Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 30:

In page 9, between lines 2 and 3, to insert the following: “Terms and conditions not to be worsened

8. Except following consultation and in accordance with an agreement negotiated with any recognised trade union or recognised representative or other staff association concerned, no amendment to an enactment effected by the subsequent sections of this Part shall operate or be applied so as to result in a person, while remaining in the same employment, receiving a lesser scale of pay or being made subject to less beneficial terms and conditions of service than the scale of pay to which he or she would have been entitled and the terms and conditions of service to which he or she would have been subject but for the amendment concerned.”.

This amendment requires principal terms and conditions not to be worsened. Provisions along these lines are relatively common in statutes dealing with the pay and conditions of public servants. In the Minister's own Department, she will be familiar with similar provisions in Acts dealing with the transfer of civil servants to work for the Courts Service or as civilian staff of An Garda Síochána. The purpose of the proposed provision is to safeguard against unilateral worsening of pay or other terms and conditions of employment. Such a safeguard is all the more important when, as here, the Minister proposes to effectively arrogate to herself and her colleagues the power to alter such terms and conditions by unilateral action without prior consultation and agreement. We in the Labour Party believe that the need for such a safeguard is clear.

This goes back to the point I raised on the relevant section earlier and in the context of the amendment that was ruled out of order, which is that there ought to be an obligation under law placed on the Minister to consult and engage with uniformed service members, their trade unions or recognised associations when decisions are being made about their terms and conditions. When I refer to terms and conditions, I refer to decisions that will be made in the future regarding optional retirement dates. I will clarify some references the Minister made earlier on the remarks I made on the retirement dates of uniformed service members. In reality, the retirement age for such workers is moving on an optional basis from 60 to 62, albeit with lesser terms and conditions. That is unfortunate. When I refer to lesser terms and conditions, I mean that the opportunity to avail of fast accrual is denied. The argument may very well be made that this is optional. The Minister might say that, in situations like this, individuals may have to accept lesser terms and conditions. I do not believe that should be the case.

As the Minister quite correctly said earlier on and as I know she sincerely believes, because of the nature of the work uniformed service workers in our public service do, they experience additional stress. Their work may be associated with physical strain. We need to be very careful in changing their retirement age, notwithstanding the fact that it is optional. We can be thankful that we are all living longer and healthier lives.

People will want, on an optional basis perhaps, to work that bit longer. That needs to be legislated for but the point is how we do it. The Minister recognises that fast accrual is in place because of the impact and often the toll that prison officers, members of Defence Forces and of An Garda Síochána take in serving their country and the demands that are placed on them. We believe that when it comes to considering these questions, the conditions and terms of workers should not be worsened when they are working longer. We propose the amendment because of our concerns about fast accrual and the fact that if a person works on an optional basis up to 62, his or her pension is subject to standard rating and not fast accrual. It is something that we will return to again because undoubtedly will be having additional debates in this Chamber as people live longer, as people may wish to work longer in the future. We have settled some questions about the State pension age and so on. We have auto-enrolment now, which is very welcome. That is something we have debated here for a long time. These are issues that will continue from time to time to challenge us. We will debate them more comprehensively and with more space as the opportunities arise into the future and when we make some changes.

I would appreciate the Minister's perspective on this amendment. I look forward to hearing what she has to say on this important matter.

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