THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS
ISSUE 30 • SUMMER-AUTUMN 2015
NEW SHOOTS Bringing our parks into bloom
LANSDOWNE ROAD AGREEMENT MY COMMUTE THE GENDER GAP CONFERENCE PICS
ALSO INSIDE SCHOOL COMPLETION PROGRAMMES. THE ETHICAL WORKPLACE. THE WHO HITS 50. JOBBRIDGE REPORT. DUNNES RALLY. SUPERHEROES. A CITY IN CIVIL WAR. ANYONE FOR LUNCH? ALL IRELAND CONTENDERS. BOOKS. NEWS. PRIZES AND MORE.
www.impact.ie
In this issue
work& & life Summer-Autumn 2015 WORK
LIFE
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3. 4.
9. 14. 16.
DREAM BUILDING We look at the valuable work of the School Completion Programmes.
THE ETHICAL WORKPLACE What is an ethical workplace? FLOWER POWER
The workers that are bringing our parks and cities into bloom.
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RIGHTS AT WORK The gender equality gap. YOUR CAREER Work experience. JOBBRIDGE – TIME TO START AGAIN? A closer look at the report by IMPACT into JobBridge.
Work & Life is produced by IMPACT trade union's Communications Unit and edited by Niall Shanahan. Front cover: Sean Buckley is acting supervisor in the nursery in St. Anne’s Park, Raheny. Photo by Conor Healy. Contact IMPACT at: Nerney's Court, Dublin 1. Phone: 01-817-1500. Email: info@impact.ie
NEWS
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30. 32. 34. 36.
SPORT Eyeing up this years All-Ireland contenders.
IMPACT PEOPLE Wexford school secretary Eileen Barry.
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EQUALITY CHAMPION
LANSDOWNE ROAD AGREEMENT A closer look at the new pay restoration deal.
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MY COMMUTE First in a new series – the electric car. FASHION – FESTIVAL FEVER Rocking out the summer music festivals.
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FOOD Lunch is for… hard working people.
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MOVIES Superheroes.
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MUSIC Raymond and The Who turn 50. TRAVEL León, a cathedral city on the Camino Way. BOOKS New work from Pádraig Yeates, Belinda McKeon, Liz McManus and Derek Beattie.
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LANSDOWNE ROAD AGREEMENT PASSED CABIN CREW VOTE ON ROSTER PROPOSALS SNA POST ARRANGEMENTS WIN PENSION RESTORATION ANNOUNCED OBJECTION TO PSYCHOMETRIC TESTING UPHELD HOMELESS HOSTEL WORKERS LABOUR COURT SUCCESS LAUNCH OF INNER CITY GRANTS SCHEME CONFERENCE CLOSE-UPS News and photos from IMPACT’s conference season.
PRIZES
46. 47.
Win €50 in our prize quiz. Rate Work & Life and win €100.
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WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS 1
INSPIRING PUBLIC SERVANTS
Dunnes rally
Kieran Rose
ON THE 6th of June a large, colourful contingent of IMPACT members and staff took part in the 3,000 strong march and rally for the Dunnes Stores workers. Protestors marched from Merrion Square to the Dunnes Stores head office sending a strong message to the employer after staff claimed they had suffered a backlash on return to work after a one-day strike in April. As public sector and private sector workers stood together in solidarity, speakers at the rally called for decent work and a living wage. They also urged politicians to support the collective bargaining legislation published in May O
STRANGE WORLD
Crowley’s republic AS IRELAND prepares for the 1916 Rising centenary next year, few are aware that an Irish Republic was in fact declared in the US a year earlier. At daybreak in New York harbour, on 3rd July 1915, ten self-styled patriots announced the new Irish Republic in a ceremony under the Statue of Liberty. Proceedings were led by Aleister Crowley who read out the proclamation and swore an ‘oath of the Revolution’. Crowley wasn’t your average Irish patriot. Originally from Leamington Spa, England, he attended the University of Cambridge. After graduating he embarked on a life packed with eccentricity and the bizarre. This included faking his own death in 1930, only to turn up to everyone’s surprise a few
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weeks later at an exhibit of his own paintings. Crowley identified himself personally as a prophet when he founded the libertarian belief system of Thelema, advocating free will and is thought to have inspired the 1960s counterculture with musicians like Frank Zappa, Jimmy Page and The Beatles following Crowley’s work. Several sources have suggested that, far from being an Irish patriot, Crowley was in fact a spy for British intelligence services, making the 1915 Irish Republic declaration the act of an agent provocateur. His spying activity is reputed to have continued throughout his life and into the Second World War where he worked alongside Ian Fleming, British intelligence officer and future creator of James Bond O
Kieran (right) presented with Dublin City branch’s ‘Love Equality’ by branch chair Paul O’Halloran at the Local Government Conference..
In 1988, with support from union official Kevin O’Driscoll and general secretary Phil Flynn, Kieran was instrumental in developing the union’s policy guide on gay rights in the workplace for the ICTU. “It was a critical first step, the union was the first major organisation to support rights for gay and lesbian people” Kieran says. (Pic credit: IMPACT Communications Unit 2015)
IMPACT communications unit
KIERAN ROSE began his career as a temporary planner with Cork County Council in 1979. He became a union activist very early on. Following a move to Dublin County Council in 1986 he was elected to the Dublin County branch of the LGPSU, the union which merged with UPTCS to form IMPACT. He was also nominated to the Dublin Council of Trade Unions.
