IMPACT

Local Government,

Education and

Local Services Division

Report 2007-2009

www.qualitypublicservices.ie

Front cover photoAlmost a third of IMPACT’s entire membership attended the Irish Congress of Trade Unions’ massive demonstration againstthe Government’s handling of the recession in February 2009.

Photo courtesy of the Sunday Tribune.

www.qualitypublicservices.ie

IMPACTLocal Government, Education

and Local Services Division

Report 2007-2009

Contents

Organisation..............................................................................................4Divisional executive committee ....................................................................................4

Divisional council..............................................................................................................4

Organisation and recruitment ......................................................................................4

Local government partnership ......................................................................................4

Pay and incomes ......................................................................................5Towards 2016 transitional agreement ........................................................................5

Crisis talks ..........................................................................................................................5

Social solidarity ................................................................................................................6

Public service levy ............................................................................................................6

Benchmarking ..................................................................................................................7

Low pay ..............................................................................................................................7

Senior public service pay ................................................................................................8

Pensions ..............................................................................................................................8

Travel and subsistence ....................................................................................................9

Jobs and services ....................................................................................10OECD report on Irish public services ..........................................................................10

Funding and jobs ..........................................................................................................10

Public service staffing ..................................................................................................11

Workers’ rights ................................................................................................................11

Sectoral and vocational developments ............................................12Education..........................................................................................................................12

Environmental technicians ..........................................................................................13

Fire services ......................................................................................................................13

Internal auditors ............................................................................................................13

Libraries ............................................................................................................................14

Social workers..................................................................................................................14

Veterinary inspectors ....................................................................................................14

Appendices ..............................................................................................15Salary scales ....................................................................................................................16

Travel and subsistence ..................................................................................................18

Vocational groups ..........................................................................................................19

Divisional executive committeeThe following were elected to IMPACT’s LocalGovernment, Education and Local Services divisionalexec utive committee (DEC) at the 2007 divisionalconfer ence: Alice Hennessy (Cathaoirleach), TomMurray (Leas-Cathaoirleach), Caroline Degraeve Kane(third divisional representative on IMPACT’ s centralexecutive committee), Frank Brannigan, Tom Browne,Eugene Farrelly, Martin Flanagan, Ray Kennedy, JerryKing, Josephine McCarthy, Joe Sherlock and CaitShirran.

Caroline Degraeve Kane resigned from the DEC inJanuary 2008 to take up a position with the unionMandate, and her position was filled by Pat Considineas he was the only unelected candidate in the 2007elections to the DEC. Alice Hennessy was electedhonorary secretary of IMPACT’s central executivecommittee in May 2008 and Tom Murray becameCathaoirleach of the DEC. Martin Flanagan was thenelected Leas Cathaoirleach and Patricia Whelan waselected to the DEC at the divisional council.

The DEC extends its warm thanks to everyone who hasparticipated in the affairs of the division over the lasttwo years, particularly branch officers, activists andcommittee members who give up their time on behalfof their colleagues, and to the staff in IMPACT offices inCork, Dublin, Galway and Sligo for their courtesy andefficiency.

Divisional councilThe DEC has laid great emphasis on the importance ofthe divisional council as an effective means of comm -un ication with branches. To that end a very successfulresidential meeting of the council took place inJanuary 2009.

Organisation and recruitmentOver 3,000 new members have been recruited to thedivision in the last two years, net of losses due toresignations and retirements. This substantial achieve -ment has been the result of committed work frombranches, the DEC and full-time staff. The DEC hasmaintained a strong focus on organisational enhance -ment with a specific focus on recruitment, which hasbeen an agenda item at each of its monthly meetings.In April 2008, the DEC held a seminar on recruitmentand organisation, which examined the best models fororganisation and recruitment within the division. Anumber of branches have undertaken focussedrecruitment activities within their area.

The division’s national branches are now firmly est -ablished and are responsible for significant inc reases inmembership. In the Dublin area, the Dublin StrategicLocal Authority Network (DSLAN) has been success -fully established to provide enhanced comm uni cationand support in the Dublin local authority branches. TheDEC is monitoring the progress of DSLAN with a viewto replicating it in other appropriate regions.

Local government partnershipPeter Nolan, Alice Hennessy and Tom Murray representIMPACT on the Local Authority National PartnershipAdvisory Group (LANPAG), which is responsible foroverseeing the operation of partnership in localauthorities. LANPAG’s 2008–2011 strategic plan hasbeen advanced and IMPACT has used its ‘handlingsignificant change protocol’ as a framework to defendjobs and services during the current economic crisis(see the section on ‘jobs and services’ below). LANPAGcontinues to support a number of local projects agreedin local partnership committees and runs the verysuccessful ‘return to learning’ project, which enhancesthe union’s support for lifelong learning.

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IMPACT Local Government, Education and Local Services Division

Organisation

The performance verification group, which includestwo union representatives including IMPACT’s nationalsecretary, continued its role of ensuring that themodernisation agenda set out in Towards 2016 hasbeen accomplished and all pay increases due underthe first phase of Towards 2016 were paid to IMPACTmembers in the division. This was worth 10% in fourphases between December 2006 and September 2008.When the Government announced measures tocontrol public spending in summer 2008, manybusiness organisations, politicians and economiccommentators called for the final 2.5% increase to bescrapped. But IMPACT strongly resisted this and thepayment was made as agreed.

