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Sam Boal/Photocall Ireland
Queues at a Dublin motor tax office. (File photo)
# public offices
Council workers in South Dublin are working to rule today
Their union say that their pay has been cut unilaterally.
WORKERS AT SOUTH Dublin County Council will not be staffing public counters between 12.30pm and 2.30pm today as part of industrial action.
The IMPACT trade union say that management have unilaterally cut the pay of 13 of its staff and revealed plans to cut the pay of another 150 workers.
The industrial action will also mean the withdrawal of cooperation with evening meetings, an overtime ban, and a refusal to carry out duties at a higher grade.
IMPACT say that the staff have been carrying out extra work with additional responsibilities for as long as 12 years for which they have been given an extra ‘acting’ payment.
This payment has been taken away they say but that the staff are being asked to continue the work. IMPACT official Angel Kirk also adds that taking away the payment is in breach of the Haddington Road agreement because it extends cuts beyond the €65,000 earnings threshold.
“The action is happening because council management has breached the Haddington Road agreement, which is delivering huge savings and increased working time in South Dublin and other local authorities,” said Kirk.
Management has refused to deal with the situation through negotiations. Instead, it announced its intention to cut pay just days before a Labour Relations Commission hearing, which was meant to deal with the matter.
The union says that they are willing to negotiate with management over the issue of acting payments but they will not accept the removal of the payments without consultation.
Read: Dozens of retired civil servants receive pensions worth €100k >
Read: There are 359 departmental staff currently on career breaks >
