A chara, – As a public service worker, I will never forget 2009. In the past year, my pay was cut 7 per cent, my pension fund was raided and over half of the funds in it were given to AIB and Bank of Ireland, I have had to take on increased work hours due to the recruitment ban and the Government cancelled our pay deal unilaterally (passing legislation to exempt itself from the normal labour relations procedures applicable to such an action).
By the time the weekend rolls round, I am too exhausted and skint to do anything except stay at home and read the Sunday papers which characterise me as both underworked and overpaid. They complain about my job security even as they demand I be laid off. It is clear that some parts of our national press would like to abolish the public service entirely and replace it with seven dwarves who will “work all day and get no pay”.
Public service sacrifices so far have been greeted with nothing but howls for more. A proposed further 5 per cent cut is derided by the national press as a cave in by the Taoiseach. When private sector workers are given unpaid leave this is called reduced hours, but when public service workers are threatened with unpaid leave this is called holidays. The constant narrative being that something is being taken away from private sector workers while something is being given to public service workers – regardless of what’s happening in the real world.
Finally, I am aggrieved that there is constant reference to public sector pay levels whenever there are calls for public service pay cuts. These are two overlapping but distinct groups and it is not fair to quote the pay figures of the public sector, when negotiating further pay cuts for the public service. We cannot give the Government what we do not have. – Is mise,
Madam, – This daft proposal is quite unbelievable. How did it come event to be even discussed? It has Brian Cowen written all over it. Apart from the impossibility of measuring any possible savings, it will hang around for years and its implementation will lead to endless and highly individual daily arguments as each of several hundred thousand public service members argue over the timing or appropriateness of their “days off”! It would be a rostering and scheduling nightmare.
The final straw was the teachers’ statement that any “days off” would have to be school working days – their generous holiday entitlements would remain sacrosanct. Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore is also right – how can the unions agree anything, at this late stage, without membership approval? What would happen when members reject it, as some unions inevitably will?
As to the fundamental reformation of the public services – the last-minute conversion of the unions to this hoary old chestnut reeks of temporary expediency, which will be quickly disregarded if and when they win out on this shameful fudge. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – I suggest that instead of a period of unpaid leave by public workers we should have a period of unpaid work. This would achieve the same savings to the public purse, bring no disruption to the provision of services to the public and be a very significant patriotic act by public service workers.
In order to ease some of the burden this would bring to individuals, banks and other financial institutions could defer the repayment of mortgages by extending the repayment period by a month. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – I find it curious that Gavin Tobin (December 3rd) believes that compulsory unpaid leave is a “perk”. I have never seen short-time working in the private sector described as a “perk”. One might possibly describe the right to take voluntary unpaid leave is a perk, except that denying such a right becomes very close to waged slavery. – Yours, etc,