That was then… Pic credit: Reg Gordon
THE BIG PICTURE
As a co-founder of the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN), in 1988, Kieran campaigned successfully for the Bill to decriminalise homosexuality in 1993, marking a watershed in the lives of lesbian and gay people in Ireland. Further campaigns for equality legislation saw the amendment of the unfair dismissals act in 1993 and the introduction of the Employment Equality Act in 1998. Kieran, who remains a member of the Dublin City branch, says that the support of his trade union played a critical role to the sense of hope that ran through the campaign for marriage equality. “The campaign was based on the belief that we could appeal to ordinary Irish people. My experience of trade union conferences, of meeting people from all counties expressing their support, blew away any notion of there being an urban/rural divide in people’s opinions.” After the success of the referendum campaign, what comes next? “The delivery of equality in our everyday lives, so people can feel secure and open at school or in the workplace about their marriage or about who they are. That’s the next step” says Kieran O
100 years ago Future IRA commander Tom Barry enlists in the British Army aged 16 on 30th June 1915. Barry is sent to Iraq with the Mesopotamia Expeditionary where, the following year, he first learns of the Easter Rebellion taking place back home in Ireland. Pádraig Pearse delivers the famous graveside oration at the funeral of Fenian leader Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa on the 1st of August 1915.
70 years ago On 21st July 1945 members of the Irish Women Workers’ Union go on strike seeking additional time off for laundry workers, who work 13 hour shifts in brutal conditions. Industry and commerce minister, Sean Lemass, calls for concessions to be linked to productivity, but the union rejects his demand. While the media criticises the industrial action, unions rally around the strikers, and public sympathy shifts. By October they win, and Irish workers subsequently achieved a second week of paid annual holidays from 1946 onwards.
20 years ago Irish guitar legend Rory Gallagher dies following a liver operation in London on 14th June 1995. Ten thousand people line the streets of Cork for his funeral. His famous Fender Stratocaster guitar stands next to him as the ceremony takes place. Gallagher’s obituary describes him as “the People’s Guitarist” and concludes with the recollection: “…saying farewell at the end of those tumultuous gigs he performed night after night, for some 20 or more years. Dripping with sweat, he would put his thumbs up and offer a breathless cry of: “Thank you very much. I hope you enjoyed it.”
Compiled by Keivan Jackson.
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IMPACT people
IMPACT’s school secretaries branch, like many other groups within the union, have recently launched a recruitment drive. Branch treasurer, Eileen Barry, is a school secretary based in Wexford. She talks to Work & Life about the work, the union and tells us a little about herself.
The majority of school secretaries work alone and can feel very isolated in their environment. This in turn can open a door to co-workers taking advantage and offloading work on to the school secretary’s desk. Being a member of IMPACT gives you the means to take more control of your working life and enables you to become stronger and more independent. What’s your favourite book? Irish Farmers Journal and Work & Life. What are your other interests? I love going for nice long walks, it’s a great way to declutter the mind. Gardening is a great love of mine, especially in the summer when all the rambling roses, clematis and hanging baskets are in bloom. What is top of your bucket list? To blow a million euro on a shopping trip to New York with my daughters and granddaughters. Perfect.
Describe yourself? Sometimes too serious for my own good. I am improving with age.
Describe you ideal day Living in a climate that is warm, where the wind and rain don’t appear.
What part of the country do you come from? Yellow belly county – Wexford.
Have you any interest in sport? I love to watch a good game of hurling, or alternatively a trip to Croke Park to watch hurling. Preferably the All-Ireland. When I had more time on my hands I enjoyed basketball and tennis. These days I love to go for a long cycle on my High Nellie, or a nice long walk.
Tell me about working as a school secretary? I work in a secondary school that has 640 students, there are big demands from students, parents and staff. It’s a very busy environment, which has become more demanding of late, students have very high expectations. For most of my day as a secretary I work solo, it has become rather stressful as everyone wants everything done “yesterday”. When austerity came in the door it brought with it increased stress in the workplace. I certainly don’t suffer from boredom. What’s the best thing about being involved in the union? Unity, security and empowerment. We all need to be part of a union whether we are active or not. It’s what a union can do for you, apart from the obvious benefits and discounts, which are offered by IMPACT. There’s a comfort in knowing that you are only a phone call away from advice.
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What’s your favourite meal? Cooked by my son-in-law who is a chef, he spoils me rotten with gastronomic delights. He serves a great dish of scallops and black pudding. What’s your best dish to cook? I’d say my home-made chips with steak, but if you were to ask the adult kids in my life I think they would say my Irish stew. What item can you not leave home without? Money, God knows who you might run into and it’s my turn to buy the coffee. X
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be? Jamaica, I always wanted to go to the Caribbean, endless hours of sunshine and blue skies If you could have a pint with anyone alive or dead who would you choose? It would have to be Michael Collins, there’s so much we could talk about. First question I would ask him would be how did he anticipate his return to Ireland following the signing of the Treaty? Who inspires you? Many great people have inspired me throughout my life. The person at the top of the list is my Granny, RIP. She instilled courage and selfbelief. Granny was a frugal person (not mean, I think that’s an illness). Among the many mantras I associate with her is “look after the pennies the pounds will mind themselves.” I think if we take a wee bit from all who inspire us, we won’t go far off track. What are your pet hates? I don’t suffer fools gladly, with me what you see is what you get. My intolerance has increased with time to insincere people. Beware.
