A chara, – The general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, Patricia King, sets out Ictu's priorities for the incoming government ("Why we need a water referendum, a living wage and pension changes", Opinion & Analysis, May 13th). She rightly demands that "the right to collective bargaining across all sectors must be upheld". In light of this, many public sector workers who are in unions affiliated to Ictu will be alarmed at her failure to demand the end of the financial emergency in the public interest (Fempi) legislation. This is even more surprising given that it is Ictu policy, as agreed at its conference in 2015, that this legislation should go.
This legislation imposes penalties on unions who democratically decide not to sign up agreements such as Haddington Road and Lansdowne Road. The members of my union, the Teachers’ Union of Ireland, overwhelming rejected both agreements in ballots and only signed up to the former after a second ballot in which the threats contained in Fempi featured prominently. The same threats are now being used to get teachers and lecturers to sign up to Lansdowne Road. The opposition of TUI members is driven by opposition to the treatment of new entrants and unsustainable workloads that see lecturers in Institutes of Technology teach 20 hours per week. This is far in excess of international norms, is leading to high levels of stress and is injurious of the good intentions of lecturers towards their students. It is not possible to provide a high-quality education with such teaching loads.
Surely the right to free collective bargaining is meaningless if proposal emanating from negotiations are imposed through oppressive legislation, even if the unions concerned, through democratic votes of their members, reject such proposals. It is alarming that Ictu did not oppose this legislation from the start and is now silent on the need to get rid of it. Ictu, given its policy of opposition to Fempi, should now state clearly that it will defend any union members who have penalties imposed on them as a result of Fempi.
The rationale for this legislation was that there was a financial emergency arising from the economic crash. Given that we have just had an election in which claims about a recovery featured prominently, and in which there was much talk about fiscal space, the rationale for this legislation has now passed.
Fempi legislation requires the Minister of Public Expenditure and Reform, before June 30th, to “(a) carry out a review of the operation, effectiveness and impact of the relevant Acts, having regard to the overall economic conditions in the State and national competitiveness, [and] (b) consider whether or not any of the provisions of the relevant Acts continue to be necessary having regard to the purposes of those Acts, the revenues of the State and State commitments in respect of public service pay and pensions”. He is required to lay his report before each House of the Oireachtas.
Ictu must now agree to mount the most extensive campaign to ensure the Minister’s report is not accepted by the Oireachtas if it seeks to continue with the fallacy that there is an economic emergency and seeks to continue the oppressive measures contained in Fempi. – Is mise,
EDDIE CONLON,
(Former honorary
secretary,
Teachers’ Union of Ireland),
School of Multidisciplinary
Technology,
College of Engineering
and Built Environment,
Dublin Institute
of Technology,
Bolton Street, Dublin 1.