Ms Angela Kerins:

At the end of 2009 National Learning Network, NLN, and RehabCare were advised that FÁS and the HSE intended to reduce the fees paid for the provision of services by between 5.7% and 8%. We had to make a difficult decision about the services being delivered and to make pay adjustments for all staff in the relevant companies from February 2010. As soon as the organisation was advised of the reduction in fees, management immediately engaged with the staff working in the relevant divisions to inform them of the need for adjustment. The pay adjustments were applied to all grades of staff, with the reductions ranging from 5% in the case of staff on lower incomes to more than 10% at higher management levels. The management team met staff all over the country to communicate the necessity for the reductions within the organisation. Following implementation of the pay reductions, SIPTU, in representing a number of staff who had been impacted on, brought the matter to the Labour Court which in a ruling in January 2012 found that the reductions were necessary to maintain the viability of the organisation and the employment it provided. It recommended that the union accept the pay adjustments. Subsequently, the organisation agreed a solution with SIPTU and staff representatives and the matter was resolved in 2012.