“Being a member of IMPACT gives you the means to take more control of your working lives and enables you to become stronger and more independent.” Have you any annoying habits? Yes. I’m one of the worse time keepers. Ask my daughters. Thankfully my friends know me too well and are patient. Mind you I have never missed a flight. It’s all about priorities. What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? No one will love you like you love yourself. It sounds conceited, but it’s not, it’s the perfect recipe for happiness. What advice would you give to the 18 year old you? Education. Education. Education. What would you like to be remembered for? How long do I have to answer this? (laughs) Really as being a kind person. What TV or movies do you like to watch? I’m not a great fan of TV or the movies. The first one that comes to mind in the movie category is Dr. Zhivago, now I am telling my age. I love history programmes on the TV. Interview by Martina O’Leary O
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Photo by Dylan Vaughan
The Recruitment Drive
Education
THE CORE aim of the school completion programme, established 13 years ago, is to support children continuing in school by providing assistance and localised solutions to the specific challenges they face. The programme is made up of 124 local projects, which work in 470 primary schools and 224 secondary schools. Each programme caters to local need so many run similar projects. Examples of programmes include a breakfast club in Swords to ensure that children do not face the school day hungry. The programme in Kilkenny has a bus route to make sure kids get to school on time, while Palmerstown’s programme hosts summer schools that focus on putting fun into learning.
Dream building of helping children step out of disadvantage into a better future.
Swords James Kavanagh coordinates one of the two SCP programmes in Swords and he speaks of being kept “on his toes” by the ever changing environment of a growing immigrant population and multiple new schools. “We recognise that nine out of ten kids that you might describe as ‘challenging’ tend to have a good reason for it. So we try to understand the whole child.
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Cáit Ní Mhurchú coordinates the Kilkenny programme and she also highlights the importance of a customised approach. “We feel strongly about the importance of not drawing attention to the children who are receiving extra support, therefore our project workers provide in-class support where the targeted children are present” she says.
James calls it a school support service, and there’s a project officer available at all times for the children. “The children may have difficulties that are emotional, physical or behavioural, our job is to work with them and cater to their specific needs. We try to make up for any deficits that might be in a child’s life that is appropriate for us to meet” he said.
The school completion programme is valuable because it fills in that gap between what teachers are unable to achieve due to lack of resources, time, and the necessary position of authority they represent, and the needs of children at risk of early school leaving. James talks of the inbuilt freedom of his role which allows him cater to these needs.
While the programmes vary, the clear pattern that emerges from talking to staff is their dedication to the common purpose
Kilkenny
“We look at fostering their ambition, helping them through bumpy patches, and supporting them through whatever troubles they are experiencing right now so it won’t affect their future” James explains.
For James the main resource is the staff, who’ve built a relationship of trust with the children. “That trust means we are empowered to motivate the children and, even more importantly, it means that when they need us they come to us. Half our time goes to the children who present to us themselves” he says.
James Kavanagh
What it all comes down to in the end, he says, is self-belief. “We aim to get the children to believe in themselves, that there aren’t obstacles. The biggest issue can be their lack of belief in themselves. We try our best to make them understand they can achieve their dreams by making them understand that I can’t actually means I won’t, and more often than not we can help them turn that into I will.”
“We rewrite our job description on a daily basis, depending on the needs presented. We hold a crying child’s hand, drive a kid to school that would otherwise be stranded, give career advice, provide pencils and paper, help to fill in CAO forms, deliver counselling, and refer children on to other agencies for support,” he says. It’s all about tackling disadvantage. “When you talk about disadvantage it’s more than just a geographical area. X
Photo by Reg Gordon.
The School Completion Programme (SCP) works with vulnerable children to inspire them to complete their second level education and create a better future for themselves. HELENA CLARKE talks to coordinators of the programme about their work and their fears for the future of this crucial programme.
Michael Smyth at the Education Conference.
There’s a huge gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’. Forty per cent of disadvantaged children are in mainstream schools. SCP helps make up for disadvantage by giving children access to choices.
“We want to challenge the young people but make sure they get enjoyment out of it and have some fun.” “We try to provide additional study hours after school, access to sport and leisure activities, access to opportunities they wouldn’t have without the SCP, like certain programmes or school tours. These things help children achieve their full potential,” James explains.
In Kilkenny, as in most of the other SCPs, the daily tasks include monitoring attendance, liaising with families and school staff to find out why children are not at school, providing advice and support to parents about their child’s school attendance, and employing personnel to work in the schools.