Towards 2016 transitional agreementTalks on the second phase of Towards 2016 began inApril 2008 with unions seeking a deal that protectedliving standards from inflation, as well as a number ofnon-pay measures centred on workplace andrepresentational rights. IMPACT also led public serviceunions in seeking a new system of public service paydetermination, after the second report of the PublicService Benchmarking Body recommended noincreases for most (see below). Employers’ body IBEC’searly call for a public service pay freeze was stronglyrebutted by IMPACT in the talks and in the media.

In August 2008, the talks broke down over the payterms and employer demands for stronger ‘inability topay’ clauses. Negotiations resumed in September andresulted in a transitional agreement with pay increasesworth 6% over 21 months, with an extra 0.5% for thoseearning less than €11 an hour. The deal, which includedan 11-month public service pay pause and a three-month pay pause in private and commercial semi-statecompanies, was accepted by a margin of 91%-9% in anational ballot of IMPACT members. The Departmentof Finance told public service employers that they

must pay the first phase, worth 3.5% from 1st Septem -ber 2009, out of existing budgets.

During the negotiations, unions prevented IBEC’sattempts to massively strengthen the Towards 2016‘inability to pay' provisions.

Crisis talksThe sudden and rapid worsening of the economy andpublic finances at the end of 2008 led to a resumptionof meetings between the social partners in December.The objective was to agree an approach to economicrecovery.

Although the budgetary crisis was not caused bypublic servants or public service pay, ICTU economistsacknowledged that up to 20% of Ireland’s tax hadbecome dependent on the finance, property andconstruction sectors, which had collapsed leaving amassive hole in Government income. The problemquickly worsened as growing unemployment rapidlyreduced the tax take even further and increasedspending on social welfare and related medical andother costs. At the beginning of 2009, therefore, therewas broad agreement on the need to save as much as€16 billion in public spending between 2009 and 2013in order to restore the public finances. But there was noagreement on how this should be done. The situationin both the public finances and the wider economyhad substantially worsened as this report went to print.

Entering the talks, employers’ body IBEC said itbelieved the pay deal was defunct while theGovernment was focused exclusively on the need tosave €2 billion in public spending in 2009; a saving itwanted to make predominantly from payroll costs.From the outset, IMPACT resisted the Government’spreferred option of a 10% across-the-board cut inpublic service pay and made clear that it would notnegotiate cuts in core pay or pension benefits.

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Report 2007-2009

Pay and incomes

Social solidarityUnited behind an Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU)strategy, IMPACT insisted that a ‘social solidarity’framework for economic recovery must be agreedbefore unions would discuss specific measures to dealwith the crisis in public finances. As a result, the socialpartners agreed a ‘Framework Pact for Stabilisation,Social Solidarity and Reform’ at the end of January2009. The main points of the framework, whichincluded all the core elements of ICTU’s demands, aresummarised in the box below.

Public service levyIMPACT’s adamant insistence that core pay andpension benefits be preserved led the Government toconsider other measures, including additional staffcontributions towards the cost of pensions, deferral ofTowards 2016 pay increases, and changes in otherareas like travel and subsistence, premium payments,and overtime arrangements. Meanwhile, there wasalmost no progress on tangible measures to imple -ment the framework agreed between the socialpartners, which was to have delivered protection forthe most vulnerable and a higher contribution toeconomic recovery from those most able to pay.

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IMPACT Local Government, Education and Local Services Division

Framework Pact for Stabilisation, Social Solidarity and Reform

MAIN POINTS

� A commitment to a social partnership approach

� A commitment that all sectors of society must contribute in accordance with their ability to do so, includingsheltered sectors of the economy like professional services

� A commitment that the most vulnerable – including the low paid, unemployed and those on social welfare –would be insulated from the worst effects of the recession

� A commitment to introduce controls on senior executives’ remuneration

� Stabilisation of the banking system and a Government commitment to seek to assist people who get intodifficulties with their mortgages – plus a new statutory code of practice on mortgage arrears and homerepossessions

� Measures to support the unemployed and help them back into work

� A commitment to a fair and equitable spread of necessary adjustments in public spending

� A fair and equitable approach to tax changes, with a higher proportion falling on those with higher incomes,which would be progressive and consistent with the social solidarity approach

� A reform of price regulation in areas like energy

� A re-prioritisation of capital spending towards labour-intensive activities

� A commitment that the social partners would address the crisis in private pensions

� Recognition of the need to progressively reduce the level of Exchequer borrowing over the next five years inorder to reduce the general Government deficit “to below 3% by 2013 through an appropriate combination ofexpenditure and taxation adjustments”*

� A re-affirmation of Towards 2016 commitments to legislation to strengthen workers’ rights and protections

� A reaffirmation of the Towards 2016 commitment to use the social partnership Health Forum to implementhealth reforms.

