Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

The Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act was misnamed, because the financial emergency measures were not in the public interest but in the bondholders' interest. With undue haste, the legislation was rammed through the Dáil in 2013 in a particular effort to pressure and blackmail public sector workers who were gearing up to resist the attacks from the Government. It was also in the interest of Fine Gael, the Labour Party and the billionaire-owned media to try to pretend that public servants were somehow responsible for the recession and for the economic collapse. If one had to choose a single group that paid extremely dearly in the recession, it would have to be public sector workers, who had imposed on them pay cuts, a so-called pension levy, which was punishing, longer hours and more work.

What we see in the Bill is not pay restoration; it is partial and it is phased. It was disgraceful, particularly if we consider the presence of the Labour Party in the Government, that the FEMPI legislation was rushed through the Dáil. It gave the public sector employer more powers than even private bosses have in this country to cut pay and pensions and change working conditions unilaterally without any reference to or agreement from the workers involved. It is absolutely disgraceful legislation that should have been met with a general strike, but unfortunately we have a trade union leadership that is in collaboration with sections of the Government and that accepted the idea that there was no alternative to austerity or to the market or capitalism itself, and have capitulated completely to this idea. Of course, many of them have very close connections with the leadership of the Labour Party. No resistance was put up by the trade union leadership to the legislation at the time.

Why is FEMPI not being removed? If we are in recovery, why are the punitive measures taken against public sector workers being left in place? The point has been made that the cost of living has increased dramatically, particularly the cost of renting. In Dublin, rents have increased by approximately €150 per month over the past two years, and a survey shows that rents in my constituency increased by €241 per month. However, public sector workers and all workers have had their incomes dramatically cut despite the fact that rents have returned to 2007 levels in cities. If the restoration continued at the pace of this Bill, it would take six to nine years for public sector workers to regain what they lost at the time of the recession. There is a recovery all right for the rich; the top 300 have seen their wealth increase by €34 billion while the rest of us have been going through these swingeing cuts.

We have continued tax evasion by corporations. The Government has decided to create another lucrative loophole with the knowledge development box, and it is taking a case to prevent Apple, the biggest corporation on the planet, from paying tax back to this country, which is incredible. This level of tax evasion dwarfs the pay restoration taking place in the Bill. The conditions imposed on workers are being left in place, including the longer hours and many other conditions that the Government forced workers to undertake, including a lack of resources. The FEMPI legislation has done the damage and the resources are not being restored.

We will continue to see a two-tiered public service, whereby new teachers and nurses will earn 14% less than those in existing jobs. This is completely disgraceful. What a legacy to hand young people who have studied and worked hard to attain the qualifications. Will this be restored or will it be left in place? We have also seen casualisation and part-time work throughout the public service. In my sector, approximately one quarter to one third of teachers do not have full-time or permanent jobs. Many of them work in Aldi and Lidl and do babysitting and other part-time jobs at the weekend to supplement their incomes. This will do nothing for them. They will still be left doing this. I totally welcome and understand the rejection by teachers of this. Essentially, they see it for what it is because they know the reality. They are still expected to give extra productivity, drive-by inspections are taking place and there are the new curriculums and syllabi.

There are larger classes and special needs assistants and resource hours have been lost. Large amounts of money have been taken out of schools, etc. There is a similar story with nurses and other public servants, who have all seen their workloads increase dramatically.

It is no surprise that nurses and train drivers are balloting and discussing industrial action for the next few weeks as they have been listening to the guff from the Government about a recovery and correctly stating that if there is a recovery, they should have a piece of it; 63% of people have said they do not feel any recovery, although they may see or hear about it. The Labour Party, in particular, is trying to save the public sector worker vote that it got in 2011, when many public servants looked to the party to protect them from the Tories of Fine Gael. Instead, Labour put people into the Department that would implement the cuts, including the Minister, Deputy Brendan Howlin, which was incredible. In many other Departments, Labour was swinging the axe against workers, having bought their votes on the basis that the workers would be protected.

This Bill will not in any way save the Labour Party and the budget will not do so either. Public sector workers have long memories because for the past seven or eight years, they have been apportioned the blame. They were the victims, in many cases, of a very divisive media campaign, which they had to listen to on a daily basis as they got up to do their jobs. The insinuation was they were somehow to blame for the recession, when it was the bondholders who were repaid, the speculators and the private sector which largely caused the problem. I wonder why the Minister of State expects public servants to be happy that some of their pay is being restored but the Government is leaving in all the savage conditions it imposed, using the recession and crisis to dramatically drive down the conditions and numbers in the work force. The numbers in the public service were dramatically reduced, leaving much strain on those who worked in hospitals and key services in the country.

It is time to stop the war on public sector workers. The pension levy should be completely removed, as it and the universal social charge was meant to be a temporary measure. It should be taken out and all public servants should be restored to the same rates of pay. We should not have a two-tier position, which is extremely insulting for everybody working with a similar qualification. Young people are being expected to work for less but they will not and should not put up with that.

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