Monthly Archives: October 2015

CPSU News Update, Other

Branch Secretaries News Update 020/15

To: Each Branch Secretary – Attention All Members
Date: 30th October 2015
News Update: 020/15

Colleagues,

Please bring this News Update to the attention of your Branch members

  1. Right2Change

The Executive Committee met yesterday and after a considered debate voted to step back from involvement in the Right2Change group of unions which has evolved from the Right2Water Unions Group. Right2Change has set itself the target of building on the success of the Right2Water campaign through coordinating a political platform in advance of the next General Election with a view to supporting the election of a progressive left leaning government.    The motion passed by the Executive reaffirms our commitment to campaign against water charges as decided by our Annual Conference previously but resolves that the CPSU cannot participate further in Right2Change as it would run counter to our long standing policy not to be seen to support political parties or individual election candidates.  The Executive is highly conscious of our role as employees of the State and the requirement that we work with the Government of the day regardless of its political make up.

The Executive however recognised that the next Government to be elected will impact directly on our ability to restore pay and conditions which were cut by the current and the previous Governments. In that context the union will make briefing material available to its members to assist them choose wisely who they will vote for in the next Election and to ensure that politicians who support better resourced Public Services and full pay and conditions restoration are elected to the Oireachtas. Unlike private sector workers public servants get the opportunity at least every five years to play a part in selecting their own employer’s representatives and we should use that right to the fullest potential.

The text of the motion passed was:

The Executive accepts decisions made at ADC over the years to the effect that the union is not party political and consequently states that the CPSU cannot support the election of any particular political party or candidates in the next Election.

We continue to oppose water charges in line with our ADC decisions but cannot go further to participate in the Right2Change campaign as it would be contrary to ADC decisions not to take part in party politics.

The Executive will provide its own guidance to members urging them to choose candidates who put public service standards and lower income workers first should they get elected.

Proposed: Betty Tyrrell-Collard and Seconded: Claire Ryan

  1. DeCare Dental Ballot

The Executive agreed yesterday to hold a consultative ballot of the membership to consider proposals to use a significant amount of the members’ subscriptions held in our Benefits Fund Reserves to provide a new Dental Benefit Scheme via an insurance based produced called DeCare Dental.  The new scheme will replace our existing Dental Benefit Scheme for 12 months with the potential to extend the Scheme subject to a review during that period.  A detailed briefing document setting out the benefits and implications of the proposal will be distributed with the ballot papers through the Branch Structure in the next week or so. A circular to Branch Secretaries setting out the Plan and details of the Ballot is being issued today.  The completed ballots must be returned to Head Office by close of business on Monday 23rd November 2015.  It is imperative that each member considers this matter fully and votes whether or not to recommend to the Executive that it spend the large sum of money the Plan will cost for the first year.  The Executive will consider the ballot result and the Plan again for a final time at its meeting on Thursday November 26th 2015. It is planned to carry out a separate Online Survey of members to establish what other non-industrial relations services and benefits might be sourced over time by Head Office and the Executive Committee.

  1. Data Protection Breach – PeoplePoint

The union has been contacted by a number of members relating to an internal data breach involving Personal Data by PeoplePoint which affects over 300 employees and of which they were advised individually by PeoplePoint.  The breach has been brought to the attention of the Data Protection Commissioner by PeoplePoint. It involved the release of personal information to a number of HR Officers in Departments outside the Department in which the individuals work.  This affects members of unions other than the CPSU also and we are liaising in the first instance with our sister unions on Staff Panel to co-ordinate our response on behalf of our members.    Clearly we will represent our members’ interests with PeoplePoint and with DPER through General Council and directly.

  1. DSP Intreo Offices

A meeting has been arranged with the monitoring review group to discuss the recent incidents in Newcastlewest, Waterford and Clonmel.    In relation to Clonmel a further meeting with members and management will take place next week, Moira Haslam will be in attendance.   The Swords Intreo Office opened on Tuesday 27th October and Galway Intreo Office will open on Monday 2nd November.    The Intreo checklist as agreed by Unions and Management has been completed for both offices.    The risk assessments will be forwarded to CPSU head office in the coming days.

Again can members please forward copies of all incidents whether they are verbal or physical to mhaslam@cpsu.ie

  1.    PRD Refund from 2013 to be paid

Under the terms of the Haddington Road Agreement in 2013, the Pension Levy or Pension Related Deduction, (PRD), was to be decreased by €125 per annum.  The HRA came into effect on July 1st 2013 and the reduction due for the balance of that year was €62.50 for every Public Servant. However, as PRD cannot be altered in the course of the tax year, the new rate only took effect from 1st January 2014. The Public Services Committee of the ICTU in the course of meetings with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform since then reminded him that a debt of €62.50 was owed. This was accepted by the Minister and the legislation before the Oireachtas which gives effect to the Lansdowne Road Agreement also makes express provision to pay this debt. It is understood that a ‘one off’ payment of €62.50 will be paid to all Public Servants in this tax year, most likely, in the majority of cases, in December 2015.