* As the economy and public finances worsened after this framework was agreed, ICTU sought a re-scheduling of this timetable to avoid rapiddepression of economic activity and a devastating effect on public services.

The talks finally collapsed without agreement afterGovernment officials presented unions with a proposalfor a public service levy averaging 7.5% of grossearnings, minus tax relief, across the public service. TheGovernment proposal also included the deferral of thepublic service Towards 2016 pay increases and a 25%across-the-board reduction in travel and subsistencerates. IMPACT then led a massive campaign of politicallobbying, which was supported by other public serviceunions and involved hundreds of IMPACT membersand others. This culminated in national newspaperadverts and a mass lobby of TDs’ constituencies in themiddle of February.

The union also put a massive mobilisation effort intoICTU’s national demonstration on 21st February, whenover a third of the union’s members participated in anevent that attracted well over 120,000 protesters. Fourdays later, almost all ICTU unions including IMPACTannounced that they would ballot their members forindustrial action over the Government’s approach tothe economic crisis, including the levy, and theGovernment and employers’ decision to abandon thenational agreement. Unions from both the public andprivate sectors agreed that the industrial action wouldbegin with a one-day stoppage on 30th March.However, the Government rushed through legislationto impose the public service levy, which becameeffective on 1st March 2009.

As this report was being finalised, ICTU’s 30th Marchstoppage was deferred after its Executive Councilaccepted an invitation from An Taoiseach Brian Cowento re-enter talks aimed at reaching an agreed nationalpartnership framework for dealing with the economiccrisis. The Taoiseach’s invitation followed extensivebehind-the-scenes work by senior ICTU represent -atives, including IMPACT general secretary PeterMcLoone who insisted that changes to the pensionlevy must form part of the negotiation. IMPACT alsosaid it wanted an agreed framework to deal withbudget shortfalls in various sectors of the publicservice and state agencies.

Just prior to this, IMPACT’s Central Executive Comm -ittee (CEC) decided that it had no basis to sanctionparticipation in the 30th March stoppage after itsmembers voted in favour of industrial action by amargin of 65% in favour and 35% against, which wasmarginally short of the two-thirds majority requiredunder the union’s Rule 25, which deals with industrialaction ballots.

BenchmarkingThe second report of the Public Service BenchmarkingBody (PSBB) was published in December 2007 andrecommended pay increases for just 15 of the 109grades it examined. A detailed report on this wasincluded in IMPACT’s 2006-2008 biennial report. ThePSBB report was greeted with widespread disappoint -ment by most of IMPACT members in the division,which had specific responsibility for two ‘A’ listsubmissions – special needs assistants and localauthority senior executive officers. The division alsomade joint submissions in relation to grades III, V andVII in local authorities, education and health. Seniorexecutive officers within the local authority servicewere awarded a 5% increase and some social workerswere awarded an 8% increase.

The union has rejected the methodology used by thePSBB including the fact that its 12% valuation of publicservice pensions was applied to all grades includingspecial needs assistants, whose pensions rely sub -stantially on social welfare entitlements. The Towards2016 transitional agreement conceded IMPACT'sdemand for a review of the benchmarking process toaddress union concerns about the operation andmethodology of the first and second benchmarkingexercises.

IMPACT also sought payment of the recommendedbenchmarking awards, which led to the Towards 2016transitional agreement saying that the first 5% of theawards would be paid with effect from 1st September2008 and that the implementation of the remainderwould be considered after 2010. However, the pay -ment has not been sanctioned and the Department ofFinance has said that it has no plans to sanctionpayment in the current economic and fiscal circum -stances.

Low payUnions are resisting attempts by employers’ represent -atives to reduce the statutory minimum wage, whichwas last increased to €8.65 in July 2007. The Towards2016 transitional agreement, which has not beenimplemented, included an extra 0.5% increase forworkers earning €11 an hour or less.

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Report 2007-2009

Senior public service payDetails of the 42nd report of the Review Body onHigher Remuneration were included in IMPACT’s 2006-2008 biennial report. The first phase of the recomm -end ed awards was paid in September 2007. Thesecond and third phases, due in September 2008 andMarch 2009, have not yet been sanctioned.

PensionsIMPACT’S 2006-2008 biennial report outlined thedeveloping problem of funded defined benefitschemes in the private sector and commercial statecompanies. The Pensions Board has estimated that 90per cent of these schemes are in significant deficit.ICTU has prioritised this issue in talks with theGovernment and has demanded a pension’s pro -tection fund to deal with insolvencies and newstandards and criteria for schemes with ongoingdeficits. These negative developments have created adifficult overall climate for addressing IMPACT’ssuperannuation issues including the funding ofpensions in the state-funded community andvoluntary sectors.

IMPACT’s 2006-2008 biennial report also outlined theoutcome of the joint union-management workinggroup that dealt with issues arising from theCommission on Public Service Pensions. A revisedmethod of reckoning variable pensionable allowancesfor pension purposes was subsequently implemented.Other agreed recommendations concerning thespouses and children’s scheme have been held up bythe Department of Finance and it is unclear when theywill be implemented.

