Alongside this thethreats to the social secu-rity benefits for the lowpaid, the unemployed andthe sick if welfare reformis implemented should bewithdrawn.

It is hypocritical forpoliticians to support theliving wage campaignwhile at the same timesupporting welfare reformchanges.

The benefit of having or-ganisations such as NERIand the Joseph RowntreeTrust cannot be underesti-mated as their profes-sional research exposesthe real facts of the Gov-ernment’s social and eco-nomic policies as well asthe reality of life for ordi-nary working class fami-lies.

Brian Campfield,General Secretary

Govt slammed over ‘appalling’treatment of health workers

DESPITE the messages por-trayed by the Chancellorthere is little in the Marchbudget for NIPSA membersand wider society in North-ern Ireland.

Brian Campfield, GeneralSecretary stated: “TheMarch Budget announce-ments show that Treasurypolicies are entirely focusedon the Conservative/Lib De-mocrat’s electoral needs for2015 with no concern whatsoever forthe economic damage their austerityinflicts on ordinary families.

“This is also exemplified by the dis-graceful and callous abandonment ofDVA workers in Coleraine. The an-nouncement regarding Northern Ire-land’s first Enterprise Zone in theColeraine area appears to try and ap-pease the workers in DVA – this doesnot wash with more than 300 NIPSAmembers who are devastated by theloss of these jobs.

“Certainly experience from the 24 en-

terprise zones already cre-ated across the UK does notdemonstrate that there willbe many jobs resulting.”

He added: “In the realworld: of in-work poverty,frozen or cut wages and theeconomic insecurity of“zero hours” contracts,people worry about risingfood, fuel and energy pricesand see the spine of a soci-ety – its public services and

social security system being weak-ened.

“This negligence is further com-pounded by Devolved Ministers presid-ing over the destruction of our socialhousing by threatening the HousingExecutive and complacently neglectingour over-stretched Health Service.

“The budget does nothing to reversethe attack on all of us – specifically onpay, pensions and public services, andmakes it all the more essential that wework together to strengthen our publicservice defence campaign.”

Chancellor Osborne carrieson with sustained attack on public services

NIPSA membersacross the Educa-tion sector havebeen at this point(or somethingsimilar to it) manytimes over the lastseven or eightyears.

However, thistime it would ap-pear that there isgeneral acceptancethat for those whosaw this concept asvisionary, thedream is finallyover.

Although for atime it walked like aduck and even al-most quacked likea duck, it no longerhas lift in it – it isnow what is com-monly referred toas a dead duck!

Assistant Secre-tary for the Educa-tion sector, PaddyMackel, told NIPSANews: “There is agrowing realisationwithin the sectorthat the focusneeds to shift nowto the boundarychanges whichBoards are now re-quired to implementas a result of LocalGovernment Coun-cil changes fromApril 1, 2015.

“While ESA mayremain aspirational,the boundarychanges will defi-nitely go ahead

from April 1 nextyear and, as such,shift the focus nowneeds to shift com-pletely to preparefor this inevitability.

“The unions havesought a meetingwith the DE Perma-nent Secretary todiscuss the ramifi-cations and impacton our members.”

While it is not ex-actly clear whatchanges will bemade to eachBoard – includinghow many Boardsthere will be nextyear – it is clearthat the Depart-ment can no longerafford the luxury oflimping along hop-ing for politicalagreement on ESAwhen the concen-tration needs to beon what issuesneed to be dealtwith in advance oflocal governmentmoving to 11“super” councilsnext April.

Paddy Mackeladded: “Therewon’t be too manytears shed byNIPSA memberswith the demise ofESA, given thedraft legislation aswritten and the po-tential for chaos inrespect of employerstatus. It’s nowtime to move on.”

Continued from page 1

An important part of the campaign has involved high-lighting the exceptionally devastating impact that the lossof jobs would have on the local economy, particularly inColeraine.

The decision to close all offices has led to widespreadcondemnation given that the Government were wellaware it would devastate Coleraine.

According to NIPSA, the figures speak for themselves:n In GVA terms, the loss of the vehicle licensing jobs willbe equivalent to the withdrawal of more than £22m ayear from the local economy. All sectors of the economywould be impacted by this multiplier effect, most notablywholesale and retail, accommodation and food services,entertainment and recreation.n This is certainly the weakest the Northern Irelandeconomy has been since at least the mid-1990s. Despitea fall in unemployment recently, the Oxford Economics’baseline forecast suggests that employment levels willnot return to 2008 peaks until beyond 2025, leaving atleast 17 years with below-peak employment levels. n In the worst case scenario, assuming lower-than-ex-pected redeployment of staff displaced by the centralisa-tion of vehicle licensing jobs in Swansea, OxfordEconomics estimate that, including the impact of themultiplier effect, up to 420 people could be added to theunemployment register as a result of DVLA’s proposals.This would cost between £1.2m and £2.5m a year in jobseekers allowance payments and a further £3.6m in losttax revenue. In total, this would have a net negative im-pact of £5.5m fiscally to HM Treasury. In whole-of-gov-ernment terms, this offsets the savings of £12m claimedby DVLA to be the savings to them through centralisationof vehicle licensing work in Swansea.n The claimant count in Northern Ireland has increasedto 7.1%, with nearly 65,000 people now claiming unem-ployment-related benefits. This is the second highest fig-ure in the UK, just behind that for the North East. Since2009, the gap between the Northern Ireland figure andthe figure for the UK as a whole has been wideningsharply.n Northern Ireland has 310,000 people currently classi-

fied as economically inactive. At 26.7%, this is the high-est rate of any region in the UK. n In 2012, there were around 3,000 redundancies inNorthern Ireland, an increase of more than 50% on theprevious year. To put that in context, the number of staffinvolved in vehicle licensing represents around 10% ofthat annual total.

Impact on ColeraineThe decision by the Coalition Government to withdraw

more than 300 vehicle licensing jobs will have seriousconsequences for Coleraine in particular, where almost80% of the jobs are located. Coleraine is a small town,with a population of around 24,000, so the loss of jobson the scale envisaged will have a major impact on itseconomy and on its people. By contrast, the 2011 cen-sus put the population of Swansea at 239,000.n DVA is one of only seven employers in the area thatemploy more than 50 people.n The public administration is highly concentrated in Col-eraine, where 16% of employment is in the public sector.The loss of vehicle licensing jobs would add significantlyto the challenges that the area has to face at a timewhen the economic outlook is subdued. n Job losses as a result of the closure of vehicle licens-ing offices in Great Britain range from eight to 85, with anaverage of 30. Coleraine would lose 235 jobs. The lossany job is of concern to a trade union but in Great Britainthe impact was is mostly under 0.01% of local employ-ment and is nowhere greater that 0.07%. The loss inColeraine would be 1.25% – which is 18 times greaterthan for any single location across the water.n Coleraine has suffered a 9.2% decline in employeejobs between 2007 and 2011, equating to 2,096 jobs.n A high level of redundancies has been experiencedover the last 10 years. There have been 3,000 redun-dancies confirmed to the Jobs and Benefits Office. Thevast majority of these have been in the closure of tradi-tional manufacturing companies in Coleraine and thesurrounding region (Farm Fed Chickens: 370 job losses;Seagate Technologies: 923 job losses).

Page 3 NIPSA NEWSNewswww.nipsa.org.uk

Protests held overHE abolition threat

ESA – Is it a finalfarewell this time?

NIPSA members working at the HousingExecutive staged a well-attendedlunchtime protest outside Adelaide St of-fices in Belfast on February 26 as part ofthe union’s continuing campaign to re-tain the Executive as one body deliveringboth strategic and landlord functionswithin the public sector.

A member, who attended the event, toldNIPSA News: “I believe we as membersmust demonstrate our support for the reten-tion of the Housing Executive within the pub-lic sector.

“If the Minister gets his way, the tenantswho we serve will see their rents increase,may not get the same service and theeconomies of scale of a large organisationwill be lost.

“I feel strongly that NIPSA must continue

to put pressure on our political representa-tives to ensure the Housing Executive is re-tained.”

The February 26 protest follows a seriesof lunchtime protests that have been heldoutside Richmond Chambers in Derry.

In addition the first in what will be amonthly meeting of tenants was held in Bal-lymagroarty on February 19.

Local NIPSA representative BrendanHarley and NIPSA Deputy General Secre-tary Alison Millar addressed the gathering.

A source said: “It was clear from thatmeeting that everyone supported the rightfor tenants to demand and have a votewhatever the future of social housing holds.”

A further protest was also be held in Bal-lymena Town Centre (Bandstand) onWednesday, March 26.

DVA WORKERS RALLYAGAINST SHUTDOWN

By Lynda WalkerSEVERAL hundred peoplemarked International Women’sDay by marching throughBelfast city centre on Saturday,March 8, in a show of solidarityto the women of the world. Among the marchers were womenfrom Ballybeen, Shankill Road,Falls Road, Causeway Coast,Women’s Aid, Youth Action,Belfast Trades Council, NIPSA,UNISON, UNITE and SIPTU.Speakers underlined their commit-ment to fighting sexism, violenceand exploitation. Reclaim the Agenda’s Kellie O’-Dowd chaired the rally which hadgathered outside City Hall. Shegreeted marchers and wishedthem a “Happy InternationalWomen’s Day.”She told the crowd: “Today westand on the shoulders of giants –those women who have come be-fore us, and fought for our rights.

“From the Suffragettes who werejailed 100 years ago for our rightto vote; the giants who 40 yearsago established the Northern Ire-land Women’s Rights Movement;the giants who 30 years ago wereleaders of the Miners Strike, andto all the women – the giants whocontinue to fight for a better and afairer world for all.”Ms O’Dowd said Reclaim theAgenda was a collective ofwomen’s sector representatives,grassroots feminists and tradeunion activists who sought to en-courage and promote women’sactivism “through education, cam-paigning and celebration” and “tocreate a fairer society”.She outlined Reclaim theAgenda’s key demands as:n A life free from poverty, fromdiscrimination, from domestic andsexual violence and abusen To have healthcare servicesand childcare provision “that meetour needs”, and n To live in a world where women

are equally represented as deci-sion makers.Ms O’Dowd also sent messagesof solidarity to imprisoned peaceactivist Margaretta Darcy as wellas to the women of Syria, theUkraine, Afghanistan, and Iraqand “all those who suffer as a re-sult of war and poverty and whoare denied access decent educa-tion, healthcare and work”.She continued: “This year’s themefor International Women’s Day isHerstory – reclaiming the storiesof women that have been writtenout of history. “For the first time a motion wasput to Belfast City Council throughthe Women’s Steering Group andwas passed unanimously to cele-brate and recognise InternationalWomen’s Day annually, and theCity Hall will be lit up in purple tomark this important event. “We would like to thank thosebrave women in the council fortheir motivation, recognition andtheir solidarity.”

Alliance Party MLA Anna Lo alsospoke at the event and underlinedthe need to oppose racism.Eileen Weir, from the ShankillWomen's Centre, gave her 100%support to Anna Lo who had beenbarracked during her contributionby racist comments from a smallnumber of people who stood withUnions flags, as they do everySaturday, outside the City Hall. She said that while it was every-one’s right to protest, the flag pro-testors did not have to jeer anddisrupt the International Women’sDay event. Those at the rally were under-standably annoyed that police didnot move the flag protesters who itappeared may also have been re-sponsible for sabotaging thesound system. Even so the organisers want to re-member the rally for its diversity ofage, faith, and ethnicity and colourin every way. The march and rally was just oneof events held on IWD.