Cáit explains that they also employ a number of localised approaches to school retention. “We run homework clubs, as some parents may be early school leavers themselves and may not be able to help with homework. We manage the Food for Schools programme which is funded by the Department of Social Protection and ensures that students’ basic needs are met, helping them to continue to focus positively on school life. “We provide a school bus to transport children to school who otherwise may miss it, and we participate in the Savour Kilkenny Food Festival where students have masterclass sessions with chefs and then go on to set up their own stall at the festival,” she says.
Palmerstown Michael Smyth coordinates the programme in Palmerstown, Dublin and is an elected officer of the union, representing the education division on the Central Executive Committee (CEC). X
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Pay restoration
Axxxxxx Education
New agreement marks first step in public service income recovery
Cutbacks Michael says successive cuts to the school completion budget have had a “savage” effect on the programme. “Back in 2002 the department looked at the problem of early school leaving and decided an excellent programme could be rolled out for relatively little money. But they have cut the budget from approximately €32 million in 2002 to around €24 million now, and this has had a serious impact on service provision.
“As the economy improves it would only be right for the budget to be restored and for these children, who are facing obstacles to their education and personal well-being, to benefit from the restoration of the original budget.”
by Niall Shanahan
Students preparing for Savour Kilkenny with Chef Anne Neary.
There’ve been many other kids challenged in different ways, sometimes with a background involving abuse. I’ve worked with them to get extra classes, involved in extra clubs, and brought them to see the universities to allow them to see what is outside their own experience. This work is more difficult now” he explains.
An uncertain future The School Completion Programme began 13 years ago, but Kilkenny co-ordinator Cáit Ní Mhurchú laments that staff contracts and secure funding are still in jeopardy. She says she would like to see the programme continued and strengthened in the future. “As the economy improves it would only be right for the budget to be restored and for these children, who are facing obstacles to their education and personal well-being, to benefit from the restoration of the original budget. There should also be permanent posts for the SCP staff who have invested up to 13 years in the project,” she says.
“Summer programmes, psychological assessment and day trips were proven ways of encouraging children to stay in school but a lot of it is not possible anymore.
The ESRI recently reviewed the SCP and Cáit says “Preliminary feedback was hugely positive. Based upon this it would stand to reason that the programme be enhanced and developed further. It is a travesty that the fate of the children and SCP staff should be decided by those who do not work at the coalface of educational disadvantage and welfare.”
“The cuts mean we cannot reach out to as many children as we used to and intensive work with small groups of kids that would have had serious intergenerational problems is more difficult to resource. There was a kid I worked with who was deeply affected by his father’s suicide. A very difficult and traumatic time for him. He was able to get through school and was the first in his family to go to university with the right kind of supports.
James Kavanagh captures the importance and extraordinary nature of this programme and the people who work in it when he says “Kids are so much stronger than we give them credit for. It brings a tear to the eye at graduation to see the children progress and know what they’ve overcome. A lot of the people I work with around the country say that if they won the lottery tomorrow they would still come to work because they find the work so rewarding.” O
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Photo by Kilkenny SCP.
During the summer Michael runs a six week camp for kids in both primary and postprimary. “Normally there’s about 140 students, they come along on a two week cycle, and they buy into the english and maths because of the fun and enjoyment. In the afternoons there are activities and clubs, and every week we go on a full day trip to places like Fota, W5, or on a hike and barbeque.”
Photo: Domnick Walsh
He believes in a hands-on approach to helping the children. “I talk to the children, meet with them, support them, encourage them, meet with their families, do home visits, and see in what ways we can help to keep the kids in school. After school we encourage kids to participate in a variety of activities and clubs. We want to challenge the young people but make sure they get enjoyment out of it and have some fun” he says.
THE LANSDOWNE Road Agreement marks the first step in public service income recovery since Ireland’s economic collapse in 2008. The imposition of the pension levy in 2009 marked the first of a number of measures introduced under the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (FEMPI) legislation. This emergency legislation reduced the public sector pay bill by E2.2bn, in response to the collapse in public finances. The new agreement, which extends the job protection measures of the Haddington Road agreement to 2018, marks the beginning of the process to unwind FEMPI. IMPACT general secretary Shay Cody told delegates at last year’s biennial conference that unions would pursue a pay claim as and when the State’s finances “improved to a degree that would lead us to believe that the Exchequer could cope.”
Pay objectives Shay explained to delegates that unions needed to honour the commitment (set out in the 2010 Croke Park agreement) that lower paid workers should be prioritised in the pay restoration process. He identified a flat-rate increase “as a way to deliver on the promise (to lower-paid public servants) while commencing income recovery for all, and honouring the restoration terms and dates set out in the Haddington Road agreement.” He said unions also needed to consider the option of seeking a reduction in the pension levy rather than increases in gross wages. Subsequently the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin TD, told the Irish Independent last August that he wanted talks with unions this year on the “unravelling” of pay cuts introduced under emergency legislation.
Trends In early 2015, it was becoming clear that the Irish economic recovery had kick-started a series of pay improvements in the private sector and the trend seems set to continue, with close to 60% of employers surveyed predicting pay improvements this year. Speaking at the annual Industrial Relations News (IRN) conference in March, Shay said “Pay movement is not
“Pay movement is not just a sign of economic recovery. It’s one of the elements that really drives recovery,” IMPACT general secretary Shay Cody.
just a sign of economic recovery. It’s one of the elements that really drives recovery. Wage rounds are clearly underway in the private sector. The public service needs to keep in step with those developments.”
