Council workers protest over ‘docked’ Christmas pay

Dozens of outdoor staff employed by South Dublin County Council have occupied the council offices in Tallaght this afternoon, claiming their Christmas pay packets have been reduced by up to €250.

A brief statement issued by the council in the last few minutes said it “can confirm that a number of staff from the council’s public realm section are currently engaged in unofficial industrial action in County Hall, Tallaght”.

“The protest relates to issues arising from the implementation of standard work place procedures relating to accountability, traceability of work records and payroll reporting within the organisation.”

A Siptu shop steward told The Irish Times the dispute over the compilation of timesheets had been on-going for more than a month , but as workers opened their last pay packet before Christmas today, they found a range of traditional allowances had not been paid.

The Siptu spokesman said the dispute involved a management decision that in future foremen would fill in the timesheets of the outdoor staff, instead of clerical timekeepers.

But he said the foremen had resisted this change, as a result of which the council had decided not to pay allowances to outdoor staff.

“It is not even our dispute but our pay has been docked,” said the spokesman.

He explained it was agreed that staff would be paid for the weeks ending December 12th and December 18th, on December 12th. But when staff opened their pay packets expecting a double week they were very disappointed.

“We have Christmas bills to pay, and some of us wanted to send a few bob to our children. What we want to know is why did this happen now,” he said.