The Department has rejected the union’s demand forrefunds of contributions where over 40 years’ havebeen paid, saying they will not agree to any change inthe existing practice because:

� Most public servants make explicit pensioncontributions towards their main scheme benefits.Pensionable salary for these public servants isgenerally 5% higher than for their counterpartswho do not make contributions. A refund assought would have the effect of increasing thedifferential between the two groups involved.

� The value of superannuation benefits continues toincrease beyond the 40-year threshold becauseincrements, promotions and pay increases thatoccur after 40 years service are reflected in thepension and superannuation lump sum ultimatelypayable on retirement.

� Unlike public service spouses’ and children’spension schemes, where the costs are generallyshared between the employers and employees,the employee contribution in the main schemerepresents just a small element in the overall costof providing benefits. The second report of thePublic Service Benchmarking Body valued theemployers’ costs of public service pensions at 20%of salary, with contributory employees payingaround 5% on average.

� The claim for refund of contributions has to beplaced in the context of the overall imperative ofsecuring long-run sustainability and affordabilityin pension provision in Ireland, as set out in therecent green paper on pensions.

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IMPACT Local Government, Education and Local Services Division

Travel and subsistenceChanges to the motor mileage and subsistence ratesare normally negotiated in the civil service and thenapplied in a slightly modified form in other parts of thepublic service. The Division has been pursuing out -standing payments in relation to travel and subsis -tence dating back to 2008. These payments have beenapproved in the context of an existing commit ment toreview the anomaly between civil service and localauthority rates.

While there have been no recent discussions onsubsistence rates, a meeting between civil serviceunions and the Department of Finance took place inSeptember 2008 where the Department outlined theresults of an exercise it had undertaken in relation tothe prevailing motor mileage formula. If adopted, thisapproach would have reduced the rates by 4.2% in thesmall car category, 4.63% in the medium car categoryand 1.39% in the large car category. The exercise wasbased on bestselling cars following vehicle registrationtax changes, and only factored in the effect of the carprice changes. The Department said Governmentpolicy of encouraging the use of greener cars shouldbe reflected in the construction of the motor travelrates.

IMPACT countered that the formula was meant to haveregard to vehicles actually purchased and that 2009budgetary changes might also affect car prices. Afurther meeting was held in January 2009 where itemerged that the cost of small and large category carsin the bestselling list had dropped by up to €3,000,while the cost of middle range cars had increasedslightly. Taken with falling fuel prices, the Departmentsignalled that these price falls would lead to asignificant drop in the mileage rate.

Independently of this process, in March 2009 theGovernment imposed revised rates that cut paymentsby 25% across the board as part of its measures toreduce public spending. IMPACT has since lodged aclaim for a review of travel and subsistence rates underthe standard criteria.

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Report 2007-2009

OECD report on Irish public servicesIn April 2008 the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published areport on Ireland’s public services, which found thatthey were delivering high quality services at arelatively low price. The study debunked the myth thatpublic service pay and employment are out of controland reported that the Irish public service is doing“more with less” than other OECD countries, relative tothe size of the overall economy and workforce,because public spending and employment had notkept up with population and economic growth in thelast decade. It found that, compared to other OECDcountries, Ireland had a relatively small public servicegiven the size of its economy and labour force.

It also said that too many arms length agencies hadbeen set up, which led to fragmentation and reducedtransparency, and warned against the centralization ofhuman resource management. It recommended a“careful approach” to performance-related pay andcalled for more mobility in recruitment between thecivil and public service.

The Local Authority National Partnership AdvisoryGroup (LANPAG) made a submission to the OECDreview group. It argued that workplace changes hadsuccessfully been supported by the partnershipprocess in Irish local government.

In November 2008, the Government published thereport of a task force set up to make recommendationson the implementation the OECD report and estab -lished a group to make proposals on the reallocationand rationalisation of public service staff. This four-person ‘special group on public service numbers andexpenditure programmes’ is to “examine the currentexpenditure programmes in each Department andmake recommendations for reducing public servicenumbers” with the aim of eliminating the budgetdeficit by 2011. It is chaired by economist ColmMcCarthy and is due to make a final report to theMinister for Finance by the end of June 2009. Its termsof reference do not include pay or pension issues.

Funding and jobsThe deteriorating economic situation has had a verysevere impact on local government finances andeducation services. Reductions in the local govern -ment fund and the rate base of local authorities,coupled with a major slowdown in development, havecreated serious budget difficulties for local authorities.More than 1,000 temporary workers are threatenedwith job losses in the local government sector.Similarly, budget cuts throughout the educationsystem have imposed major challenges on the union,as well as its members who are trying to maintaindecent services.

Following the July 2008 Government announcementof a 3% payroll expenditure cut in all parts of the publicservice, an IMPACT initiative led to the Local AuthorityNational Partnership Advisory Group (LANPAG) beingasked to establish formal structures under the‘handling significant change’ protocol to tackle thechallenges facing the sector. This was later expandedto deal with all reductions in expenditure facing localauthorities. There was an inconsistent response to thisapproach throughout the country. Some IMPACTbranches have made progress in preventing job losseswhile others have experienced little serious engage -ment from management. The DEC is keeping theprocess continuously under review.