Page 4 NIPSA NEWS News www.nipsa.org.uk

8Why should you join NIPSA?NIPSA offers a wide range of services to its members. Asa NIPSA member you will enjoy a great range of benefits,including:1. Personal Representation: Access to advice,information and personal representation. Whether youare experiencing difficulties at work in a grievance ordisciplinary matter, feel overloaded, or believe you arebeing discriminated against, we are there to help you. 2. Collective Negotiation: NIPSA is viewed across thepublic sector as a formidable negotiator for improvedpay and conditions.3. Job Security: NIPSA campaigns for permanentcontracts, career progression, adequate staffing andresources.4. Professional Support: NIPSA provides you with aforum to raise professional issues, voice your concernsand influence decisions that affect your job.5. Health and Safety Protection: NIPSA promotes goodhealth and safety practices in your workplace.6. Legal Advice and Assistance: Free legal assistance –NIPSA members won around £1m in compensation lastyear alone.7. Other Membership Services: Membership Plus, latestdiscounts and offers.8. Financial Services. If you wish to become a member of NIPSA complete theapplication form or if you would like further informationabout becoming a member then please contact us: Apply online: https://www.nipsa.org.uk/About-NIPSA/Join-US/Apply-Online-%281%29Or email us at: recruitment@nipsa.org.uk

ABOUT 200 trade union delegates from across Ireland North andSouth gathered for the Congress Biennial Women’s Conference onMarch 6 and 7 in Wexford.

A total of 21 motions were debated and delegates also heard from anumber of guest speakers over the two days.

In his opening address, ICTU President John Douglas noted thatwomen now make up the majority of trade union members and pointedout that delegates at the conference represented nearly 400,000 workingwomen across Ireland.

He described this number of women organising for decent work as “avery considerable resource for the movement” whose participation “weneed to improve if we are to fully realise our potential for change in ourworkplaces and wider society”.

ICTU Assistant General Secretary Sally Anne Kinahan gave a briefpresentation on the labour market flagging up how “greater income in-equality, high levels of insecure work and the emergence of a ‘two-tier’workforce” posed a serious problem for women workers.

Ms Kinahan said: “The crisis – from which we have not fully emerged –saw a concerted attempt to worsen working conditions and create alabour market characterised by badly paid, insecure work.

“The only way to combat this was to make decent work – good pay andgood jobs – a key ambition for post-Troika Ireland. The growth of insecurework affects women most severely, particularly younger women, migrantwomen, women with lower skills and women with children.”

Following Ms Kinahan’s presentation, five women gave personal testi-monies about their experiences of the labour market.

Pamela Dooley, of UNISON, introducing a section on Women and TradeUnions, outlined some of the results of ICTU’s 2013 Equality Audit.

This audit revealed that while women had for some years representedmore than 50% of trade union members, the figures confirmed a signifi-cant gap between the number of women and men in key leadership posi-tions within trade unions.

In her contribution, Scottish TUC Assistant Secretary Ann Hendersonspoke about the importance of investing in childcare after which a motioncalling for universal childcare was unanimously endorsed.

Speaking to the motion, NIPSA’s Margaret Loughran told delegates:“Universal childcare would not only ease the financial burden for low paidfamilies but the provision of affordable, quality childcare would be an in-vestment in a future workforce and in economic growth.”

In her address, Grainne Healey, of Marriage Equality, urged the tradeunion movement to become strong advocates in favour of equality in theforthcoming referendum in the Republic.

A motion on the issue was then debated and passed unanimously. Speaking to the motion, NIPSA Assistant Secretary Geraldine Alexander

said: “Marriage equality is an issue of international importance. It hasbeen legalised in 16 countries, with France, Scotland, England and Walespassing legislation last year. “This motion recognises the significance ofthe determination made by the Irish Constitutional Convention that same-sex marriage be put to a referendum, allowing the people of Ireland toamend the constitution to provide for the recognition of same-sex mar-riages.

“Northern Ireland may soon be the only place in these islands wheresame-sex marriage is not recognised, creating an inequality within theUnited Kingdom and the island of Ireland that is totally unacceptable.”

“The consequences for young people coming to terms with their sexual-ity or gender identity in hostile homes or schools, and for LGBT workers inhomophobic workplaces, are serious,” she warned.

“In the most extreme cases, this prejudice converts into hate crime ofwhich Trans people in particular have been disproportionately victims.Creating equal marriage rights for LGBT people will help challenge theseattitudes about what is ‘normal’.”

Ms Alexander added: “Equal marriage is one of the defining civil rightsissues of our time and that it is important for public representatives inNorthern Ireland to stand up and defend equality for their LGBT con-stituents.”

NIPSA’s motion on the impact of the Government’s austerity measureson women and calling for gender-responsive budgeting was also carriedunanimously.

Formally proposing the NIPSA motion, Tina Creaney, told delegates:“This recession and the ensuing austerity has devastated lives and fami-lies – attacking the weak, elderly and mostly women in our society.

“According to Oxfam Ireland, we are facing hardships our grandparentsfaced. Northern Ireland alone will have £4 billion in cuts delivered – theworst since World War Two.

“Island-wide they have attacked and slashed public sector jobs, publichealthcare and services, child benefits and family-related benefits, fundingfor public gender equality institutions, pensions, pay and access to afford-able childcare

“We need to draft pre-budget submissions to our governments so wecan influence policy. We need to ensure every single draft budget andtaxation proposal is gender impact assessed.

“We need to mobilise our MLAs to address gender imbalances tostrengthen women’s rights and gender equality in society.”

Ms Creaney added: “101 years after women were imprisoned for ourright to live in an equally democratic society – democracy is not just theright to vote, it is the right to live in dignity.”

reasonsto joinNIPSA

CALL FOR DECENT WORK ATICTU’S WOMEN CONFERENCE

Belfast rallies for International Women’s Day

NORTHERN Ireland Civil ServiceManagement Side have agreed toamend existing provisions relat-ing to promotions.

The move followed representa-tions from Trade Union Side overunacceptable delays in clearing EOIlists

The new provisions mean listsceased to be valid on the day onwhich the first Department publishedits first list from a new competition(as opposed to previous policy

where the findings of a previous listceased to be valid on the day onwhich a new promotion board wasadvertised).

This meant that, rather than noappointments being made while anew competition was being run – aprocess, which typically took severalmonths – successful candidatescould continue to be placed from alist while a new competition wasrunning up to the point where thefirst list was published.

NICS management agree to promotion list changes

By Lynda WalkerSEVERAL hundred peoplemarked International Women’sDay by marching throughBelfast city centre on Saturday,March 8, in a show of solidarityto the women of the world. Among the marchers were womenfrom Ballybeen, Shankill Road,Falls Road, Causeway Coast,Women’s Aid, Youth Action,Belfast Trades Council, NIPSA,UNISON, UNITE and SIPTU.Speakers underlined their commit-ment to fighting sexism, violenceand exploitation. Reclaim the Agenda’s Kellie O’-Dowd chaired the rally which hadgathered outside City Hall. Shegreeted marchers and wishedthem a “Happy InternationalWomen’s Day.”She told the crowd: “Today westand on the shoulders of giants –those women who have come be-fore us, and fought for our rights.

“From the Suffragettes who werejailed 100 years ago for our rightto vote; the giants who 40 yearsago established the Northern Ire-land Women’s Rights Movement;the giants who 30 years ago wereleaders of the Miners Strike, andto all the women – the giants whocontinue to fight for a better and afairer world for all.”Ms O’Dowd said Reclaim theAgenda was a collective ofwomen’s sector representatives,grassroots feminists and tradeunion activists who sought to en-courage and promote women’sactivism “through education, cam-paigning and celebration” and “tocreate a fairer society”.She outlined Reclaim theAgenda’s key demands as:n A life free from poverty, fromdiscrimination, from domestic andsexual violence and abusen To have healthcare servicesand childcare provision “that meetour needs”, and n To live in a world where women

are equally represented as deci-sion makers.Ms O’Dowd also sent messagesof solidarity to imprisoned peaceactivist Margaretta Darcy as wellas to the women of Syria, theUkraine, Afghanistan, and Iraqand “all those who suffer as a re-sult of war and poverty and whoare denied access decent educa-tion, healthcare and work”.She continued: “This year’s themefor International Women’s Day isHerstory – reclaiming the storiesof women that have been writtenout of history. “For the first time a motion wasput to Belfast City Council throughthe Women’s Steering Group andwas passed unanimously to cele-brate and recognise InternationalWomen’s Day annually, and theCity Hall will be lit up in purple tomark this important event. “We would like to thank thosebrave women in the council fortheir motivation, recognition andtheir solidarity.”

Alliance Party MLA Anna Lo alsospoke at the event and underlinedthe need to oppose racism.Eileen Weir, from the ShankillWomen's Centre, gave her 100%support to Anna Lo who had beenbarracked during her contributionby racist comments from a smallnumber of people who stood withUnions flags, as they do everySaturday, outside the City Hall. She said that while it was every-one’s right to protest, the flag pro-testors did not have to jeer anddisrupt the International Women’sDay event. Those at the rally were under-standably annoyed that police didnot move the flag protesters who itappeared may also have been re-sponsible for sabotaging thesound system. Even so the organisers want to re-member the rally for its diversity ofage, faith, and ethnicity and colourin every way. The march and rally was just oneof events held on IWD.

Page 5 NIPSA NEWSNewswww.nipsa.org.uk

ABOUT 200 trade union delegates from across Ireland North andSouth gathered for the Congress Biennial Women’s Conference onMarch 6 and 7 in Wexford.

A total of 21 motions were debated and delegates also heard from anumber of guest speakers over the two days.

In his opening address, ICTU President John Douglas noted thatwomen now make up the majority of trade union members and pointedout that delegates at the conference represented nearly 400,000 workingwomen across Ireland.

He described this number of women organising for decent work as “avery considerable resource for the movement” whose participation “weneed to improve if we are to fully realise our potential for change in ourworkplaces and wider society”.

ICTU Assistant General Secretary Sally Anne Kinahan gave a briefpresentation on the labour market flagging up how “greater income in-equality, high levels of insecure work and the emergence of a ‘two-tier’workforce” posed a serious problem for women workers.

Ms Kinahan said: “The crisis – from which we have not fully emerged –saw a concerted attempt to worsen working conditions and create alabour market characterised by badly paid, insecure work.

“The only way to combat this was to make decent work – good pay andgood jobs – a key ambition for post-Troika Ireland. The growth of insecurework affects women most severely, particularly younger women, migrantwomen, women with lower skills and women with children.”

Following Ms Kinahan’s presentation, five women gave personal testi-monies about their experiences of the labour market.

Pamela Dooley, of UNISON, introducing a section on Women and TradeUnions, outlined some of the results of ICTU’s 2013 Equality Audit.

This audit revealed that while women had for some years representedmore than 50% of trade union members, the figures confirmed a signifi-cant gap between the number of women and men in key leadership posi-tions within trade unions.

In her contribution, Scottish TUC Assistant Secretary Ann Hendersonspoke about the importance of investing in childcare after which a motioncalling for universal childcare was unanimously endorsed.

Speaking to the motion, NIPSA’s Margaret Loughran told delegates:“Universal childcare would not only ease the financial burden for low paidfamilies but the provision of affordable, quality childcare would be an in-vestment in a future workforce and in economic growth.”

In her address, Grainne Healey, of Marriage Equality, urged the tradeunion movement to become strong advocates in favour of equality in theforthcoming referendum in the Republic.

