Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I submitted this matter on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week. It is being taken today, but it was tabled on the back of the strike action taken on 18 January. The Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, will be well aware of the situation.

The 1,250 workers - community employment, CE ,supervisors and assistant supervisors - to whom this matter relates are affected by not having occupational pensions. The Labour Court recommendation of 2008 stated that they should have such pensions. Some 11 years later they are still waiting for those pensions. In 2015, the workers in question received a commitment from the then Government to the effect that the issue would be resolved. That Government left office and, in 2016, the current Government, of which the Minister of State is a member, came into power with Fianna Fáil. The matter to which I refer has been stuck in limbo during that period. Fianna Fáil committed to ensure a pension scheme as part of the confidence and supply agreement and that has not happened yet either. Both unions involved, SIPTU and Fórsa, have written to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform about this matter on numerous occasions.

Some 250 supervisors have retired since 2008. These 250 individuals are on statutory redundancy payments only. Up to 40 supervisors retire each year. It is disgraceful that these workers do not have a pension other than the statutory pension. The supervisors and assistant supervisors have a clear pay link with managers, instructors and administrative staff in community training workshops and they are seeking a defined pension scheme similar to that which applies to these grades.

The Government is ignoring the Labour Court recommendation. Those on the opposite side of the House have always stated that they support the Labour Court recommendations, as has proven to be the case in the context of the issues relating to nurses, midwives and psychiatric nurses. I ask the Minister of State to provide a commitment that he will meet these workers and their representatives to discuss how this matter can be dealt with.

The Department cannot keep hiding behind the fact that these are independent groups and acting as a shadow employer. It is bad practice to hide behind the structures of the CE schemes. The existence of employer sponsored occupational pensions marks out decent employers. I am raising with the Minister of State the fact that the Government is being a bad employer by not addressing the issue that these workers desperately need addressed.

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