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IMPACT Local Government, Education and Local Services Division

Jobs and services

Public service staffingJust before this report went to press in March 2009, theDepartment of Finance issued draconian employmentcontrols in the public services, which included thefollowing measures:

� A general moratorium on recruitment, promotionsand acting appointments to almost all grades

� The application of this general moratorium tofixed-term posts and to the renewal of fixed-termcontracts

� The requirement of prior sanction from the financeminister, on an “exceptional basis,” for filling of anypost covered by the moratorium

� Any such filling to be achieved through re -deployment.

In education, special needs assistant posts will bebased on the staffing schedule for 2009-2010 and“other existing policies for deter mining teaching/SNAnumbers.” The union is seeking clarification of this.

The Department of Finance circular that implementsthe new policy says there will be separate correspon -dence on arrangements for consultation with unionson the issue of redeployment.

IMPACT immediately sought clarification of how it wasproposed to interpret and implement the circular andexpressed strong concerns about the negative impactit would have on services and staff. The union reit er -ated its long-standing rejection of the blunt in -strument of recruit ment embargoes and the blanketnon-renewal of temporary contracts, which coulddevastate services and substantially increase unem -ployment. The union had already sought an agreedframework for dealing with public service recruitmentand staffing issues in the national talks that resumed inMarch 2009 and was continuing to pursue this as thisreport went to print.

Workers’ rightsIMPACT’s 2006-2008 biennial report outlined thecomprehensive new package of workplace protectionsagreed in the Towards 2016 national agreement. Thesewere further strengthened in the Towards 2016transitional agreement and, although the agreementhas not been implemented, ICTU is still pressing forlegislation in a number of areas including the pre -vention of victimisation of trade union members andinducements aimed at forcing people to leave theirunion. The transitional agreement also concededICTU’s demand for a review to consider the legal andother steps required to enable collective bargainingmechanisms established under previous agreementsto operate as intended.

In April 2008, IMPACT won an important case on fixed–term workers’ rights in the European Court of Justice,which established that fixed-term public servants areentitled to the same benefits as their full-timecolleagues in areas including pay and pensions. Anumber of similar cases have been fought and won inlocal government.

In the summer of 2008, an EU agreement led to theadoption of a European directive on agency workerswhich, once transposed into domestic legislation, willsee agency workers entitled to the same pay andconditions as permanent staff. Unions across Europehave fought for these protections for years and ICTU ispressing for the directive to be implemented quickly inIreland, even though EU rules give the Governmentuntil December 2011 to transpose it into Irish law.

Trade unions also won an important victory inDecember 2008 when the European Parliament re -jected proposed amendments to working time laws.Prior to the vote IMPACT wrote to all Irish MEPs urgingthem to reject the proposed changes, which wouldhave led to weaker protections for workers in Irelandand elsewhere. The changes would have preserved anexisting opt-out, which was known to have led toworkers doing excessive hours in Britain and else -where. It would also have brought adverse changes tothe way on-call working time is determined as well asextending the period over which employers couldaverage working time.

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Report 2007-2009

EducationThe profile of members in education has been greatlyenhanced by the new national branches and the unionheld a successful national seminar on educational in -equality in January 2009. The Special Needs Assistants’(SNA) branch and School Secretaries’ branch haveundertaken joint training courses and subsequentlyworked to put better branch and regional repres -entative structures in place and increase membership.Since their establishment, membership of the SchoolSecretaries’ branch has more than doubled to over 600members. SNA branch membership has also doubledand now stands at over 3,500, with new applicationscontinuing apace.

Both branch committees draw their membership froma representative geographic spread. The SNA branchhas established a regional committee structure whichfeeds into the main branch committee. Both partici -pated successfully in the 2008 IMPACT biennialconference where the school secretaries’ branch had aparticularly good conference that highlighted theirnational campaign to improve pay and conditions.

IMPACT achieved a major breakthrough in the schoolsecretaries’ campaign in the Towards 2016 transitionalagreement when it won a commitment to a forum todiscuss school secretaries' and caretakers' pay andconditions. This included agreement that there wouldbe early talks on a minimum rate and agreement hasbeen reached on an initial survey of existing terms andconditions.

The SNAs have built on the work of the formervocational group to consolidate agreed terms andconditions. Proposals have been made to deal withdifficulties regarding incremental credit for previousservice and to establish a panel system to address joblosses on a localised basis.

Membership has also increased in the union’s VECbranch, where negotiations with the educationdepartment resulted in the underpinning of a sectoralagreement on contracts of indefinite duration, to the

benefit of up to 200 members. Separate negotiationsresulted in agreement to fill one-fifth of commonrecruit ment pool posts by open competition and aLabour Relations Commission (LRC) process saw theappointment of an agreed independent chair of thereview of the Rochford report agreements.

A number of individual cases were also brought to theLRC resulting in favourable recommendations onissues like incremental credit. Agreed proposals from aprocess chaired by a senior LRC official on a long -standing dispute between IMPACT, the Teachers’ Unionof Ireland and the education department have yet toemerge. Separate discussions with the depart mentresulted in a draft circular granting increments toacting IMPACT grades.