A motion on the issue was then debated and passed unanimously. Speaking to the motion, NIPSA Assistant Secretary Geraldine Alexander

said: “Marriage equality is an issue of international importance. It hasbeen legalised in 16 countries, with France, Scotland, England and Walespassing legislation last year. “This motion recognises the significance ofthe determination made by the Irish Constitutional Convention that same-sex marriage be put to a referendum, allowing the people of Ireland toamend the constitution to provide for the recognition of same-sex mar-riages.

“Northern Ireland may soon be the only place in these islands wheresame-sex marriage is not recognised, creating an inequality within theUnited Kingdom and the island of Ireland that is totally unacceptable.”

“The consequences for young people coming to terms with their sexual-ity or gender identity in hostile homes or schools, and for LGBT workers inhomophobic workplaces, are serious,” she warned.

“In the most extreme cases, this prejudice converts into hate crime ofwhich Trans people in particular have been disproportionately victims.Creating equal marriage rights for LGBT people will help challenge theseattitudes about what is ‘normal’.”

Ms Alexander added: “Equal marriage is one of the defining civil rightsissues of our time and that it is important for public representatives inNorthern Ireland to stand up and defend equality for their LGBT con-stituents.”

NIPSA’s motion on the impact of the Government’s austerity measureson women and calling for gender-responsive budgeting was also carriedunanimously.

Formally proposing the NIPSA motion, Tina Creaney, told delegates:“This recession and the ensuing austerity has devastated lives and fami-lies – attacking the weak, elderly and mostly women in our society.

“According to Oxfam Ireland, we are facing hardships our grandparentsfaced. Northern Ireland alone will have £4 billion in cuts delivered – theworst since World War Two.

“Island-wide they have attacked and slashed public sector jobs, publichealthcare and services, child benefits and family-related benefits, fundingfor public gender equality institutions, pensions, pay and access to afford-able childcare

“We need to draft pre-budget submissions to our governments so wecan influence policy. We need to ensure every single draft budget andtaxation proposal is gender impact assessed.

“We need to mobilise our MLAs to address gender imbalances tostrengthen women’s rights and gender equality in society.”

Ms Creaney added: “101 years after women were imprisoned for ourright to live in an equally democratic society – democracy is not just theright to vote, it is the right to live in dignity.”

CALL FOR DECENT WORK ATICTU’S WOMEN CONFERENCE

Belfast rallies for International Women’s Day

NIPSA delegation to the ICTU Women’s conference.Picture: Kevin Cooper (Photoline)

Page 6 NIPSA NEWS News www.nipsa.org.uk

AGAINST a background of tradeunion pressure Belfast council-lors have voted to make £10,000available to look at an in-housebid for Leisure Services at thecouncil.

NIPSA along with UNITE and anumber of other unions held a se-ries of recent protests outside theCity Hall in an attempt to stop thecouncil opting for a Non-Profit Dis-tribution Organisation – a LeisureTrust model – for Belfast CityLeisure Services.

Unions fully support a trans-formed in-house option where staffremain as council employees anddemocratic control of the councilleisure facilities stays with thecouncil.

They arranged for policy researchbody Association for Public ServiceExcellence (APSE) to hold a semi-nar in Belfast to examine the impli-cations of the council proposal. Allcouncillors were invited.

APSE made a detailed presenta-tion, copies of which were sent toall council representatives.

The presentation highlighted anumber of issues of concern withthe Trust model. Local representa-tives also looked at figures that hadbeen presented to the council andfound these to be roughly £1 millionshort of the £2 million as set out inthe original Deloitte report whichbacked the Trust model.

NIPSA and other unions maderepresentations at a recent meetingof the council, calling on councillorsto take note of the information sup-plied by the unions. Councillorswere urged to opt for an in-housesolution and provide the necessaryresources to create a transformedin-house model.

The council made a decision on

the preferred option in principle foran NPDO (non-profit distribution or-ganisation) however it also agreedto provide some Human Resourcesassistance and £10,000 for a trans-formed in-house solution to bedrawn up.

The £10,000 allotted to examinethe in-house option is small in com-parison to the resources alreadycommitted to developing the NPDOmodel.

However, the council also agreedthat work should continue on theNPDO model, giving only six weeksto carry out this significant piece ofwork.

APSE has been engaged to workon this in-house solution withLeisure Services staff agreeing toassist.

NIPSA held meetings at a num-ber of leisure centres in the councilarea, advising members of theprogress of the campaign.

The union also took on board theviews of members about the possi-bility of industrial action. It was evi-dent from the show of hands thatNIPSA members were prepared totake action to remain in Belfast CityCouncil and protect their jobs andLeisure Services for the people ofBelfast.

NIPSA is currently co-ordinatingthe ballot with the other unions.

NIPSA will also be holding meet-ings with user groups to informthem of its reasons for opposing aTrust model and to underline why itis important to keep Leisure Serv-ices within the council.

The union has also supplied itsmembers and members of the pub-lic with copies of research carriedout by the European Service Strat-egy Unit (ESSU). This research ex-plains what a Trust model is and

outlines what the problems with itare. An overview of this research isset out below. The full documentcan be accessed online athttp://bit.ly/1dfbpWNA Leisure Trust means:n Leisure Services are outsourcedto a separate organisation/com-pany. The council would retain own-ership of the facilities, which itleases to the Trust. n Savings would come from VATsavings. However, in order to getthe VAT savings the council cannothave any influence over the Trust.The VAT is also off-set by the set-up costs. However, the councilwould also still provide funding tothe Trust for a period of time.n Direct democratic control of theservice would cease as electedmember representation is reducedto 20% of the board. Trusts are re-quired to operate as stand-aloneorganisations, independent of thedemocratic structure of the council.Company law also requires them toput the interests of the Trust over

the council and they are also boundby commercial confidentiality. nTrusts generally cease to usecouncil services after a year andbecome responsible for their ownprocurement and contracting, cor-porate and other services.

Trusts initially have no reservesor assets and, as such, are de-pendent on public sector incomeand public sector constraints.

Leisure Trusts do not guaranteemore community participation. TheAudit Commission criticised someLeisure Trusts for their lack of for-mal consultation with users andsports clubs in Bristol, Merton andStockport.

Leisure staff would transfer to theTrust under TUPE. However, in ref-erence to correspondence fromBelfast City Council management, itis clear that moving to a LeisureTrust would mean changes to termsand conditions of employment.

A further decision will be taken bythe council at the end of April.

Council agrees to fund research intoin-house Leisure Services model

OUTSOURCING THREAT

Pace of local government RPA intensifiesWITH the appointments of chiefexecutives designate for the 11new Councils as well as propos-als issued on the role of ShadowCouncils, the pace to introducethe necessary protections forstaff has shifted up a number ofgears.In addition, the Assembly is fast-tracking the passage of the localgovernment Bill so that it is en-acted before the council elec-tions to be held on May 22.

On March 19, the Local Govern-ment Reform Joint Forum(LGRJF) met and agreed toissue a number of policy docu-ments for comment. These in-clude:• Draft Local Government StaffTransfer Scheme;• Draft procedure for fillingposts in the new Councils; and• Updated workplan.The Forum also agreed that aprotocol be issued to set down

the arrangements for putting inplace a limited number of agreedposts that need to be filled overthe next number of months. The posts include Senior HRand Finance posts, member’sservice posts and PA posts tothe new chief executives desig-nate.It was also agreed to conveneurgent round table discussionson a staff/councillor protocol tobe annexed to both the council-

lors’ statutory code of conductand a revised staff code of con-duct. The protocol would deal withcomplaints between staff andcouncillors and vice versa.At the Forum meeting, the TradeUnion Side again made it clearthat the local government StaffSeverance Scheme can only beapplied from April 1, 2015, asthere is no loss of any posts dueto RPA before that date.

IN December last year, Trade Union Sidelodged a pay claim covering 2013/14 forLevel 4-7 staff at NI Water.

As no claim could be submitted while staffwere waiting for a resolution to the 2012/13pay settlement, NI Water employees haveonce again found themselves lagging be-hind other public sector pay settlements.

Two pay meetings have now taken place atwhich NIPSA outlined in more detail whatthe claim was intended to achieve.

A second meeting was also held at whichManagement Side set out their views overpublic pay restraint and the pay approvalprocess.

It is understood further discussions areplanned, but a source admitted: “It’s a frus-trating process because NI Water cannotreach a final settlement without DRD andDFP approval.

“This means that the union needs to con-sult with staff before that approval issought. It is frustrating but we hope to be ina position to arrange pay meetings in sev-eral locations, including outside of Belfast,in the near future.”

Recently, Trade Union Side also met withmanagement to discuss how wider publicsector pension changes could impact oncurrent pension arrangements for NI Water

staff. NIPSA News has in recent issues given ex-

tensive coverage to the union’s continuingefforts to block the worst elements of thePublic Sector Pensions Bill.

But NIPSA HQ Official Ryan McKinneywarned now that the Bill is to receive RoyalAssent, pressure would be put on NI Waterto examine the ‘NIW Care Scheme’.

He told NIPSA News: “It is very earlystages but we have sat down with NI Waterto discuss a process of reviewing the cur-rent scheme.

“All the NI Water trade unions are workingtogether on this and are determined to pro-tect the scheme and get the best result formembers in the long run.”

NIPSA News will keep a watching briefover the next 12 months as mattersprogress.

THE Treasury has now issued its response to aconsultation on proposals for its new Tax-FreeChildcare scheme.

The scheme, scheduled to start in autumn 2015, willoffer working families 20% support towards qualifyingchildcare costs and will be operated online.

It is proposed the scheme will be introduced for chil-dren under 12 within the first year of its operation, withfurther details of the precise rollout of the scheme tofollow.

The Government is also increasing the annual cap ofsupport £2,000 for each child (20% support on child-care costs up to £10,000). The scheme will operatewith the following measures:n Online accounts (with assisted approaches for thosewho cannot access the internet);n Apart from parents, others such as employers andfamily members can pay into accounts;n Balances can be built up, to cover, for example, usein summer holidays;n Parents can withdraw money, with their contributionsreturned to them, and Government top-ups returned tothe Government;n Parents will not pay fees; andn Those temporarily absent from the workplace – e.g.during paid statutory maternity, paternity and adoptionleave – and couples where one member is in work andthe other in receipt of Carer’s Allowance or Employ-ment and Support Allowance – will be eligible.

The proposals, which come from Westminster ratherthan the Northern Ireland Assembly, will inevitably su-percede the current Salary Sacrifice Scheme in North-ern Ireland Civil Service (through the non-profit charityEmployers for Childcare) which Trade Union Side hassupported and endorsed.

Trade Union Side has made it clear that careful con-sideration will need to be given to the implication forNorthern Ireland civil servants. Management Side havealso accepted that the full details of the scheme shouldanalysed properly before it is implemented.

Page 7 NIPSA NEWSNewswww.nipsa.org.uk

Details released aboutnew childcare scheme NI Water pay and

pensions update

UNION solicitors McCartan Turk-ington Breen are currently offer-ing a free wills service forstandard wills for NIPSA mem-bers. Here are the answers tosome of the most common ques-tions we receive about makingwills.

Why should I make a will?1. To ensure your assets will be dis-tributed according to your wishes,2. To appoint guardians for minorchildren or dependants,3. To appoint a trusted person to actas the executor of your estate,4. To make your wishes known in re-spect of your funeral, and5. To save time, trouble and ex-pense for your family.

What happens if I don’t make a will?

If you die without leaving a will,you die “intestate”. Your estate willpass to be administered accordingto Intestacy rules set out in the Ad-ministration of Estates Act (NorthernIreland) 1955.

