The Government have commenced negotiations with the Employee unions in a bid to alter the terms and conditions of Public Sector employees. At an IMPACT Union conference in Killarney last week, General Secretary Shay Cody, warned the Government that any plans to cut sickness benefits would likely be referred to the Labour Court. The current arrangement for Public Sector workers is six months full pay and six months half pay for staff who develop serious illness.
The current statutory arrangement for private sector workers in Ireland is an entitlement to State Benefit after three continuous days absence, and there is no requirement at the moment for Employers to provide payment to employees absent due to illness. This may change as Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton plans to look at making employers contribute to payment for employees on sick leave. Any such scheme is projected by IBEC to cost the equivalent of up to 2,500 jobs, as most employers would be forced to re-evaluate their own sick pay schemes. Changing an employees terms and conditions of employment is a difficult task in General, and one which requires consultation with employees and their agreement to any such change. This agreement can become even more difficult where union involvement is concerned as entrenchment of a position can be a characteristic of union negotiations. Their priority is preserving the conditions of the employee and the Employers priority is to the sustainability of the business. In order to avoid the possibility of a tribunal claim employers should seek an employee's agreement to any change in conditions and ensure that the employee confirms their agreement to any such change. Failure to do so could lead to an employer being called to a tribunal for a claim of constructive dismissal, as the employee could claim they were forced to resign due to a fundamental/unilateral change to their terms and conditions. It will be the employee's responsibility to prove any such claim is valid however a definitive paper trail from the employer will likely be enough to see a tribunal find in their favour. The maximum award in a Constructive Dismissal claim is two years wages, however documentation to signify an employees full agreement to any changes (wage decreases, reduced benefits, etc.) it is a very small price to pay to ensure protection. The Government will have a tough task on their hands in order to find any agreement on reductions, the Croke Park agreement is due to expire in two years (and is due for its second review shortly), and unions have seen the public sector workforce cut by almost 20,000 since agreement was reached. They will feel that the Public Sector employees have sacrificed enough in the name of reform, and any further changes cannot be justified, especially considering that as a condition of the Croke Park deal it was agreed that there would be no further pay reductions or compulsory redundancies. Unions will instead be looking to strengthen Employee rights by putting the issue of Collective Bargaining back on the table. It was at a IRN Conference in UCD earlier this year that a union official stated publicly that coming into the centenary year of the 1913 lockout, if people think the unions are going to stand by and let this landmark go by without any agreement on Collective Bargaining they can think again. It is clear that the Unions are going all out for the 100 year anniversary of what was without question a landmark event in Irish History, however you would have to wonder with the recent failure for negotiating a "Derogation" on the Agency Workers Directive, and the current reform of the Employment Regulation Orders, have the employee unions used up a lot of the good will that was afforded to them? Have they lost some of the Bargaining Power that was so prominent in times past, and now in an era with year on year decreases in union membership, do the Unions possess the mandate to negotiate for employees any longer? The Government have put the cat amongst the pigeons by suggesting a reduction in sickness benefit, and the reaction of the Employees and Unions suggests that there is no appetite to further change in the Public Sector. It appears the Government may be looking at a battle on both fronts in the coming months, as the pressure from Europe with Austerity measures, is met with pressure at home from Trade Unions.