Governmental budget cuts since September 2008resulted in the loss of some temporary jobs, predom -inantly in Kerry education services and County DublinVEC. These remain under discussion.

A new Institutes of Technology branch was establishedearly in 2008 and, following a series of workplace visitsand recruitment campaigns, membership quickly roseto almost 1,200 members by the end of the year. Sincethen a campus-wide acting-up agreement has beenreached with IOTI and implemented. A revised griev -ance and disciplinary procedure was agreed with IOTIand DIT, and agreement was reach on the one-in-fiverequirement to fill common recruitment pool posts byopen competition.

Discussions with the IOTI resulted the granting ofincrements to staff who are acting-up, and discussionsaimed at replicating the VEC circular on contracts ofindefinite duration are at an advanced stage. AnIMPACT claim rejecting the outcome of the McGuinn -ess report on the grading of sports and societiesofficers was rejected at the Labour Court early in 2009.A review of the National Partnership Forum wasconducted.

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IMPACT Local Government, Education and Local Services Division

Sectoral and vocational developments

A new School Completion Programme branch wasestablished in 2007 and agreement on regrading of co-ordinators with credit for prior service was reached. Anumber of individual cases concerning incrementalcredit and other matters have been taken to the LRC. Aclaim for access to the public service superannuationscheme for schools completion staff is underdiscussion with the Department. In October 2008, thebranch made presentations to the Dáil Committee onEducation resulting in an easing of proposed cutbacksfor schools completion projects.

A new National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB)branch was established in 2008 and it participated inan independent review, which recommended theupgrade of certain administration posts. This wasrejected by NEWB management. The branch took issuewith management’s refusal to engage on budgetarycutbacks in late 2008, resulting in the renewal ofregular industrial relations meetings. A number ofindividual cases were taken to the LRC, as were claimsfor the promulgation of the statutory superannuationscheme and the payment of a working from homeallowance.

Environmental techniciansIMPACT has been extremely frustrated in relation to itsclaims regarding access to promotion for environ -mental staff and anomalies in relation to their dutiesthroughout the country. The matter has been referredto the Labour Relations Commission.

Fire servicesRevised staffing structures for senior fire officers havebeen successfully implemented in each local authority.The union has met the Local Government Manage -ment Services Board regarding its grave concernsabout the obligations of fire personnel with respect toHealth and Safety Authority guidelines. The union isawaiting a response from the employers.

Internal auditorsThe Internal Auditors’ vocational group has beenpursuing a claim for career development. The grouphas commissioned an independent report setting outthe necessity for local authorities to have access toqualified internal auditors. The vocational groupcontinues to pursue its claim.

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Report 2007-2009

LibrariesIMPACT’s Libraries vocational group re-establisheditself as the Non-Professional Library Staff vocationalgroup with the approval of the union’s centralexecutive committee. The group has actively beenconsidering the position arising from the creation of anon-professional grade V post within the libraryservice. Meetings have been held with the LocalGovernment Management Services Board arising froma dispute over the criteria for eligibility for promotionto this grade. The union believes candidates for thispost must have suitable library experience as set out inthe terms of the agreement that led to the creation ofthe grade. The union also has concerns in relation tothe potential inter-transferability of general servicestaff with library staff which could lead to theimposition of unsocial hours on general service staffwithout their agreement. The union has agreed to referthe dispute to the Labour Relations Commission.

Social workersThe Social Workers’ vocational group met the LocalGovernment Management Services Board about theirgrading claim and agreement was reached onqualifications and particulars for senior social workpositions. The employers pointed to the financialdifficulties currently being experienced by localauthorities but said they had no objections toindividual local authorities making upgradings subjectto the agreement of the manager. The overall claim hasbeen referred to the Labour Relations Commission andthe union is pursuing an equality case in relation to theapplication of added years for social workers and othergrades.

Veterinary inspectorsVeterinary inspectors are seeking a meeting with theLocal Government Management Services Board inrespect of a number of issues including access toadded years and the application of contracts ofindefinite duration to staff. The vocational group is alsoseeking a revision of the application of the 1%‘efficiency and effectiveness’ allowance.

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IMPACT Local Government, Education and Local Services Division

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Report 2007-2009

Appendices

Clerical/administrativeFigures current 1st September 2008 unless otherwiseindicated.