Your spouse does not automati-cally receive the entirety of your es-tate and someone may benefit fromyour estate who you would not havewanted to.

This is particularly important in the following situations:

1. Co-habitees – Your surviving part-ner is at risk if you have not left spe-

cific instructions in your will. Theywill be left with nothing. Their onlyredress is to make a claim under theInheritance (Provision for Familyand Dependants) Act 1975. This iscomplex and expensive. 2. Children of re-married couples –Your children from a previous mar-riage may not benefit as you wouldhave wished unless specificallydealt with in a Will.It is important to review your willregularly and especially after amajor life event such as getting mar-ried, getting divorced or having chil-dren.

Do I need a solicitor to prepare my will?

It is advisable to seek legal advicewhen making your will. It is a formallegal document that must be pre-pared and executed in a particularway in order to maintain its legal en-

forceability. If it is not prepared cor-rectly its validity could be challengedand its contents overturned.

Here are a few of the reasons whythe validity of a will may be chal-lenged:n Fraud,n Duress or undue influence,n Lack of Testamentary capacity,n Lack of mental capacity,n Ambiguity,n Legal formalities not adhered to,n Clerical error, and n Misunderstanding of the Testatorswishes.

What should my will contain?Typical clauses in a Will are as fol-

lows:1. Revocation of any previous will,2. Funeral wishes,3. Appointment of Executors andTrustees, 4. Appointment of Guardians for mi-

nors,5. Specific gifts of property ormoney to beneficiaries,6. Division of the rest of your assets,and7. A “catch all” residue clause.

A will may also be a useful tool forTax Planning. The impact of Inheri-tance Tax on the beneficiariesnamed in the will is often consideredin conjunction with making the willand if your estate is one which willbe effected by the Inheritance Taxprovisions, it is advisable to obtainspecialist financial and tax planningadvice.How do I go about making a will?You should complete a wills ques-tionnaire and instructions form(which you can obtain by emailingus (lauren.mcshane@mtb-law.co.uk) or from your NIPSA rep-resentative) and return it to ouroffice (McCartan TurkingtonBreen, Solicitors, ChanceryHouse, 88 Victoria Street, BelfastBT1 3GN). We will contact you to discuss thematter and ask for any further infor-mation we require. We will then send you out a draft willto review. You can telephone us to discuss thedraft and if it is in order you willcome in to our office to sign the orig-inal. We try to keep the process as sim-ple and efficient as possible.

The importance of making a will

By Lauren McShaneChancery House, 88 Victoria Street, Belfast BT1 3GN

Tel: 028 9032 9801 www.mtb-law.co.uk

Page 8 NIPSA NEWS News www.nipsa.org.uk

Quarter of North's workers 'don'tearn enough for decent living'ONE-in-four workers in Northern Ireland donot earn enough for a decent standard ofliving, an economic think-tank has warned.The North has significantly higher levels oflow pay than in any other UK region, ac-cording to the trade union-supportedNevin Economic Research Institute (NERI).

Upper Bann, North Antrim, East Derry,Newry and Armagh were highlighted as

being the main regions for low wages.Accommodation, food, retail, residential

and social care are the sectors worst af-fected.

The claims were contained in NERI's lat-est quarterly economic commentary, whichalso forecast growth this year in the Re-public of 1.6pc, rising to 2.1pc next year.

This is more conservative than the esti-

mate from the Department of Finance of2pc growth this year.

It comes just weeks after official figuresshowed that the economy, as measured bygross domestic product, shrank by 0.3pcin 2013 as the effects of the so-called phar-maceutical patent cliff dented exports.

Unemployment here is expected to de-cline to 11.5pc this year, and fall further to

10.9pc in 2015. The deficit, as a percentageof GDP, will fall to 2.5pc next year, wellwithin the Government's target.

The commentary, which was launched inBelfast, found that more than a quarter ofworkers, or just under 169,000, earnedbelow the living wage in Northern Ireland.Other key findings include:n 17pc of workers are defined as low paid

because they earn two-thirds of the me-dian hourly wage or less.n 9pc or just over 61,000 earn at or belowthe minimum wage.* 8pc of male workers earn the minimumwage of £6.31 (€7.56) or below comparedwith 9pc of female workers. However, only22pc of male workers earn below the livingwage, compared with 29pc of women.

NIPSA’s Further EducationPanel met to consider a se-ries of recommendations ina recently-published reviewinto the industrial relationsframework within the sector.

A total of 17 recommenda-tions were contained in thereport and it is understoodthat NIPSA will liaise withother unions through theICTU Education Trade UnionGroup before a formal re-sponse is drafted.

Assistant Secretary PaddyMackel, who has responsi-bility for the FE sector,pointed out that while mem-bers were willing to engagewith employers on the keyrecommendations, theywould not accept anydiminution in currentarrangements.

He told NIPSA News:“While there may be somemerit for example in consid-ering joint issues with man-agement and unionsrepresenting lecturing staff,it would be silly to only havea single bargaining table.

“Our members would alsobe extremely wary aboutagreeing ‘plant bargaining’arrangements for individualcolleges which could resultin different terms and condi-tions or policies for mem-bers.

“In addition there is abizarre reference in the Re-view to doing away with the‘power of veto’. While itisn’t exactly clear what ismeant by this phrase, TradeUnion Side will be making itclear in our response thatthe union always retains theright to register disagree-ment with employers andballot for industrial action ifnecessary. There will be noremoval of that right.”

NIPSA is to work withother unions in developing ajoint response if at all possi-ble on the maximum numberof the 17 recommendations.

However, it is understoodthe issue of recognitionrights within the sector isnot likely to have an agreedposition as NIPSA will notagree to opening member-ship up to other unions whoare not currently membersof the Non-Teaching StaffNegotiating Committee.

NIPSA to liaise withotherunions overFE sector I.R. review

The poorest families in Northern Ireland have suffereda dramatic fall in their income following the economicdownturn, deteriorating at a markedly worse rate thanthe rest of UK, new research has found.

The report, written by the New Policy Institute (NPI) forthe Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), reveals the latestdata showing the extent and nature of poverty in NorthernIreland.

Its headline finding is a pronounced fall in income forfamilies across the social spectrum, with the poorest see-ing the largest falls. After inflation, incomes for the poorestfifth fell by 16% (£39 a week lower) - compared to 5% inthe rest of the UK on average – between 2006/07 and2011/12 (the latest available data). Average householdssaw their incomes fall by 9% over the same period.

The report authors say the decline is due to rising unem-ployment and a greater share of workers working parttime.

Household incomes, poverty rates and the labour mar-ket have all worsened in Northern Ireland in the last fiveyears - in each case, this deterioration has been greaterthan in Great Britain (GB).

Overall, almost 400,000 people live in poverty in North-ern Ireland. The report also found that over the last fiveyears:

n Poverty has risen for working age adults and children,but fallen for pensioners. The number of adults under 30in poverty rose by 50% in five years.n The proportion of unemployed working age people hasalmost doubled to reach 6%.n The number working part-time but wanting full-timework has reached 51,000, or 4.4% of the working-agepopulation, compared to 3.5% with the rest of GB.n There are now 27,000 more part-time workers than in2007 and 3,000 fewer full-time workers.

n The number of households where the main breadwinneris working part-time rose 30 per cent.

Julia Unwin, Chief Executive of JRF, said: “This reportreveals a series of worrying trends for Northern Ireland,with declining incomes and job prospects leading to risingpoverty. These findings are a wakeup call for governmentsin Stormont and Westminster: we need a comprehensivestrategy to reduce poverty for people in Northern Ireland.This means tackling the underlying causes of poverty,such as the number and quality of jobs on offer.”

With welfare reform changes on the horizon, the reportalso found: n The under-occupation penalty – the so-called bedroomtax – will have a much greater impact in NI than GB, af-fecting 53 per cent of claimants compared with 23 percent in the rest of GB.n The move from Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to thePersonal Independence Payment (PIP) will also have par-ticular significance for NI, with almost twice the proportionclaiming DLA compared with the rest of GB.n Around a quarter of those reassessed for PIP are ex-pected to lose their entitlement altogether, with a furtherthird receiving a lower entitlement.

Tom MacInnes, Research Director at NPI and co-authorof the report, said: “The recession and its aftermath hit

Northern Ireland harder than the rest of the UK. In particu-lar, the rise in unemployment and part time work has hurtfamily incomes across the board, but the poorest havefared worst.

“Possibly most worrying is the big rise in poverty amongthe under 30s.

“With welfare reform on the horizon, already diminishedincomes may decline even further. Reforms that cut the in-comes of those supported by benefits or that require morepeople to actively seek work – without improvements inthe quality of jobs on offer – are likely to exacerbate prob-lems further.”

SAM McAughtry, who died in March aged 91 after along illness, was a really remarkable man – a writer anda political activist who had learned both trades in thehard school of life, a seafarer at heart who had sur-vived many a stormy passage to reach serene old ageas a dispenser of wit and wisdom, an advocate of civil-ity and decency in public discourse, and a charitableconcern for the underdog and the casualties of society.

Belfast-born and bred, he was a citizen of the world, afine writer, a critic of wit and discrimination, a delightfulcompanion, a raconteur with charm and style and a wry,self-deprecating humour.

Sam was born in 1923 at Hillman Street in north Belfastand it was that area, Tigers Bay, York Street and the adjoin-ing Docks and Sailortown which was to provide him with acultural and imaginative hinterland for the rest of his life –along with an endless fund of stories.

There he was to learn the facts of life, and of living, thehard way in the hungry Thirties.

One of a family of 10, the son of a merchant seaman whowas often away from home (which made his homecoming,bearing trinkets and small presents, so memorable to thelittle boy), he left school at 14 and became a riveter.

So ended his formal schooling and began a long, variedand remarkably effective education.

When war came he volunteered for the RAF, rising to Fly-ing Officer. Demobbed, like so many of his contemporaries,he found few openings on civvy street and, after a spelllabouring on building sites, he returned to Belfast andjoined the Ministry of Agriculture as a temporary civil ser-vant.

Immersion in the Civil Service trade union, under the in-fluence of the inimitable Brendan Harkin (also a shipyardgraduate), led to writing in the trade union magazine, news-paper columns and local radio, and he became involved inpolitics with the Northern Ireland Labour Party.

Thus began the public life of Sam McAughtry as journalistand political activist, and a succession of delightful bookswhich opened the door on the formation of the public manand into that hinterland of inter-war Belfast, where BuckAlec walked his lion cubs, and where the docklands, seenthrough the eyes of the men who built, manned and loadedthe ships, was altogether more brutal than that projected by

the shipowners and the Harbour Commissioners in theirVenetian palazzo.

It was filled, too, with pubs and betting shops, with craicand camaraderie and, at times, enmity and hostility as sec-tarian passions ebbed and flowed. The summit of Sam'spolitical career was his membership of the Irish Senate in1996.

Unlike the other northerners who got there as Taoiseachnominees, Sam had the greater distinction (and democraticlegitimacy) of membership by election on the industrial andcommercial panel.

His maiden speech in the Senate could still serve as amanifesto for any decent political party. He declared him-self to be a hybrid unionist, happy to live in the United King-dom, but happier to be Irish.

His vision was for an island of five million Irish people, liv-ing in two jurisdictions, but with institutions established toemphasise their Irishness. Who says he didn't hear Ire-land's Call?

His other great act of demonstration politics was in organ-

ising the Peace Train, chartered and filled with interestingfellow travellers to assert their right of passage on the rail-way to Dublin and to protest the interruption of service byProvo bombs and bomb scares.