Talks Talks commenced in mid-May as the trade union conference season drew to a close, with both unions and Government working toward achieving agreement by the end of May. The talks focused on achieving pay restoration through a combination of adjustments to the pension levy and a partial reversal of the 2010 public service pay cuts, and honouring the pay restoration commitments of the Haddington Road agreement. The agreement also focuses on oversight arrangements, dispute resolution and crucial protections on outsourcing. The agreement awaits ratification by ballot of other public sector unions. IMPACT members voted to approve the deal in a ballot concluded at the start of July (see page 40). IMPACT’s executive, in recommending that members approve the deal in a ballot, acknowledged that the new agreement achieved the essential objective of fairness by taking a flat rate approach and further welcomed the fact that the agreement marked the first step forward on pay in the public service since 2009. See pages 10 & 11 for more information and frequently asked questions about the agreement l
Pay restoration
Lansdowne Road Agreement – Frequently Asked Questions This is an edited selection of the most frequent questions raised by IMPACT members about the Lansdowne Road Agreement. For more information, detailed answers to the full range of questions, and to download a copy of the agreement (in English or as Gaeilge), visit impact.ie/Lansdowne-road-agreement. Why did the talks take place now? At the time of the negotiation of the Haddington Road Agreement, the ICTU Public Services Committee took the precaution of writing to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform advising that if the State’s finances improved to a degree that would enable the exchequer to cope, we could lodge a claim seeking improvements. In the absence of this letter the management side would have been able to argue that no talks were due until the end of the Haddington Road Agreement in June 2016. This agreement enables income recovery to commence in January 2016 – six months earlier than would otherwise apply. Furthermore it was recognised that a delay in commencing talks would have
run the risk of public servants income becoming part of a politicised budget debate.
What increases are contained in the agreement? On 1st January 2016 the exemption threshold for payment of the pension levy will increase from €15,000 per annum to €24,750 per annum. This will reduce the pension levy by €600 per annum for all public servants earning above the threshold. On 1st January 2016 annualised salaries up to €24,000 will increase by 2.5% through a partial reversal of the 2010 public service pay cuts. On 1st January 2016 annualised salaries from €24,001 up to €31,000 will increase by 1% via the same mechanism. On 1st September 2016 the exemption threshold for payment of the pension levy will increase further from €24,750 per annum to €28,750 per annum. This will further reduce the pension levy by €400 per annum for all public servants earning above this threshold. The combination of these measures in 2016 will improve all public service full-time incomes by around €1,000 per annum. On 1st September 2017 annualised salaries up to €65,000 are increased by €1,000.
The agreement refers to ‘annualised salary’. What is that?
Table 1: The effect of LRA changes to clerical officer pay 2008 scale
2010 scale
Pay 2016
Pay 2017
% pay increases
Pension levy 2015
24394 25532 26672 27811 28949 30089 31227 32365 33505 34643 35774 37536 38922 39558
23177 24255 25339 26420 27502 28583 29635 30688 31743 32795 33840 35471 36753 37341
23756 24498 25592 26684 27777 28869 29931 30995 31743 32795 33840 35471 36753 37341
24756 25498 26592 27684 28777 29869 30931 31995 32743 33795 34840 36471 37753 38341
6.8 5.1 4.9 4.8 4.6 4.5 4.4 4.3 3.2 3.0 3.0 2.8 2.7 2.7
443 551 659 767 875 983 1089 1194 1299 1405 1509 1672 1800 1859
Pension Cash value levy LRA of levy reduction 0 0 0 0 0 0 89 194 299 405 509 672 800 859
443 551 659 767 875 983 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000
This table, prepared by IMPACT, shows the original Civil Service Clerical Officer scale effective from 2008 before the cuts (column A), and the 2010 scale that incorporates the salary cuts of that year (B). The table then shows the proposed pay increases on salary points up to €31,000 in 2016 (C) and the €1,000 pay increase in 2017 (D) – giving percentage values for the combined pay increases (E). The current pension levy on all the points on the scale are displayed (F), the reduced amounts of the pension levy applying following the proposed 2016 changes under the LRA (G) and the cash value of these reductions (H). Clerical Officers in Health, Local Government and Education and Special Needs Assistants in Schools are paid on a similar scale. To assist comparison, the scales do not include the new entrant rates from 2013.
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Annualised salary is the annual salary paid to a full time employee. Employees who do not work full-time hours earn a percentage of the annualised salary based on their working hours. For example, if an employee is on 50% job sharing, they earn half the ‘annualised salary’ for the position. In addition, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform has confirmed that annualised salaries does not include pensionable allowances on this occasion.
How will the increases apply to part time staff? Non-full time staff will receive pro rata increases based on the January 2016 and September 2017 increases in annualised salaries. As the pension levy applies to annual income in each calendar year, the benefits for non-fulltime staff will vary.