Grade 3 Clerical Officer, Library Assistant24,408 - 25,555 - 26,697 - 27,844 - 28,992 - 30,136 -31,279 - 32,419 - 33,568 - 34,710 - 35,858 - 38,021 -39,5561

Grade 4 Assistant Staff Officer, Senior LibraryAssistant, Revenue Collector (national grade),Storekeeper Grade B29,825 - 31,995 - 34,193 - 35,831 - 37,411 - 39,548 -41,093 - 42,663 - 44,1061 - 45,5562

Grade 5 Staff Officer, Assistant Librarian, LegalAssistant, Storekeeper Grade A42,663 - 44,080 - 45,498 - 46,916 - 48,333 - 49,9751 -51,6162

Grade 6 Senior Staff Officer, Executive Librarian,Senior Legal Assistant, Clerk of Works, BuildingInspector47,675 - 48,869 - 50,312 - 53,023 - 54,642 - 56,6561 -58,6822

Grade 7 Administrative Officer, Town Clerk withpopulation of over 5,00050,014 - 51,283 - 52,766 - 54,254 - 55,744 - 57,071 -58,432 - 59,751 - 61,064 - 63,3211 - 65,5872

Senior Executive Officer68,839 - 70,568 - 73,329 - 76,092 - 78,860 - 81,598 -84,353 - 87,4801 - 90,5952

Town clerksPopulation of over 15,00068,839 - 70,568 - 73,329 - 76,092 - 78,860 - 81,598 -84,353 - 87,4801 - 90,5952

Population less than 5,00047,675 - 48,869 - 50,312 - 53,023 - 54,642 - 56,6561 -58,6822

Population of over 5,00050,014 - 51,283 - 52,766 - 54,254 - 55,744 - 57,071 -58,432 - 59,751 - 61,064 - 63,3211 - 65,5872

Technical gradesTechnician Grade II28,935 - 30,022 - 31,123 - 32,215 - 33,292 - 34,396 -35,475 - 36,584 - 37,680 - 38,719 - 39,873 - 41,2301 -42,5752

Technician Grade I39,873 - 40,567 - 41,478 - 42,390 - 43,285 - 44,193 -45,020 - 46,5491 - 48,0842

Executive Technician42,845 - 43,966 - 45,114 - 46,256 - 47,403 - 48,544 -50,1931 - 51,8382

Senior Executive Technician45,699 - 46,679 - 48,020 - 50,291 - 51,662 - 53,5671 -55,4812

Chief Technician47,289 - 48,470 - 49,861 - 51,255 - 52,656 - 53,905 -55,177 - 56,407 - 57,628 - 59,7581 - 61,8982

Local government welfare andsocial worker Housing Welfare Officer39,673 - 41,673 - 43,768 - 45,842 - 47,898 - 49,973 -52,051 - 53,601 - 55,170 - 56,2711

Social Worker38,049 - 40,098 - 42,224 - 44,346 - 46,450 - 48,602 -50,722 - 52,349 - 53,978 - 55,0591

Professionally Qualified Housing WelfareOfficer/Social Worker45,819 - 48,099 - 50,379 - 52,663 - 54,940 - 57,219 -59,500 - 60,6921

16

IMPACT Local Government, Education and Local Services Division

Appendix one - salary scales

1 = After three years satisfactory service at the maximum.2 = After six years satisfactory service at the maximum.

Engineer grades County Engineer84,298 - 87,427 - 90,550 - 93,677 - 96,803 - 100,0921 -103,3772

Senior Engineer78,581 - 80,508 - 82,427 - 84,352 - 86,275 - 88,206 -91,1111 - 94,0192

Senior Executive Engineer66,514 - 68,616 - 70,719 - 72,819 - 74,926 - 77,025 -79,140 - 81,7961 - 84,4462

Executive Engineer49,710 - 51,586 - 53,464 - 55,345 - 57,226 - 59,105 -60,985 - 62,857 - 64,745 - 66,619 - 68,7801 - 70,9442

Assistant Engineer42,831 - 44,699 - 46,552 - 48,410 - 50,274 - 52,130 -53,986 - 55,846 - 57,715 - 59,6251 - 61,5372

Graduate Engineer (range)33,993 - 37,500 - 40,991

Other gradesRent Collector (salaried)25,997 - 26,849 - 27,704 - 28,556 - 29,407 - 30,263 -31,114 - 31,965 - 32,698 - 34,1281 -(bonus €2,785)

Rent Collector (fee per cottage)46.767

Branch Librarian (hourly rate)12.471 - 13.058 - 13.641 - 14.227 - 14.814 - 15.398 -15.982 - 16.565 - 17.152 - 17.735 - 18.322 - 19.427 -20.2111

City and County Librarian64,237 - 65,851 - 68,426 - 71,005 - 73,588 - 76,143 -78,715 - 81,6311 - 84,5382

Management grades Dublin City Manager202,461

Cork County Manager171,313

Cork City Manager and County Managers in DunLaoghaire-Rathdown, Fingal and South DublinCounty Councils157,967

Level 4 County Managers, Managers of Donegal,Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Limerick, Mayo, Wexfordand Wicklow and Managers of Clare, Kilkenny,Limerick City, Louth, Meath, Tipperary SR,Westmeath146,845

Level 5 City and County Managers and DublinAssistant City Managers, Managers of Carlow,Cavan, Laois, Leitrim, Longford, Monaghan,Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary NR,Waterford, Waterford City and Galway City136,581

Assistant County Managers93,231 - 97,470 - 101,708 - 105,945 - 110,183

County Secretary/Finance Officer/ DevelopmentOfficer (ndc) 68,839 - 70,568 - 73,329 - 76,092 - 78,860 - 81,598 -84,353 - 87,4801 - 90,5952

17

Report 2007-2009

1 = After three years satisfactory service at the maximum.2 = After six years satisfactory service at the maximum.