Sam was acutely aware of the irony of an organisationwhich professed to be fighting to unite Ireland spending somuch time and effort to ensure that it remained divided.

It is for his books that he would wish to be remembered –for he was a fine writer.

The Sinking Of The Kenbane Head is a minor classic ofthe sea and of Belfast life.

It is a personal narrative which recaptures the people, thesounds and the smells of his childhood and, more impor-tantly, it is a moving and appropriate hymn to the bravemen who faced the perils of the sea and of modern war-fare.

Sam was a wonderful storyteller with a rich voice that res-onated on radio – raised always in the cause of decency,fairness, respect and human rights, a voice for the poorand the oppressed.

Death should not silence it – nor will it do so.Maurice Hayes

Uniting city's poor by charm and with eloquence

POVERTY BOMBSHELL

Sam McAughtry

Page 9 NIPSA NEWSNewswww.nipsa.org.uk

Quarter of North's workers 'don'tearn enough for decent living'ONE-in-four workers in Northern Ireland donot earn enough for a decent standard ofliving, an economic think-tank has warned.The North has significantly higher levels oflow pay than in any other UK region, ac-cording to the trade union-supportedNevin Economic Research Institute (NERI).

Upper Bann, North Antrim, East Derry,Newry and Armagh were highlighted as

being the main regions for low wages.Accommodation, food, retail, residential

and social care are the sectors worst af-fected.

The claims were contained in NERI's lat-est quarterly economic commentary, whichalso forecast growth this year in the Re-public of 1.6pc, rising to 2.1pc next year.

This is more conservative than the esti-

mate from the Department of Finance of2pc growth this year.

It comes just weeks after official figuresshowed that the economy, as measured bygross domestic product, shrank by 0.3pcin 2013 as the effects of the so-called phar-maceutical patent cliff dented exports.

Unemployment here is expected to de-cline to 11.5pc this year, and fall further to

10.9pc in 2015. The deficit, as a percentageof GDP, will fall to 2.5pc next year, wellwithin the Government's target.

The commentary, which was launched inBelfast, found that more than a quarter ofworkers, or just under 169,000, earnedbelow the living wage in Northern Ireland.Other key findings include:n 17pc of workers are defined as low paid

because they earn two-thirds of the me-dian hourly wage or less.n 9pc or just over 61,000 earn at or belowthe minimum wage.* 8pc of male workers earn the minimumwage of £6.31 (€7.56) or below comparedwith 9pc of female workers. However, only22pc of male workers earn below the livingwage, compared with 29pc of women.

The poorest families in Northern Ireland have suffereda dramatic fall in their income following the economicdownturn, deteriorating at a markedly worse rate thanthe rest of UK, new research has found.

The report, written by the New Policy Institute (NPI) forthe Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), reveals the latestdata showing the extent and nature of poverty in NorthernIreland.

Its headline finding is a pronounced fall in income forfamilies across the social spectrum, with the poorest see-ing the largest falls. After inflation, incomes for the poorestfifth fell by 16% (£39 a week lower) - compared to 5% inthe rest of the UK on average – between 2006/07 and2011/12 (the latest available data). Average householdssaw their incomes fall by 9% over the same period.

The report authors say the decline is due to rising unem-ployment and a greater share of workers working parttime.

Household incomes, poverty rates and the labour mar-ket have all worsened in Northern Ireland in the last fiveyears - in each case, this deterioration has been greaterthan in Great Britain (GB).

Overall, almost 400,000 people live in poverty in North-ern Ireland. The report also found that over the last fiveyears:

n Poverty has risen for working age adults and children,but fallen for pensioners. The number of adults under 30in poverty rose by 50% in five years.n The proportion of unemployed working age people hasalmost doubled to reach 6%.n The number working part-time but wanting full-timework has reached 51,000, or 4.4% of the working-agepopulation, compared to 3.5% with the rest of GB.n There are now 27,000 more part-time workers than in2007 and 3,000 fewer full-time workers.

n The number of households where the main breadwinneris working part-time rose 30 per cent.

Julia Unwin, Chief Executive of JRF, said: “This reportreveals a series of worrying trends for Northern Ireland,with declining incomes and job prospects leading to risingpoverty. These findings are a wakeup call for governmentsin Stormont and Westminster: we need a comprehensivestrategy to reduce poverty for people in Northern Ireland.This means tackling the underlying causes of poverty,such as the number and quality of jobs on offer.”

With welfare reform changes on the horizon, the reportalso found: n The under-occupation penalty – the so-called bedroomtax – will have a much greater impact in NI than GB, af-fecting 53 per cent of claimants compared with 23 percent in the rest of GB.n The move from Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to thePersonal Independence Payment (PIP) will also have par-ticular significance for NI, with almost twice the proportionclaiming DLA compared with the rest of GB.n Around a quarter of those reassessed for PIP are ex-pected to lose their entitlement altogether, with a furtherthird receiving a lower entitlement.

Tom MacInnes, Research Director at NPI and co-authorof the report, said: “The recession and its aftermath hit

Northern Ireland harder than the rest of the UK. In particu-lar, the rise in unemployment and part time work has hurtfamily incomes across the board, but the poorest havefared worst.

“Possibly most worrying is the big rise in poverty amongthe under 30s.

“With welfare reform on the horizon, already diminishedincomes may decline even further. Reforms that cut the in-comes of those supported by benefits or that require morepeople to actively seek work – without improvements inthe quality of jobs on offer – are likely to exacerbate prob-lems further.”

SAM McAughtry, who died in March aged 91 after along illness, was a really remarkable man – a writer anda political activist who had learned both trades in thehard school of life, a seafarer at heart who had sur-vived many a stormy passage to reach serene old ageas a dispenser of wit and wisdom, an advocate of civil-ity and decency in public discourse, and a charitableconcern for the underdog and the casualties of society.

Belfast-born and bred, he was a citizen of the world, afine writer, a critic of wit and discrimination, a delightfulcompanion, a raconteur with charm and style and a wry,self-deprecating humour.

Sam was born in 1923 at Hillman Street in north Belfastand it was that area, Tigers Bay, York Street and the adjoin-ing Docks and Sailortown which was to provide him with acultural and imaginative hinterland for the rest of his life –along with an endless fund of stories.

There he was to learn the facts of life, and of living, thehard way in the hungry Thirties.

One of a family of 10, the son of a merchant seaman whowas often away from home (which made his homecoming,bearing trinkets and small presents, so memorable to thelittle boy), he left school at 14 and became a riveter.

So ended his formal schooling and began a long, variedand remarkably effective education.

When war came he volunteered for the RAF, rising to Fly-ing Officer. Demobbed, like so many of his contemporaries,he found few openings on civvy street and, after a spelllabouring on building sites, he returned to Belfast andjoined the Ministry of Agriculture as a temporary civil ser-vant.

Immersion in the Civil Service trade union, under the in-fluence of the inimitable Brendan Harkin (also a shipyardgraduate), led to writing in the trade union magazine, news-paper columns and local radio, and he became involved inpolitics with the Northern Ireland Labour Party.

Thus began the public life of Sam McAughtry as journalistand political activist, and a succession of delightful bookswhich opened the door on the formation of the public manand into that hinterland of inter-war Belfast, where BuckAlec walked his lion cubs, and where the docklands, seenthrough the eyes of the men who built, manned and loadedthe ships, was altogether more brutal than that projected by

the shipowners and the Harbour Commissioners in theirVenetian palazzo.

It was filled, too, with pubs and betting shops, with craicand camaraderie and, at times, enmity and hostility as sec-tarian passions ebbed and flowed. The summit of Sam'spolitical career was his membership of the Irish Senate in1996.

Unlike the other northerners who got there as Taoiseachnominees, Sam had the greater distinction (and democraticlegitimacy) of membership by election on the industrial andcommercial panel.

His maiden speech in the Senate could still serve as amanifesto for any decent political party. He declared him-self to be a hybrid unionist, happy to live in the United King-dom, but happier to be Irish.

His vision was for an island of five million Irish people, liv-ing in two jurisdictions, but with institutions established toemphasise their Irishness. Who says he didn't hear Ire-land's Call?

His other great act of demonstration politics was in organ-

ising the Peace Train, chartered and filled with interestingfellow travellers to assert their right of passage on the rail-way to Dublin and to protest the interruption of service byProvo bombs and bomb scares.

Sam was acutely aware of the irony of an organisationwhich professed to be fighting to unite Ireland spending somuch time and effort to ensure that it remained divided.

It is for his books that he would wish to be remembered –for he was a fine writer.

The Sinking Of The Kenbane Head is a minor classic ofthe sea and of Belfast life.

It is a personal narrative which recaptures the people, thesounds and the smells of his childhood and, more impor-tantly, it is a moving and appropriate hymn to the bravemen who faced the perils of the sea and of modern war-fare.

Sam was a wonderful storyteller with a rich voice that res-onated on radio – raised always in the cause of decency,fairness, respect and human rights, a voice for the poorand the oppressed.

Death should not silence it – nor will it do so.Maurice Hayes

Uniting city's poor by charm and with eloquence

POVERTY BOMBSHELL

RECENTLY TradeUnion Side re-ceived documenta-tion relating toReview of PublicAdministration(RPA) develop-ments in the North-ern Ireland CivilService (NICS).These draft docu-ments coveredarrangements for thetransfer of NICS staffto Local Governmentas well as staffingimplications forRPA-affected areas.

TUS subsequentlymet with manage-ment to discussthese and otherRPA-linked issues,including Depart-ment updates, andflagged up concernsover a number ofmatters.

These includedproposals to replacethe temporary trans-fer arrangementsthat had been suc-cessfully used forother civil servantstransferring out ofthe NICS in favour ofnew TUPE-typearrangements.

It is understoodpension arrange-ments are not af-fected apart fromthose members ofstaff who opted toresign and join LocalGovernment throughan open competition.

Managementagreed to considerthe various pointsraised by TUS.

NICS stafftransfersunder RPAdiscussed

TRANSFORMING Your Care(TYC) arrived in 2011 proclaiminga healthcare vision that would“put the patient first” and prom-ising money to make the shift to“transformed” care easier.

Since then with regularly reportedcrises and forecast “transitional”monies undelivered, this rhetoric islooking increasingly hollow. Indeedwhen the gap between the spin andreality of TYC is exposed the publicfallout is dramatic.

This was shown in May 2013 withthe threatened closure of statutory(public sector) residential carehomes for the elderly.

What this debacle most clearlyrevealed was that, where feasible,TYC makes the withdrawal of pub-lic sector provision the default posi-tion, with the policy stating “therewould need to be clear and specificreasons for the statutory sector toremain in this field”.

This means that under TYC: ad-missions to such homes are limitedand, as soon as possible, thehomes’ deliberately reduced popu-lation is defined as “unsustainable”.

For PR reasons the public sectorhomes may not close immediatelybut they will not “outlive” the lastresidents in them for long. Simulta-neously both admissions to privatesector homes and funding of thissector (£53 million in 2012/3 alone)are on the rise. Where need exists,therefore, TYC wants it to be metby privatisation.

Such an approach is not limitedto this sector. In domiciliary carethe private sector is also an in-creasingly dominant player, benefit-ting from the revenue streamscreated by TYC’s fragmentation ofservice.

As a consequence we see re-vised criteria diminishing the impor-tance of social care needs andpatient dignity undermined by theenforcement of punitively time-lim-ited homecare visits. This leavesNorthern Ireland as the UK regionwith the highest number of home-care visits lasting less than 30 min-utes.