Will increments be affected by this agreement? No. Under the Haddington Road Agreement (HRA) there was provision for a three-month increment delay for staff earning under €35K, two three-month delays for staff earning between €35 and €65K, and two six-
month delays for staff earning over €65K. There is a threeyear freeze for staff on salaries starting over €100K. Once these liabilities are discharged, no further delays arise for any of the categories. Specifically, no delays are created by the Lansdowne Road Agreement.
What will happen to staff who earn more than €65,000? All public servants, irrespective of their salary, will benefit from the reduction in the pension levy in 2016. In the case of staff who earn more than €65,000 their pension levy will be reduced by €1,000. An important aspect of the agreement is that it is confirmed that pay restoration for these staff, negotiated as part of the Haddington Road Agreement, will apply on 1st April 2017 and on 1st January 2018. It is disappointing that at the conclusion of the negotiations the management side confirmed that it was unwilling to extend the (2017) €1,000 increase to categories of staff earning above €65,000.
What happens to the ‘grace period’ under the LRA? Under the Lansdowne Road Agreement, the Government has indicated that it intends to provide in the legislation for a further extension of the grace period, during which both the reduction in pay and any deferral of increment progression – provided for under the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act, 2013 – will be disregarded for pension purposes. The original grace period under the Haddington Road Agreement ran to June 2015 and the unions successfully argued for its extension to June 2016.
Why is the agreement phased? Phasing the pay increases allowed the union aspirations to be met in the context of the Government budget framework. This is a common feature of agreements in the public and private sectors.
Illustrations of the effect of the agreement on salaries Illustration 1: Tom – salary €30,000 per annum l Tom works full-time and earns €30,000 per annum l He currently pays €1,125 per annum pension levy (€43.12 per fortnight) l On 1st January 2016 his salary will increase to €30,300 and he will pay an additional €30 per annum pension levy following this increase, while his pension levy will be reduced by €600 from 1st January 2016 (€23.00 per fortnight) l On 1st September 2016 his pension levy will be reduced by a further €400 per annum (€15.33 per fortnight) l On 1st September 2017 his salary will increase to €31,300 (This example ignores any increment that might be paid in the meantime).
Illustration 2: Mary – salary €40,000 per annum l Mary works fulltime and earns €40,000 per annum l She currently pays €2,125 per annum pension levy (€81.45 per fortnight) l On 1st January 2016 her pension levy will be reduced by €600 from 1st January 2016 (€23.00 per fortnight) l On 1st September 2016 her pension levy will be reduced by a further €400 per annum (€15.33 per fortnight) l On 1st September 2017 her salary will increase to €41,000 (This example ignores any increment that might be paid in the meantime).
Illustration 3: Anne – salary €50,000 per annum l Anne works fulltime and earns €50,000 per annum l She currently pays €3,125 per annum pension levy (€119.78 per fortnight) l On 1st January 2016 her pension levy will be reduced by €600 from 1st January 2016 (€23.00 per fortnight) l On 1st September 2016 her pension levy will be reduced by a further €400 per annum (€15.33 per fortnight) l On 1st September 2017 her salary will increase to €51,000 (This example ignores any increment that might be paid in the meantime).
Does the agreement address outsourcing? The parties agreed to reaffirm commitments to the use of direct labour to the greatest extent possible, consistent with the efficient and effective delivery of public services. Where any dispute arises on the application of this commitment, the parties will seek to resolve any matter directly and, where this fails, to use the dispute resolution mechanisms of the agreement. Earlier commitments on consultation and evaluation must be undertaken prior to any outsourcing of an existing service taking place and – significantly – in the evaluation process any cost comparisons shall exclude the totality of labour costs which includes, basic pay, leave, premium payments and pension benefits.
Will pensioners benefit from the Lansdowne Road Agreement? Pensions are not directly covered by the agreement. However, in a separate engagement with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions Public Services Committee and the Alliance of Retired Public Servants, the management side confirmed that – subject to a forthcoming government decision – pensions will be increased by way of a reduction in the pensions related deduction made from pensions in payment.
Details were subsequently announced by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform on Tuesday 16th June 2015. The changes provide for a restoration of pension income on a phased basis over three years. A total of 80,000 out of 140,000 public service pensioners will be exempted from the deduction during this agreement.
How will take home pay be affected? The effect on take home pay from the reduction in the pension levy will vary depending on an individual’s income and tax rate. The pension levy currently attracts income tax relief in the same way as pension contributions. When the levy is reduced this tax relief will also be reduced. In essence, the final take home benefit of the €1,000 gross reduction of the levy will vary depending on whether the individual pays tax at the standard rate of 20% or the marginal rate of 40%. The effects on take home pay, arising from the increases in pay, will vary depending on the individual tax rate, PRSI status, pension contribution and pension levy. Furthermore, it is anticipated that there will be changes announced in the relevant budgets for 2016 and 2017. Visit impact.ie/Lansdowne-road-agreement for more information l WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS 11
My commute
It’s electrifying Photo: Conor Healy Photography
In the first of a series about our experience of commuting to work MARTINA O’LEARY talks to IMPACT member Alva Paddle, who recently bought an electric car.