18

IMPACT Local Government, Education and Local Services Division

Motor Mileage RatesScale ARates per mile effective from 12th March 2009

Official motor travel Engine capacity Engine capacity Engine capacity in a calendar year up to 1200cc 1201 to 1500cc 1501cc and over

cent cent centup to 4,000 miles 64.54 76.94 97.954,000 miles and over 34.91 39.14 47.36

Rates per kilometre effective from 12th March 2009

Official motor travel Engine capacity Engine capacity Engine capacity in a calendar year up to 1200cc 1201 to 1500cc 1501cc and over

cent cent centup to 6,437km 40.11 47.82 60.886,438km and over 21.70 24.33 29.43

Scale BRates per mile effective from 12th March 2009

Official motor travel Engine capacity Engine capacity Engine capacity in a calendar year up to 1,200cc 1,201 to 1,500cc 1,501 and over

Annual allowance Annual allowance Annual allowance858 912 1,015

cent cent centup to 4,000 miles 37.19 45.91 60.024,001miles and over 42.32 48.29 58.77

Rates per kilometre effective from 12th March 2009

Official motor travel Engine capacity Engine capacity Engine capacity in a calendar year up to 1,200cc 1,201 to 1,500cc 1,501 and over

Annual allowance Annual allowance Annual allowance858 912 1,015

cent cent centup to 6,437km 23.11 28.53 37.306,438km and over 26.30 30.01 36.52

Domestic subsistence rates Effective 12th March 2009Class of Allowances Night Allowances Day Allowances

Normal Reduced Detention 10 hours or 5 hours but lessRate Rate Rate more than 10 hrs

A 108.99 100.48 54.48 33.61 13.71B 107.69 92.11 53.87 33.61 13.71

Appendix two –travel and subsistence rates

Architects Frances Power, City Architects, Dublin CityCouncil, Civic Offices, BA West, Fishamble Street,Dublin 8.

Archivists Michael Lynch, 25 River Walk, Oakpark,Tralee, Co Kerry.

Arts Officers Jenny Sherwin, Arts Officer, WicklowCounty Council, Wicklow.

Branch Librarians Breda Bollard, Bohilla, WhitechurchRoad, Dublin 14.

Civil Defence Officers Edward Cooney, Civil DefenceHQ, Heywood Road, Clonmel, Co Tipperary.

Clerks of Works Tim Callan, Laois County CouncilCounty Hall, Portlaoise, Co Laois.

Community and Enterprise Development OfficersRena Cody, Waterford County Council, Dungarvan, CoWaterford.

County and City Librarians Donal Tinney, CountyLibrary, Sligo.

Directors of Regional Authorities John Byrne, Director,Mid-East Regional Authority, County Buildings, StationRoad, Wicklow.

Education Centres Grainne Haughney, DrumcondraEducation Centre, Drumcondra, Dublin 9.

Environmental Workers Antoin Kiely, Limerick CountyCouncil, Limerick.

Estate Managers Gerrry Farrell, 26 Ard Aoibhinn,Athenry, Co Galway.

Executive Librarians Tony Cox, Donore, Multifarnham.Co Westmeath.

Directors of Finance Peter Scully, Laois CountyCouncil, County Hall, Portlaoise.

Fire Officers, Chief Finian Joyce, Chief Fire Officer,Leitrim County Council, Leitrim.

Fire Officers, Local Authority Eoin O’Donnell, MallowFire Station, Mallow, Co Cork.

Fire Officers, National Michael Forrest, Fire Station,Tralee, Co Kerry.

Grade IV-VII Patricia Mellsop, Midlands RegionalHospital, Tullamore, Co Offaly.

Heritage Officers Lorcan Scott, Carlow County Council,County Offices, Carlow.

IT Officers Marion O’Neill, Head of InformationSystems, South Tipperary County Council, EmmetStreet, Clonmel, Co Tipperary.

Internal Auditors Michael Bermingham, KildareCounty Council, St. Mary's, Naas, Co Kildare.

Library Assistants/Senior Library Assistants AngelaReilly, Monaghan County Library, The Diamond,Clones, Co Monaghan.

Museum Curators Liam Bradley, Monaghan CountyMuseum, Monaghan Town, Co Monaghan.

Planners Alison Scott, Planning Department, DublinCity Council, Civic Offices, Dublin 8.

Revenue Collectors Sean O’Reilly, Leitir, Bailieborough,Co Cavan.

Social Workers Pat Richardson, Dublin City Council,Civic Offices, Dublin 8.

Solicitors Thomas J O’Donohoe, 7 Pollnarooma West,Knocknacarra, Galway.

Local Authority Storekeepers Sean McHugh, SligoCounty Council, Riverside, Sligo.

Technicians John Menton, Westmeath County Council,Mullingar, Co Westmeath.

Town Clerks David Coleman, Tipperary UDC, TownClerk's Office, Dan Breen House, Co Tipperary.

Veterinary Officers Michael O’Sullivan, Cavan CountyCouncil, Cavan.

19

Report 2007-2009

Appendix three –vocational groups

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