Worse still, the Health Trusts sug-gest this time could be reduced to

eight minutes. In addition, whileTYC idealises “care in the home”,the “personalisation” agenda is notabout “empowerment”, it is aphased withdrawal from universalprovision – the antithesis of holistichealthcare. It also introduces theethical minefield of “cash for care”into already difficult family circum-stances.

In the last three years the BelfastTrust has paid out £130 million tothe private sector as it and all otherTrusts admit to using this sector tomeet Ministerial waiting time tar-gets.

The worse the situation in theNHS gets, the more companies thatthrive on the NHS not meeting itstargets profit. This creates a situa-tion where consultants on NHScontracts who also work for suchcompanies can cancel their NHSappointments (thus lengtheningwaiting lists) while making them-selves available to do this work pri-vately.

So health policy surrenders sup-ply to those who profit from the limi-tation of supply. Is it any wonder asurgeon is six times more likely tocancel an appointment if they areworking for us directly, rather thandoing this work ‘for the NHS’ in aprivate capacity? What part of con-flict of interest does the Health Min-ister not get?

We predicted what would happenelsewhere in the system if A&Esclosed completely or restricted theiropening hours or what the conse-quences of a 20% cut in hospitalbeds over the last five years wouldbe. We have also consistently high-lighted the destructive effect staffshortages are having.

While any major policy changetakes time to work, it is clear thatfar from TYC’s core changes adver-tising its merits, they are indict-ments of it. This is because,behind its visionary rhetoric, it isrooted in cuts and privatisation.

The “major incident” at the RVHand the necessity of three “escala-tion” plans being put in place atA&E departments in the first nineweeks of 2014 point to the strategicfailure of current health policy.

This is also a political failure, rais-ing huge questions about the lackof accountability and scrutiny atStormont that has allowed mattersto drift to this crisis point.

We accept a need for “trans-formed”, modernised care – but itmust be built on a progressivefoundation. It requires truly repre-sentative and democratic participa-tion in the planning and decisionmaking processes within health andsocial care.

It must not depart from the NHS’sfounding principles and must endtaxpayers’ debilitating subsidy of

the private sector, the demands ofwhich are indulged (PFI debt, NHSpatients sent to private clinics to betreated by ‘NHS’ staff, etc) beforeour healthcare needs are met.

In 2013, a majority in the Assem-bly voted against privatisation ofthe Health Service, so MLAs havetwo choices – let them now honourtheir motion or come clean and tellvoters in all of their future mani-festos that they wish to privatise theNHS. A NIPSA Policy and Research re-port on Transforming Your Care isavailable at http://www.nipsa.org.uk

Page 10 NIPSA NEWS News www.nipsa.org.uk

TRANSFORMING YOURCARE – PRIVATISINGYOUR HEALTH SERVICE

Page 11 NIPSA NEWSNewswww.nipsa.org.uk

TERMINAL illness sufferers areamong sick and disabled peoplecut off from benefits for over sixmonths after facing cruel assess-ments from incompetent priva-teers, senior MPs have revealed.

A damning new report publishedby Parliament's work and pensionsselect committee shames Atos andCapita for the delays.

It blames basic errors, like ap-pointments being cancelled withoutnotice, for the growing backlog.

Labour MP and committee chairDame Anne Begg condemned theirrecord as "completely unaccept-able."

The crisis comes after the Con-Dem government ditched the Dis-

ability Living Allowance for its newPersonal Independence Payment(PIP).

Hundreds of thousands of sick anddisabled people are having to applyfor the new PIP and are subjected toface-to-face "assessments" by Atosand Capita.

But the companies are proving soincompetent that applicants are hav-ing to wait six months - and evenlonger - for assessments to be car-ried out.

Even terminally-ill people whohave no chance of working againare being subjected to delays, ac-

cording to the report.Ms Begg said: "Many disabled or

sick people face waits of six monthsor more for a decision on their PIPeligibility.

"Even those with terminal illnessesare having to wait far longer thanwas anticipated.

"This not only leaves people facingfinancial difficulties whilst they awaita decision, but causes severe stressand uncertainty. It is completely un-acceptable."

The report calls for penaltyclauses in the company's contractsto be invoked.

It also accuses the Department ofWork and Pensions of misusing sta-tistics to smear disabled people - as-sisting the attacks on claimants inthe right-wing Tory media.

Public and Commercial Servicesunion general secretary Mark Ser-wotka said that amounted to "one ofthe biggest scandals of recent yearsand has fuelled the sickening vilifica-tion of people who rely on benefits."

He added: "Atos and Capita haveproved themselves incapable of pro-viding a proper service that treatssick and disabled people with the re-spect they deserve, and DWP needsto bring this work back in-house andinvest in the resources needed torun it effectively."

IMAGINE if your doctor was aseasy to contact as your Facebookfriends - and you could Skypethem whenever you liked to talkabout your health concerns.

For anyone waiting to see their GPin today's cash-strapped NHS, andwith doctors already working at fulltilt to provide the universal health-care we all depend upon, it seemslike the realm of science fiction.

But telehealth, bringing care intothe patient's home, is now one of thebuzzwords of the modern NHS. In apopulation where more and morepeople, often the elderly, have long-term health problems such as heartdisease, obesity, breathing problemsor diabetes, the greater part of adoctor's work can be done in thehome, advocates of telehealth say.

In the internet age, the best way todo that, is to have a doctor on acomputer, signed in to a network ofpatients in the same way we areconnected to our Facebook friendsand Twitter followers.

In the British Medical Journal, re-searchers from the Netherlandshave reported on the success of ascheme which is being hailed as atrailblazer for the era of telehealth.

ParkinsonNet is a dedicated web-site which links Dutch Parkinson'sdisease sufferers with doctors andnurses who specialise in their dis-

ease. It acts, in effect, like Facebookfor Parkinson's patients. The profes-sionals communicate and collabo-rate on the website, where patientscan also find information about treat-ment, about the professionals them-selves and what they do and canalso, if they want, request an at-home consultation via video link intheir homes.

Since it was introduced in 2004,ParkinsonNet has expanded into 66regional networks and links nearly3,000 professionals from 15 differentdisciplines to Parkinson's patients allover the Netherlands.

Evidence presented by the re-searchers, from the Radboud Uni-versity Medical Centre, suggeststhat the website “empowers patients,improves the quality of care, shiftscare away from institutions and intothe community and lowers health-care costs.”

Patients also appreciated beinglinked to genuine experts on theircondition, rather than having to visitgeneralists and endure referrals andlengthy waits to see a specialist. Theresearchers concluded that themodel could be used just as suc-cessfully by patients with other long-term conditions like diabetes andbreathing problems.

But it's the cost benefits whichmay be of most interest to NHS

bosses. The health service in Eng-land is under intense financial pres-sure and facing a £30bn funding gapby 2030 and its managers. The NHSin Scotland and Wales are alsoeager to save money.

A patient with a long-term problemcoming to a hospital for somethingroutine is a waste of time for themand a waste of money for the hospi-tal - so the more that can be done inthe home, the better, experts say.

The Dutch researchers estimatedthat ParkinsonNet has saved up to20m euros: a small amount in thecontext of the NHS' budget, whichexceeds £100bn. However, Parkin-son's is just one of the less commonlong-term conditions. If the millionsof patients who suffered from dia-betes, had a heart condition, orbreathing problem could be caredfor in the same way the savingscould be, in theory, enormous.

Dr Martin McShane, NHS Englanddirector for long-term conditions toldThe Independent that the NHS inEngland was developing similarmodels of care for more conditionsand called ParkinsonNet “a veryclear signal of the potential” of tele-health. England already has an on-line psychological therapy serviceoperating in some parts of the coun-try.

“I think this is a really exciting

time,” he said. “The problem is we'realmost being out-paced by mobiletechnology. There are also ques-tions about how we ensure the rightgovernance of these schemes -clear quality standards need to bemaintained… But do we want tomove to a National Health Servicerather than a national hospital serv-ice? The answer is yes.”

In Scotland, a dedicated Centrefor Telehealth and Telecare hasbeen set up, with “patient-centred, athome care” a key part of the coun-try's plans to “transform” the NHS by2020. The country is beginning tomove beyond “pilots” to “large scale”uses of remote consultations withdoctors and therapists, he said.

“It's not about replacing face toface care with technology,” said Pro-fessor George Crooks, medical di-rector of NHS 24, who has overallresponsibility for the project. “Tech-nology can make face-to-face caremore accessible: such as accessingspecialist opinion remotely from re-mote rural or island communities.

”We will use it but only where it issafe, effective and, most importantly,appropriate to do so…but peopleuse technology to run their day-to-day life - and they now expect to beable to use their tablet, smartphoneor computer as a way to access theirhealth and care services.”

Terminally ill ‘face 6-month benefit wait’Privateers shamed over assessment delays

Future of NHScould see youFacebook your GPParkinsonNet is a website which links sufferersof the disease in the Netherlands with specialist doctors and nurses and is beinghailed as a trailblazer for the era of telehealth

CIVIL servants have won an impor-tant test case in the Employment Ap-peal Tribunal, preventing thegovernment reneging on contractualcommitments to pay progression. Pay progression was introduced in2008 following an equal pay audit,as part of a two-year pay deal.

However, when the civil servicepay freeze was announced in 2010,the Cabinet Office argued that itspay progression commitment wassimilarly limited to two years. TheEAT disagreed. In a judgment that

underlines the important contributionof lay tribunal members to industrialdisputes, the EAT confirmed that“just as in the commercial context,regard must be had to businesscommon sense, so in the context ofemployment relations, regard mustbe had to ... industrial commonsense”. (Cabinet Office v Beavan& Others UKEAT/0262/13/BA).

The case illustrates an importantrule about interpreting agreements— that a court will tend to assumethat if an employer really wanted to

limit a contractual right, you wouldhave expected them to say soclearly at the time.Silence on theirpart is a powerful argument that thiswas not what was intended.Thecase is also interesting because theparties acknowledge that “strictlyspeaking”, the pay deal, although in-corporated into individual contractterms, did not have the status of a“collective agreement”, because thedeal was imposed on the union andaccepted through conduct. Collec-tive agreements have a precise

statutory definition. What is — and is not — a collec-

tive agreement will become increas-ingly important now that changes toTUPE have reduced the protectiongiven on a transfer to contract terms“incorporated from a collectiveagreement”.www.pcs.org.uk/en/news_and_events/pcs_comment/index.cfm/major-vic-tory-on-pay-progressionwww.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKEAT/2013/0262_13_1312.html

Page 12 NIPSA NEWS News www.nipsa.org.uk

TOP MARKSNIPSA/PCS Annual ULR Conference tookplace on March 7 in Belfast.

This well-attended event marked the last timeULRs from both unions met together under theauspices of the joint NIPSA/PCS Union Learn-ing project.

The current funding stream for the projectends on March 31.

Both unions are awaiting confirmation fromthe DEL through NIC-ICTU about whether fund-ing will continue to support the Union Learninginitiative.

The conference, held at the Wellington ParkHotel, opened with NIPSA Union Learning Proj-ect Manager Roisin Graham outlining the manyfirsts initiated by the project which began in2008.

‘Looking Back to go Forward’ was the themefor the first part of the conference. Ms Grahamspoke about how well both unions had workedtogether to make the project such a great suc-cess.

Delegates were told about how along with hercounterpart, Brian Magee, the project had flour-ished and its benefits had been demonstratedto both employers and employees.

Ms Graham also paid tribute to all those in-volved at the onset of the project, in particularformer NIPSA General Secretary John Corey,

Dave Cliff from PCS, Mary Leacock, ICTU As-sistant General Secretary Peter Bunting andPCS Union Learning project co-ordinator BrianMagee.

