Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Workers and Unemployed Action Group) | Oireachtas source

The amendment before us to cut the sick leave arrangements for public sector workers is a savage attack on those workers. In his contribution the Minister mentioned that this was a Labour Court recommendation and is supported by some of the trade unions involved. We must never forget that these changes were demanded by the Government under threat and indeed under a bullying regime. However, I am still amazed that some public service unions agreed to these measures. Trade unions exist to protect and improve the pay and conditions of their members. This is certainly not an improvement in pay or conditions. Clearly we not only need a change of government but also need radical changes in the trade union movement.

The new section 7 is an enabling section, enabling the Minister to cut sick-leave entitlements across the public service. While it does not specify the details of the cuts, they are widely known and were mentioned by the Minister in his contribution. From one year on full pay in the preceding four years, sick leave is to be reduced to 13 weeks on full pay with the next 13 weeks on half pay in the preceding four-year period. This represents a reduction to three eights - less than half - of the previous entitlement. This is a massive cut affecting sick public sector workers. It is another example of the Government's hostility to public servants who have suffered several rounds of cuts to pay and pensions and the imposition of more onerous conditions of service.

Public sector workers competed for careers in the public service based on the pay, conditions and pensions that existed at the time. Now, having given many years of satisfactory public service the Government is moving the goalposts.

While by far the worst impact is on sick people, this new cut will in effect reduce the pay of all. The cost of income continuance insurance, normally deducted from salary, will more than double. Many public service workers, across the sector, teachers, nurses, gardaí, social workers and many others, work in very stressful situations and have a high incidence of work-related illness. There is objective evidence of this in their income continuance schemes. These changes being made by the Minister are a savage blow to public sector workers who suffer work-related illnesses.

Probably the most regressive and disturbing measure in this amendment is its retrospective aspect. A person who has been sick for more than 26 weeks in the past four years will have no sick leave entitlement from the day that these measures come into effect. The retrospective aspect of this legislation is unconstitutional. I have had sight of strong legal advice to this effect. There are several areas in which this legislation can be challenged on a constitutional basis, for instant retrospective legislation is prima facieunconstitutional pursuant to Article 15. The retrospective effect of the legislation amounts to an unjust attack on property rights. The retrospective effect of the legislation amounts to an attack on that individual's constitutional guarantee of equality pursuant to Article 40.1. Pursuant to private contract law the employer is stopped from unilaterally varying the terms of the contract of employment retrospectively so as to include past periods of sick leave lawfully availed of at the material time when prospectively applying the new reduced sick leave scheme. This amendment seriously affects serving public servants. It has a particularly obnoxious retrospective aspect which I believe is unconstitutional and I believe that the Minister should withdraw this section immediately.

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