LAST YEAR saw an increase of over 400% in the number of electric cars bought in Ireland, up to 222, compared to only 51 in 2013. Up to the end of May this year, 36 people had bought a brand new electric car out of 9,027 brand new cars bought in Ireland so far. This doesn’t factor in those buying second-hand cars. So, while the numbers are modest, there’s a growing interest in the technology. So what are the benefits of buying an electric car? IMPACT member Alva Paddle, from the Dublin North HSE branch, is a total convert to the electric vehicle (EV) since she got hers in March this year. “It’s cleaner for the environment, with lower motor tax and insurance fees. But it’s really about the saving in fuel. I save over €390 every two months. My diesel would have cost me about €400 for two months, compared to the €6.75 on my electricity bill to charge the car overnight.” says Alva. She tops up her car about twice a week using the free fastcharge points close to her home. The ESB website says it costs on average between €1-2 per night to charge the car. Alva does a round journey of 90kms each day from her home in Navan to the HSE Primary Care Reimbursement Service (PCRS) in Finglas, Dublin. The running costs of an electric car are much lower than that of a conventional car. A comparative cost calculator at esb.ie allows you to make a direct comparison with your current car and find out how much money you can save.
Long journeys So what of the electric car critics who say it can’t do long journeys? “With a full charge on my car (a Nissan Leaf) I can do 160 kilometres. Newer models of electric cars due out later this year should be able to do up to 300 kilometres,” explains Alva. “The new Nissan Leafs are expensive to buy, ranging from €21,000 to €27,000, but the second-hand versions are a lot cheaper. Mine was a demo-model and cost €15,000, but was well worth the cost,” explains Alva. 12
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“It’s cleaner for the environment, with lower motor tax and insurance fees…but it’s really about the saving in fuel. I save over €390 every two months.” Anyone buying a new all-electric car will receive a grant of up to €5,000, while purchasers of plug-in hybrid electric cars will receive up to €2,500, further reducing the cost of a new vehicle.
Charging How easy is it to charge the car? “I need to fully charge my car every second day. But if you only have a short commute to work, charging it twice a week should do. Any new electrical car is eligible to get the charger unit installed free by the ESB for the first 2,000 customers,” says Alva. Her car was second hand so it cost her about €500 to get the charger installed in her home. Alva charges her car overnight, which takes about six hours, but there are charging units, including on-street fast charging, throughout the country. Alva explains, “The sat nav in the car shows you the nearest charge points and how far it takes you to get there.” So what’s it like to drive? “The power is the same, it’s so much quieter, my kids love it. They want to go in it all the time. It is named the Enterprise, after Star Trek. Even the dog loves it, as there is no smell of fuel. I drove a diesel car before, but with the lower emissions, plus the money I save each month on fuel, I would never go back,” says Alva l
Ethics in i the work w workplace orkplace kp
Exploring ethics in the workplace THE ETHICS at Work Initiative is par t of a larger debate on the impor tance of ethics in soc President Michael D Higgins. The Pre the initiative “to embrace the challe principles and values by which we mig as a society, in the wake of a crisis th interrogate our vision of social bond and our conceptions of ‘prosperity’ an
Esther explains that the exploration n of
The President added that, in bringing his star ting point was to acknowledge change economics or politics “withou and assumptions that underpin them.
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The ethics project employed a range reach out to as many workers as poss people felt an ethical workplace shoul The project relied on members getti Lynch, legal and social affairs officer one of the coordinators of the project, the beginning it was clear there was hunger for this conversation to take pla
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Workers W orkers ccan an bargain bar gain collectively collectively employer with their emplo yer without fear fear e
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These questions are crucial to the future of work. If, as it appears from the project, the workplace is becoming an increasingly hostile environment, then we need to actively fight this dynamic. Workers rights have been hard won, and recent developments show the impor tance of building and strengthening protections for workers. The emergence of zero and low-hours contracts, the overreliance on internships, and worsening ter ms and conditions, have all become more and more entrenched in recent years. Now that the economy is growing again the question arises whether these developments will be phased out, or will they become more deeply embedded in the workplace? Projects such as the Ethics initiative begin a necessary conversation about these issues, and there remains an impor tant role for trade unions to explore it fur ther and help to build an ethical workplace for every worker O
People’s right to collective bargaining was also commonly discussed says Esther “people very quickly talked about the place of the trade union and saw membership in a union, and the employer’s attitude towards membership in a union, to be very closely related to an ethical workplace.”
The next step While the initial phase of the project is now concluded, Esther explains that there is still plenty of work ahead. “We’ll be presenting the results and showing the film from the initiative at the ICTU conference in July. We’ve also begun discussions with TDs and senators asking them about their views on developing an ethical char ter for Ireland.” Picture by Dreamstime.com
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Family Family friendly policies
PPeople eople ccan an achieve achie ve their full potential potential
Because of the changing nature of work Esther says it’s impor tant to take stock and ask ourselves what the future of the world of work, and our place in it, will look like. “Will it enable us to fully realise our human potential or will we continue to strip ourselves down to smaller and smaller aspects of our personalities, until it’s just not acceptable to be your own person in the workplace?”