She also paid tribute to a number of peoplefor their continuing support for the Union Learn-ing initiative, including current General Secre-tary Brian Campfield, Deputy General SecretaryAlison Millar and Karen Foster of PCS.

Ms Graham also thanked ULRs for their hardwork as well as Kieran Bannon for his role insecuring the first Union Learning agreement inthe NICS.

In her address to conference, Alison Millarhighlighted the many ongoing campaigns in-volving NIPSA and supported by PCS. Shealso thanked the ULRs for their work and fortheir input into these campaigns.

In her contribution, Karen Foster, of the PCS,spoke from a Scottish perspective about howScottish Independence would have a knock-onimpact in Northern Ireland.

ICTU Assistant General Secretary PeterBunting spoke in glowing terms about unionseducating their members and expressed hopeabout the future development of a Trade UnionCollege.

Following the speeches, the ULRs were pre-sented with certificates for completing their

training to Stage 1 or Stage 2. NIPSA ULR of the Year certificates were

awarded to Mark McAllister (DARD) andDympna Drumm (DARD) while Lynn Clarke(DARD) received a NIPSA Learner of the Yearcertificate. Sheena Brazier was PCS ULR ofthe Year while Ian Rice was awarded PCSLearner of the Year.

To mark the end of the NIPSA/PCS projectcollaboration, certificates were also awarded toAlison Millar and Roisin Graham from NIPSA aswell as Karen Foster and Brian Magee fromPCS.

The conference’s afternoon session wasthemed around World Book Day (held everyyear on March 6 – an international day for thepromotion of reading). As it is also a govern-ment initiative to promote reading, ULRs wereencouraged to promote it through the ‘Six BookChallenge’ as well as ‘Bring a Book, Take aBook’ and ‘Quick Reads’.

The project supplied another bundle of newQuick Read titles for the ULRs to use in theirrole.

Libraries NI also had an opportunity to pro-mote their services and to make ULRs aware ofnew services available library users. It was un-derlined to delegates that Libraries NI now of-fered free WIFI.

NIPSA/PCS ULR conference held in Belfast

Civil servants win test case on pay progression

THE roots of a strong Labourculture in Belfast really beganwith William Walker. He wasnever elected to a national parlia-ment and died in 1918 before theestablishment of Northern Ire-land, but as Secretary of theBelfast Trades Council and amember of both the Belfast Cor-poration and the Executive of theBritish Labour Party, his socialistthought left a profound mark.

It was said that the Northern Ire-land Labour Party – founded in1924 – took its cue from Walker inaspiring to unite Protestant andCatholic workers on bread-and-but-ter issues, what Walker himselftermed ‘municipal socialism’.

However, the national questionwas to continually hamper the NILPand successive Unionist adminis-trations found practical ways to dis-advantage their opposition, in 1928abolishing the Proportional Repre-sentation voting system for generalelections and keeping the salariesof MPs deliberately low so as todeter those from less affluent back-grounds from pursuing political ca-reers.

A key individual who bridges theLabour movement in Northern Ire-land to the Spanish Civil War wasHarry Midgley.

By 1920, at a time of serious un-employment and short-time workingin linen and engineering, Midgleyrepresented unemployed ex-ser-vicemen at City Hall – he hadserved on the Western Front – andwas initially described by civil ser-vants like Patrick Shea as a “vocif-erous radical, the most compellingand uncompromising home-grownadvocate of socialism”.

Midgley drew support from bothcommunities in his election to theDock constituency in 1933, thoughhis support for the Republican gov-ernment in Spain and the ensuingconfrontation with the CatholicChurch (as well as a fairly ignoblecampaign by the Irish News) wouldcost him the Stormont seat.

It may be argued that Midgley’spolitical trajectory – ending up es-pousing a kind of intransigentProtestantism under a UnionistParty banner – was a direct resultof the obnoxious, sometimes physi-cal attacks he was subject to forsupporting the democratically-elected government of Spain.

Midgley recovered, however, towin the previously safe Unionist

seat of Willowfield in a December1941 by-election and during theSecond World War joined BasilBrooke’s Northern Irish cabinet, thefirst time a non-Unionist had servedin the government.

He became Minister of Labourand would team up with the formi-dable former shipyard workerWilliam Grant – one of the fewUnionist Party representatives tocommand Protestant working classallegiance – to force through the billwhich established a Northern Ire-land Housing Trust.

Both men were working classleaders devoted to improving theprovince’s social services and mak-ing sure Northern Ireland would fol-low the United Kingdom’s lead inintroducing welfare legislation in thepost-war period.

Present alongside Midgley agitat-ing on behalf of the Second Span-ish Republic was the CommunistParty’s Betty Sinclair. An Ardoyne-born Protestant, she had been con-spicuous in the Outdoor Reliefprotests of October 1932 – one ofthe few instances when thosebread-and-butter issues the oldNILP always talked about managedto overwhelm Northern Ireland’stribal divisions.

In the general election of 1945Sinclair polled more than 4,000votes in Cromac, South Belfast –an impressive yield for a Commu-nist candidate – and would latertravel to the Soviet Union andCzechoslovakia. She spent almost30 years as secretary of the Belfast

Trades Council before tragicallylosing her life in a house fire in1981.

Another prominent figure toemerge in the post-war years wasDavid Bleakley, who won theBelfast Victoria seat for the NILP in1958. Bleakley’s time at Stormontwas characterised by a sustainedcommitment to highlighting every-day economic and social concerns,his interventions almost always re-lating to transport, maintaining fullemployment in shipbuilding, andgeneral job creation – all of whichwould unfortunately mark him outas largely irrelevant when the Trou-bles erupted at the end of the1960s.

The NILP vote – at 26% in 1962(roughly what Ulster’s secondlargest party, Sinn Féin, receivestoday) – all but collapsed by thestart of the following decade, whenthe Protestant radicals becamefiercer and more fundamentalist,though Bleakley won election toboth the 1973 Sunningdale Assem-bly and the Constitutional Conven-tion two years later.

He continued to campaign onsocio-economic matters and organ-ised for dilapidated parts of EastBelfast to receive more trees andgreenery, so as to try and raisepeople’s spirits.

Bleakley had worked in the ship-yard engine shop with a tenaciousshipyard painter named SamThompson, whose debut radio playThe Long Back Street featured avoice at the back of the crowd

heckling, in response to a Unionistwhipping up a mob with talk of‘Popish plots’ and the siege ofDerry: “You can’t ate Derry’s wallswhen you’re hungry.”

Thompson’s best known playOver the Bridge struck a powerfulblow against theatrical censorshipand was considered part of the mo-mentum to dislodge Brooke asleader of the Unionist Party. Hewould even go on to stand as anNILP candidate in the spectacularlyunsuitable, overwhelmingly ruralseat of South Down in the 1964Westminster election, where hewas harangued by new Prime Min-ister Terence O’Neill himself.

The Undefeated – the title of abook by Martha Gellhorn on the‘Maquis’ resistance fighters, whoretreated to the mountains and con-tinued the fight against Fascism atthe end of the Civil War – were alsothose who wrote, painted, filmedand defined the conflict, as well asSpain itself, beyond GeneralFranco.

In 1939 the Spanish Civil Warwas lost militarily, but – as with theseven remarkable volunteers fromthe Shankill area who lost theirlives in the Spanish dust and com-memorated on February 1, 2014 –the values they fought for ultimatelyprevailed.

This is an abridged version ofConnal Parr’s lecture at the Inter-national Brigade Commemora-tion Committee event at theShankill Library.

Radical Protestants – from the Spanish Civil War to the 1960s

Page 13 NIPSA NEWSNewswww.nipsa.org.uk

Organise to protect services, jobs, pay and pensionsYOU HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY...SUPPORT YOUR UNION AND YOUR COLLEAGUES

European and world affairsPage 14 NIPSA NEWS News www.nipsa.org.uk

In May 2011, the German government an-nounced that it would terminate the country’snuclear power programme in 2022.

The decision was in response to the massprotests that burst onto German streets followingthe Fukushima nuclear plant disaster in Japan,and reflected the deep opposition to nuclearpower that has existed within German society fordecades. Legislation to phase out nuclear powerpassed through parliament with an overwhelmingmajority.

Shortly afterwards, the Swedish energy com-pany Vattenfall announced it was suing the Ger-man government for a staggering €3.7 billion in‘compensation’ for losses arising from the nu-clear phase-out.

The company had already been successful in aprevious suit against the German governmentover environmental regulations for the RiverElbe, which Vattenfall argued made its proposedcoal-fired power station there unviable. Thatcase was settled in 2011 with Vattenfall beinggranted a new permit to construct the power sta-tion under less demanding environmental condi-tions.

At the same time, on the other side of theworld, the government of Australia was introduc-ing a new law to combat the social costs ofsmoking, including the requirement that all ciga-rettes must be sold in plain packaging from De-cember 2012 onwards. Even before the newmeasures had come into effect, US tobaccogiant

Philip Morris announced that it was suing theAustralian government for billions in damagesand seeking to have the legislation repealed.Philip Morris had also brought a case against thegovernment of Uruguay for measures designedto reduce smoking in that country, where graphichealth warnings must now cover 80 per cent ofall cigarette packaging. Both countries are fight-ing the cases on public health grounds.

Unprecedented powersThe past 30 years have witnessed a prolifera-

tion of investment agreements through whichcapital can hold social and environmental policyto ransom in even the strongest states. Chiefamong these are the bilateral investment treaties(BITs) that enshrine the rights of transnationalcorporations in foreign markets.

The first BIT was signed in 1959 between Pak-istan and Germany, but it was during the 1990sand 2000s that their numbers increased mostdramatically. There are now more than 3,200 in-ternational investment agreements in forceworldwide, the overwhelming majority of whichare BITs.

BITs have established a host of new powers fortransnational corporations, such as the right toenter new markets and repatriate profits at will.

Most of all, BITs grant foreign companies theright to bypass domestic courts and sue hoststates before international arbitration tribunalsover public policy decisions that might ‘unfairly’

affect their bottom line. This provision for in-vestor-state dispute settlement is unprecedentedin that it elevates transnational capital for the firsttime to a legal status equivalent to that of the na-tion state.

The arbitration tribunals themselves are nomore than kangaroo courts.

Arbitrators are not tenured judges with publicauthority, as in domestic judicial systems, but asmall clique of corporate lawyers who are ap-pointed on an ad hoc basis and who have avested interest in ruling in favour of business.

The tribunals sit in secret, and the arbitratorshave been found guilty of so many misapplica-tions of the law that even those who support theidea of the tribunals admit they have lost anycredibility.

A public statement issued in 2010 by morethan 50 law professors and other academicscalled for the system to be abolished and theright to adjudicate returned to domestic courts.

Early warnings The threat of investor-state dispute settlement

first came to public attention with the NorthAmerican Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) be-tween Canada, Mexico and the USA.

The earliest case was brought in 1997 by UScompany Ethyl Corporation against the Canadiangovernment, which had introduced a ban on thefuel additive MMT on public health grounds. Thegovernment argued that Ethyl had not waited sixmonths from the passing of the legislation before

filing its claim, as it was required to do, yet thetribunal ruled that the case should go ahead re-gardless.

The Canadian government settled the claim bypaying out $13 million to Ethyl and revoking theban on MMT.

Such precedents opened the floodgates to amass of other cases brought under individualcountry BITs. No state has been worse hit thanArgentina, which has been targeted by dozens ofEuropean and US corporations over the years.

