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

The Public Service Pay and Pensions Bill is anti-trade union legislation. It includes oppressive measures which are not included in the recent public service pay agreement. It also includes punishments for trade unionists whose unions do not agree to the new industrial relations agreement proposed by their employers. Among these is an increment freeze which is essentially a punishment pay cut, the industrial relations equivalent of a punishment beating. How can members of the Independent Alliance, including the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath and Deputy John Halligan, support this attack on the rights of free trade unions? I will propose amendments to delete the increment freeze and other punishment measures. This Bill is a breach of the freedom of association under the International Labour Organization conventions.

I received an email today from a trade union activist who rightly pointed out that this Bill is an inducement for workers to leave and remain outside trade unions. He refers to Part 1, section 3 and Part 1, section 3(6) of the Bill. He says that in that circumstance if at least one of the recognised trade unions or staff associations notifies to the Workplace Relations Commission its assent to the agreement in writing then a public servant in that grade or category who is not a member of a union will not be deemed a non-covered public servant and will escape the punishment measures. He went on to say that it is easy to envisage a situation where one union assents to the agreement and another does not. The direct implication is that members of the non-assenting union can simply leave their union and so escape the punishments being meted out to members of that union. He makes the point that this is a direct financial inducement in legislation to trade union members to leave their union or, looked at another way, blackmail threatened against those who choose to remain. He notes that it is also, in some cases, a contractual inducement in terms of accelerating contracts of indefinite duration which may be withdrawn as part of the punishments, as has been inflicted recently on members of the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland, ASTI.

A number of unions are opposed to the measures in the Bill. The Teachers' Union of Ireland, TUI, has asked members to contact their public representatives about it. I received a letter today from a member of the TUI and I will read it into the record. It states:

I am requesting that you, as a public representative in my constituency, seek amendments to the Public Service Pay and Pensions Bill 2017 to remove the unacceptable threats it contains. ... This Bill represents an oppressive effort by Government to coerce compliance with a national agreement that, in its current form, leaves gross injustice intact in terms of a continuing regime of pay inequality for those who entered the profession since 1 January 2011. The three main teachers' unions have voted against the public service stability agreement in national ballots. The main reason in each case is the acceptance that the agreement would halt progress in the campaign for pay equality for a further three years. ... The punitive draconian consequences for members of unions not covered by the agreement mapped out in this Bill are disproportionate and unprecedented. They include a freeze on increments for three years and a nine month delay of pay restoration measures. These threats would have the most severe effect on the same new and recent entrants to the public service who have suffered discrimination and pay inequality by virtue simply of the date that they commenced their public service employment. ... As my local representative I urge you to reject the oppressive approach set out in the Bill and urge that you seek amendments that remove these unacceptable threats.

Basically, this Bill provides for a two-tier pay structure that discriminates against public servants who started employment after 1 January 2011. This has created a huge recruitment and retention difficulty in various areas of the public service, including the health service and education. It affects nurses, doctors, teachers, gardaí and public servants who commenced employment since 1 January 2011.

It is important to note that the attacks on trade unionists who are not party to the public service stability agreement are not in the trade union agreement itself. They are only in this Bill. This is an attempt by the Government to blackmail Deputies into supporting an attack on the right to free trade unions and the right to freedom of association under the International Labour Organization's conventions. The Minister says the Bill represents a complete unwinding of emergency measures. Does that mean this anti-trade union Bill is a model for future permanent industrial relations legislation?

The failure to repeal the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2013 power to certify a financial emergency every June retains the possibility of new emergency pay and pension cuts being enacted in new FEMPI legislation. A number of unions have sought to have the sanctions against uncovered employees removed. This Bill is fundamentally flawed in this respect. The Government must withdraw the anti-trade union sections of the Bill, including the punishments or sanctions sections.

Of course, the Bill provides for pay increases for those who are already very well paid, including Members of the Oireachtas, and for significant pension increases for 30 former Ministers and taoisigh. In fact, it provides for an increase of €15,000 per year in pensions to the former taoisigh, Mr. Bertie Ahern and Mr. Brian Cowen, and slightly smaller increases for other former taoisigh. The former Taoiseach, Mr. Bertie Ahern, will have a pension of €152,000 per year. On the other hand, new entrants to the public service will not get a pay increase of even 1 cent.

This is significant and vicious discrimination against low-paid public servants. I will be proposing an amendment to bring about pay equality between all public servants.

There is no proposal in this Bill to improve the atrocious pension scheme imposed on new entrants. It would be illegal in the private sector because there is no effective employer contribution. On the other hand, former taoisigh and Ministers who already have significant pensions are entitled to significant increases as high as €15,000 per year while pay increases are available for Deputies and Senators.

The other aspect of this Bill is the question of the emergency. In the explanatory memorandum, the Minister speaks about a full unwinding of the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest, FEMPI, Acts through this measure. This is, of course, incorrect. The Bill fails to repeal subsection (2) of section 12 of the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2013. This section, which enables the Government to certify the continuation of a financial emergency before 30 June of each year, remains. This allows the Government to continue retaining a portion of the private property of pensioners and even to bring in new pension cuts. This is despite the fact that the former Minister for Finance confirmed on a number of occasions, for example when speaking before the Committee on Budget Oversight, that the emergency is over. The former Tánaiste, Deputy Burton, also declared that the financial emergency was over. However, this section of the FEMPI legislation of 2013 still remains in force in accordance with this Bill. I appeal to Fine Gael, the Independent Alliance and Fianna Fáil to stop the attacks on the rights of free trade unions, to withdraw the punishment sections in this Bill, to end the injustice caused to new entrants and to end the financial emergency by repealing the relevant section of the 2013 Act. If these amendments are not made during the progress of this Bill through the House, particularly on Committee Stage, I will certainly oppose and vote against this Bill.

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