The Public Service Pay and Pensions Bill, 2017 passed second stage in the Oireachtas on Wednesday night (29th November) and it is worth noting that TUI was referenced by a number of TDs and, in fact, the lobbying letter which was sent to all workplaces was read into the Dáil record. This clearly shows that lobbying works - thank you for your efforts in this regard.
The Bill is now scheduled to be heard at Committee Stage on Tuesday 5th December. Therefore, this weekend will be the last opportunity for members to lobby your local TDs and Senators to support amendments and you are encouraged to do so.
A number of amendments have been tabled by various TDs which are helpful; in particular, those amendments that seek the removal of draconian punishment measures for public servants who are deemed to be ‘non-covered’ public servants and, specifically, amendments that seek the:
- Deletion of Section 21 – the section which freezes increments until 2021 for ‘non-covered’ public servants
- Deletion of Section 33 – the section which requires ‘non-covered’ public servants to pay higher Additional Superannuation Contributions (ASC) than ‘covered’ public servants
- Deletion Sections 11, 12 and 14 – these sections allow a 9-month delay in each pay restoration measure for ‘non-covered’ public servants.
In lobbying your local Representative, please ask them to support amendments that seek to prevent treating ‘non-covered’ public servants differently than ‘covered’ public servants.
If you are contacting your representatives via email, their address takes the format firstname.secondname@oireachtas.ie (eg jane.bloggs@oireachtas.ie)
The TUI is of the clear view that Primary legislation is no place to deal with normal Industrial Relations matters.
Your assistance in this regard is much appreciated.