LEVY REACTION:MEMBERS OF the Teachers' Union of Ireland (TUI) are set to withdraw their co-operation with school inspections as part of the growing campaign against the pension levy.
The union is also recommending that its 14,000 members – both teachers and third-level lecturers – should “reconsider all duties additional to teaching and lecturing, cut out extraneous tasks and solely focus their efforts on their core duties”.
The union is also recommending that members do not engage with inspection procedures in schools including Whole School Evaluations (WSEs) and additional supervision and substitution in schools or Performance Management Development Systems (PMDS) procedures in institutes of technology.
Meanwhile, the trade union representing lower-paid civil servants is to consider industrial action among a range of options in protest against the Government’s new pension levy.
The Civil Public and Services Union (CPSU) said yesterday that it would examine all possible responses to the introduction of the levy, including industrial action, when its executive meets on Monday.
The deputy general secretary of the CPSU, Eoin Ronayne, said yesterday that there had been an overwhelming response by members to the levy.
He said that in 16 years as a trade union official he had not seen a similar volume of communication expressing anger and dismay at the Government’s move.
The executive council of the Irish Nurses’ Organisation (INO) is also to meet to consider the levy on Monday.
INO general secretary Liam Doran said that the meeting would consider the implications of the levy on members as well as assessing feedback from members and other unions.
However, the meeting is not expected to consider any specific responses at this stage.
It is expected the INO could support the move by the trade union Impact for a mass lobbying campaign of TDs’ clinics next weekend.
Mr Doran said the response to the levy had been the strongest the organisation had received on any issue.
He said that INO members were angry both at the extent and disproportionality of the levy and also that it was being imposed at a time when health sector staff were dealing with significant cutbacks.
The Health Service Executive (HSE) said last night that advisers to its chief executive are to reduce their fees by 10 per cent from March.
It said that HSE advisers were excluded from any public sector pension entitlements and that therefore the pension levy announced by the Government on Tuesday would not apply to them.
“However, reflecting the spirit of the Government’s decision in relation to the pension levy, they will be reducing their fees by 10 per cent from March 1st,” the HSE said. The new levy will apply to HSE chief executive Prof Brendan Drumm.