One of the most infamous cases concerned the30-year water concession for Tucumán province,granted in 1995 to the Argentinian subsidiary ofFrench transnational Vivendi.

The privatisation led to a doubling of water tar-iffs almost overnight, but the company failed tomaintain the level of investment required underthe concession. When the water in Tucumán‘turned brown’, eight out of ten householdsstopped paying their bills altogether.

Yet an arbitration tribunal still awarded Vivendi$105 million for having its contract terminated.

Even those damages pale into insignificancenext to the $1.77 billion (plus interest) awardedto Occidental Petroleum against the governmentof Ecuador in 2012, the most extensive damagesto date.

The arbitration tribunal confirmed that the oilgiant had broken Ecuadorian law in selling offpart of its interests without ministerial approval,but rejected Ecuador’s argument that it was justi-fied in terminating the company’s contract.

By contrast, a separate tribunal threw out theclaim by Ecuador for $19 billion in damagesagainst Chevron for its contamination of theAmazonian rainforest over a period of twodecades.

The backlash beginsThe threat to democracy posed by this growth

in corporate power has generated its own back-lash, with several countries now seeking to aban-don investor-state dispute settlement altogether.Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela have withdrawnfrom the World Bank’s International Centre forSettlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), whilecountries such as Brazil and Mexico refuse tosign up to it.

South Africa has unilaterally terminated its BITswith several European countries, while India hasput all negotiations on hold while it conducts itsown internal policy review.

The UK has not yet suffered a challenge topublic policy arising out of its many BITs. Yetunder the new Transatlantic Trade and Invest-ment Partnership US corporations will win theright to challenge European states directly beforeinternational arbitration tribunals for the first time.Reports suggest they have every intention ofdoing so. You have been warned.

John Hilary’s recent book The Poverty of Capi-talism includes fuller details on BITs and thethreat of investor-state dispute settlement

HELD TO RANSOMTransnational corporations have won shocking powers to sue sovereignstates, writes John Hilary, and they are not shy of using them

European and world affairsPage 15 NIPSA NEWSNewswww.nipsa.org.uk

The latest and most compellingevidence to date arrived in aspecial report, delicately titledthe "Case Against Qatar," is-sued by the International TradeUnion Commission.

The report delivers a litany ofshocks, including this staggeringestimate: Some 4,000 migrantconstruction workers will die inservice to the 2022 Cup before iteven begins.

That's actually a conservativeestimate. About 1,200 workershave died since 2010, when Qatarwas first awarded the tournament.Construction is only just beginningto ramp up. The ten or so stadi-ums that remain to be built are buta small fraction of the World Cupprojects on the books. There willbe a new airport, subway lines,roads, 100-plus hotels and somuch more. As the opening kick-off approaches, hundreds of thou-sands of additional migrantworkers - who already make upmore than half the country's popu-lation of 2 million - will flood intoQatar.

They can look forward to shar-ing a single room with elevenother workers - along with a singletoilet - in labour camps run byslumlords and patrolled by secu-rity guards. Leaving the country isnot an option; employers confis-cate workers' passports. Maybe ifyou're lucky, after several years ofservice your company managerwill allow you to go home for afew days to visit your loved ones;that is, if you leave a deposit of afew hundred dollars to ensureyour return to work.

But let's get back to the reportand those 4,000 or so anticipatedfatalities:

"Whether the cause of death islabeled a work accident, heart at-tack (brought on by life-threaten-ing effects of heat stress) ordiseases from squalid living con-ditions, the root cause is the same- working conditions."

Needless to say, Qatar hasgone way beyond the palm-greasing and forced relocation ofthe poor that often accompany thepreparations for grand interna-tional sporting events. In thecourse of Brazil's 2014 World Cupconstruction boom, a crude andslapdash affair, a total of sevenworkers have died. The 2010World Cup in South Africa pro-

duced a death toll of two. Here's amore useful point of comparison,captured in a provocative head-line on the website Deadspin:"Report: Qatar's World Cup Ex-pected to Take More Lives than9/11" (http://deadspin.com/re-port-qatars-world-cup-ex-pected-to-take-more-lives-t-1550257688).

As a general rule, FIFA deflectsresponsibility for the behaviour ofits host countries. We're just afootball organisation, not a law-making body, FIFA likes to say. Ithas called the situation in Qatar a"complex matter."

Given Qatar's callous disregardof so many lives, comparing thecountry's behaviour to an act of

terrorism maynot be entirely over the top. Andhowever FIFA tries to spin this,the organisation is complicit. Atwhat point will it draw the line?Are 2,000 dead too many? WillFIFA take action when the toll ofapparently disposable migrantworkers surpasses 3,000? The In-ternational Trade Union Commis-sion's estimate of the deadrepresents a massive moral fail-ure. Allowing it to be realisedwould be criminal.You can dowload the ITUC spe-ical report here: http://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/the_case_against_qatar_en_web170314.pdf

Qatar’s bloody disgrace

German union membershipremains stable

Primark to pay £6mmore to victims ofRaza Plaza factory

It's time to call the 2022World Cup in Qatar byits proper name: A humanitarian crisis

FOR the third year running, unionsin the German DGB, the EU’slargest union confederation haveheld their membership broadlystable at 6.1 million members.

Membership declined from apeak of 11.8 million in 1991 shortlyafter reunification to 6.2 million in2010. However, since then, the po-sition has stabilised. Latest fig-ures for 2013 show membership at6,143,000 compared with 6,151,000in 2012 and 6,156,000 in 2011.

But the position is less positivewhere union density — the propor-tion of employees who are unionmembers — is concerned. Thereare no official figures for uniondensity. However, while DGBunion membership was broadlystable, the number of employeesincreased by 3.2% between 2010and 2013 to 37.7 million, meaningthat union density fell.

Primark is to pay out a further$10m (£6m) in compensation tovictims of the Rana Plaza factorycollapse in Bangladesh weeks be-fore the anniversary of the disas-ter in which more than 1,100garment workers lost their lives.

The British retailer has agreed topay $9m to the 581 workers, or theirfamilies, from New Wave Bottoms,Primark's supplier, which was basedon the second floor of the building inDhaka. A further $1m will go into acommunal compensation pot to beshared among all the 3,600 workerswho suffered when the eight-floorRana Plaza complex collapsed inApril last year.

Both payments should be madeunder the auspices of a compensa-tion scheme backed by UN agencythe International Labour Organisation(ILO), under a deal agreed over theweekend.

Campaigners hope Primark's pay-ment will help persuade other retail-ers linked to the Rana Plaza buildingto pay up. The latest round of pay-outs will bring Primark's total com-pensation bill to $12m after it paidout $2m in short-term support for allworkers within the Rana Plaza build-ing, including those working for otherbrands.

Primark's desire to make its pay-ments as soon as possible is beingweighed against the ILO's battle toensure that compensation to allthose affected by the disaster comesvia the communal process so that novictims are short-changed. Qatari labour

camps underscrutiny asmorethan1,200deathsrecorded sofar in build-ing WorldCup footballvenues.

www.nipsa.org.ukPage 16 NIPSA NEWS

Pay cuts were unconstitutionalDanes to get more

parental leave andnew training rights

News

European and world affairs

WHIILE the Greek governmentmaintains its public sector jobcuts programme, a court hasruled that some earlier cuts inpublic sector pay were unconsti-tutional.

Last month, the government in-troduced legislation abolishing 23separate public sector organisa-tions, many of whose employeeswill be transferred to the so-calledmobility scheme — placed on re-duced pay for eight months be-fore being reassigned ordismissed.

With a target of 15,000 civilservice dismissals in 2013-14,agreed as part of the bailoutpackage, it seems very likely thatmost of those working in theseabolished organisations will losetheir jobs.

There are also plans to placesome 10,000 health care staff intothe mobility scheme.

Meanwhile, around 1,700 schoolguards and 300 municipal policestaff, who have been in the mobil-ity scheme since last summer, areset to be dismissed later thismonth when their eight-month

holding period runs out.The fresh onslaught on public

sector jobs comes as the govern-ment has run into trouble overearlier cuts in public sector pay.

A court case has concluded thata 2012 decision to cut the wagesof military and emergency servicepersonnel by around 12% was un-constitutional, and that their lostpay should therefore be rein-stated.

The full details of the judgementhave not yet been published.However, military and emergencyservice staff are among a numberof public servants employedunder so-called special regimesand it remains to be seen whetherthe 12% pay cuts imposed onother special regime staff, suchas doctors and university staff,will also be held to be unconstitu-tional.

If so, the total cost of reinstat-ing the lost pay could reach €1billion.

But although judgements arestill pending, the governmentseems determined to press aheadwith its austerity programme.

DANISH unions have signedthree key deals with the em-ployers which provide for lim-ited pay increases, but deliversignificant conditions improve-ments over the next threeyears.

The first agreement coveringthe 240,000 employees in 6,000companies in the manufacturingsector was signed by the CO-In-dustri union group and the em-ployers on 9 February.

Other than small increases inthe lowest basic rate, somethingthat affects a tiny percentage ofemployees, the agreement, whichcame into effect on March 1, doesnot deal with pay, which is to benegotiated at local level.

The key improvements from aunion point of view are new rightsto training, longer parental leaveand more information about theuse of temporary workers.

The main training improve-ments are the reduction from ninemonths to six months in the serv-ice necessary for employees togain access to up to two weeks oftraining that they themselves canchoose and which is supported bythe employers’ own training fund.There are also new rights to oneweek’s paid training for an em-ployee facing dismissal and ac-cess to Danish language coursesfor non-Danes.

Paid parental leave is increasedfrom 11 to 13 weeks, of which fivemust be taken by the father andfive by the mother, with the otherthree available to either parent.This is paid at normal pay ratesup to a set ceiling, which is in-

creased by 3.6% to 145 DKK(€19.45 or £16.00) an hour. Theemployer’s pension contributionduring maternity is also being in-creased.

Employers are also required toprovide local employee represen-tatives, normally from the unions,with more information on the useof temporary workers. The unions’hope is that this will make it lesslikely that temporary workers areabused.

From the point of view of theemployers, the duration of thedeal — the first three-year dealsince 2007 — is one of its keypositive points.

Karsten Dybvad, head of theemployers’ organisation DI, saidthat this would give businesses “astable and familiar framework alonger period of time … and makeit possible for businesses andtheir employees to create newprosperity in Denmark”.

The manufacturing settlementwas quickly followed by separateagreements covering 110,000employees in the retail sector and60,000 hotel and catering work-ers. Both are for three years, andincrease basic pay by 4.95 DKK(€0.66, £0.54) an hour.

Both agreements also includenew provisions on training and, inthe case of the retail settlement,contains provisions which theunions hope will limit the growinguse of part-time working. Compa-nies are now required to look atgiving more hours to existing em-ployees before taking on newpart-timers.

Sell-offs provokeCyprus strike actionUNIONS in Cyprus, bailed outlast year after a banking crisis,have taken strike actionagainst government privatisa-tion plans.

Under the terms of thebailout agreement with the Eu-ropean Commission, the Euro-pean Central Bank and theInternational Monetary Fund,the Cypriot government iscommitted to raising €1.4 bil-lion (£1.15 billion) throughsales of publicly owned com-

panies by 2018. It plans to sell stakes in the

state-owned CyTA telecommu-nications company and in thedocks by the end of 2015 aswell as the electricity com-pany, ECA, by the end of 2017.

Unions oppose the plans, ar-guing that they have not beenconsulted and that workers’terms and conditions will suf-fer.