 Eoin Ronayne

General Secretary

 

Other, Press/Media Release

Media Release: CPSU response to Budget 2015

Too many small steps rather than a strategic vision

Budget 2016 contains some measures to alleviate the austerity Imposed on Irish people in recent years. However, it is depressingly void of the strategic vision and accompanying measures required to build a New Republic worthy of the State’s founding heroes and to deal successfully with Ireland’s major social and economic challenges. Given the limited resources available to the Government the measures announced cover too wide a spectrum to make any significant inroad into anyone of a number of critical issues such as Homelessness, Childcare or Tax Reform.

Budget 2016, in the context of an emerging recovery, provided an opportunity to reform and rebalance our tax system and significantly increase investment in public services. That opportunity was not taken.

Fair and sufficient taxation is in all our interests.
If we want quality public services then we have to finance them collectively. That inevitably means an increase in the overall tax burden over time. Significant reform of the USC introducing a more stepped application of rates across the range of low to high earnings is in the better interests of Ireland and its services to its citizens rather than the dismantling of the measure as appears to be the goal of Government.  A third higher rate is also morally justifiable in the State where citizens’ welfare comes first.

The CPSU however welcomes some of the positives in Budget 2016 including:

  • Limited USC changes which affect the lower paid
  • Increase in the National Minimum Wage to €9.15 per hour, although a more substantial increase is warranted
  •  Some improvements in Social Welfare benefits
  • Statutory Paternity Leave
  • Extension of free pre-school childcare
  • Additional recruitment in Education, Health and Garda areas
  • Some additional measures to deal with the Housing crisis.

Budget 2016 and the Lansdowne Road Agreement will see the beginning of an improvement in the disposable income of our members but it is only a start along a road that has some distance to travel to full RESTORATION.  That will only be achieved when all the various pay/pension cuts and additional charges and unpaid working hours of the austerity era are reversed.

For more information and comment:
Eoin Ronayne
General Secretary
0872520603

Other

Branch Secretaries News Update 019/15

To: Each Branch Secretary – Attention All Members

Date: 9th October 2015

News Update: 019/15

Colleagues,

Please bring this update to the attention of your members

Flexi leave carryover Following a meeting on the 8th inst., with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to discuss the pilot scheme agreed under the Lansdowne Road Agreement regarding the restoration of the maximum flexi-leave of 1.5 days per period, the Unions representing, CPSU, PSEU, AHCPS and IMPACT, agreed to issue this common circular to advise members of the outcome.

The Lansdowne Road Agreement provided for a 6 month pilot. During this pilot period, staff may take up to 1.5 days maximum flexi-leave per period. It was agreed that the pilot scheme would commence in the November 2015 flexi-period.

The outcome of the pilot scheme will be reviewed after 6 flexi periods. The Official Side are anxious to ensure that restoration will not cause an average of 13 days flexi leave per year to be breached. All sides accept that this is unlikely. If this average is not breached, it is envisaged that the facility will be restored on a permanent basis.

LRA / Pension levy relief and other issues

There will be a modification in how the pension levy relief is applied next year as pay sections cannot make the September adjustment proposed under LRA because of tax year issues.

As a result the threshold change in January will be higher to ensure that everyone gets the full value of relief under the levy due in the Agreement in 2016.

The Union has also received the DPER Counter Statement on our bank time compensation claim and we expect an arbitration hearing shortly, as provided for in the LRA. We also expect to finalise discussions at General Council shortly on an increase in the marriage leave / annual leave threshold.

PMDS Currently the Union is in discussions over PMDS issues including the proposed external appeals process. At last week’s General Council Management came to the meeting with a further proposal for a new rating system, in which a member would be graded acceptable or not acceptable. This new proposal is currently being considered at Executive Committee Level.

Disciplinary Code Intensive negotiations are on-going on a new disciplinary code with our main concern being to ensure a fair system underpinned by the principles of natural justice. We have a number of serious concerns which we are addressing currently at talks including important questions about the investigative stage of the process, the proposed sanctions and the extent of appeals available to various sanctions and to whom those sanctions are appealable. Members will be kept updated as the talks progress including on the question of the underperformance code which has been tabled by Management as part of this discussion. A review of the Grievance Procedure is also planned to begin later this year.

Peoplepoint

Management has agreed to split the next tranche of staff to Peoplepoint over a longer period of time up to August next year. This month DPP, Courts and Legal Aid Board will move, followed by Foreign Affairs and Environment in March 2016 and Oireachtas, Arts Heritage and the Gaeltacht and National Museum in August 2016. This phasing should help ease issues that may have arisen with the move if it had all happened together.

We also raised a number of operational issues including the problem of members being asked for duplicate sick leave certificates and we are awaiting their response on this matter.  For our part we have told them that we cannot accept such situations which inevitably will result in extra cost and stress for members and at least in one case an overpayment being generated, despite certs having issued.

Derek Mullen

Deputy General Secretary