Esther says the breath of issues discussed was a constant Favouritism, corruption, source of surprise to all those involved. “F bullying, very serious and harsh situations were shared to create a picture that many feel threatened and worried in their place of work.”
The project posed the question “W does an ethical workplace mean to you Esther was concerned at the beginnin eople would not connect co the project that people with the question. “I needn’t have w from the beginning workers became im engaged, and we were amazed at how had to say, and how meaningful the was to them,” she says.
What does does What ethical workplace workplace an ethical to you? you? mean to
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Spreading the word
“Members dived straight in and re o their workplaces workplace posters be sent to commented on the dedicated website par t in the video, tweeted and filled special campaign postcards,” Esther
Responses to the project:
crisis. We needed our President to begin this conversation, and the impor tance of his leadership cannot be overstated,” says Esther err.
“The enthusiasm with which people engaged with this, and the hunger that was there for the project, shows there is something wrong in workplaces at the moment, and it can be tied to the
Patricia Patricia King, King, general general secretary secretary ICTU presents presents President President Michael Michael D Higgins Hig gins with findings of the Ethics at at Work Work Initiative.laoise, Initiative.laoise, Co.
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Picture by Photocall Ireland
The need for fairness and respect in the workplace came up time and time again and Esther says this reflects the need for change “so that workers can have a more human experience when they’re in the workplace and that the demands that are put on people are in the arena of what they can achieve. People just wanted to be human at work,” she says.
IMPACT was one of the unions invited to participate in a unique project exploring the theme of ethics in the workplace earlier this year. The Ethics initiative was led by Congress at the invitation of President Michael D Higgins. HELENA CLARKE looks at the vibrant response to the project and talks to Esther Lynch of ICTU about the role of ethics in the modern workplace.
Public service During these gloriously long days of summer it’s impossible to resist the allure of our parks. In Dublin’s St Anne’s Park, months of preparation go into giving the city a burst of summer floral colour. MARTINA O’LEARY paid a visit to St. Anne’s to meet IMPACT member Sean Buckley and find out more.
Flower power
Killester College, and we’ve had people in from the Larkin Unemployed Centre. It gives students lots of practical experience” he explains. “To my knowledge no one else is doing this nursery work within the local authorities. The staff from the Botanic gardens came to see us, and were amazed at the scale of the work we do here,” says Sean. The work in the nursery never stops. “We started the summer bedding in March and we distribute them through June and July. We have two to three thousand pots to be planted up, that’s thousands of plants and flowers” he says. When I visit in early June, Sean explained that over 5,000 plants left the nursery early that day.
IF YOU live in a town or city you’ll understand how vital your local park is to the health and wellbeing of your community. Parks provide us all with an outdoor green space we can call our own, hosting a range of activities and giving us respite from the noise and bustle of the city. Ireland is fortunate to have hundreds of parks scattered across the country, coming in all shapes and sizes.
“The large tubs and trees will be collected in the middle of the night, we have permission to do that, otherwise there would be huge traffic congestion trying to get the tubs through Dublin during the day,” says Sean. “We start producing again in August for the next year’s spring bedding. In late autumn and winter we get thousands of bulbs in from Holland. Our huge warehouse here would be packed with bulbs and we sort them out. We have to separate them and distribute them to the various parks.”
From the 30-acre Mallow town park, to Dublin’s Phoenix Park (1,750 acres), or the smaller Carndonagh town park in Donegal, we’ve been gifted some of the finest parks in Europe. A lot of hard work goes into making sure our parks are well kept, and it is the gardeners, park rangers and general operative staff in our parks who play a vital role in making sure they stay in great shape. a general operative nursery in St Anne’s his co-workers grow plants from seed to Photo by Conor Healy
IMPACT member Sean Buckley is and acting supervisor working in the Park, Raheny. Each year, Sean and approximately 350,000 flowers and supply up to 36 public parks.
The nursery is only part of the job for Sean and his colleagues. They maintain a large herbaceous border, close to the park’s clock tower, plus the Chinese garden. They also maintain the grass and hedges on that side of the park.
From swerve of shore to bend of bay You’ll see the many shrubs and flowers grown by Sean and his colleagues in Dublin’s Merrion Square and as you stroll down O’Connell Street and the River Liffey boardwalk. Sean and his colleagues also supply colour to the inner suburbs, with multitiered planters prepared by the team at St. Anne’s nursery, or by council staff using produce from St. Anne’s nursery. Beyond the city, St. Anne’s nursery supplies plants and shrubs as far north as Finglas and Whitehall and south to Harold’s Cross and Bushy Park in Rathfarnham. As you drive around the city you might even notice the many roundabouts adorned with beautiful shrubs and flowers. In my old stomping ground of Walkinstown, the infamous roundabout gets all of its stock from St Anne’s Park nursery too.
The early bird The work requires an early start. Sean opens the park gates at seven AM every morning. “It’s lovely when you are starting off in the morning, when there’s no-one around. I love coming in, I meet the foxes and squirrels, and in the winter it’s pitch black. Over the years I’ve seen badgers, owls and plenty of foxes,” says Sean.
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IMPACT member Sean Buckley and his colleauges produce thousands of flowers from the nursery in St Annes Park, Raheny.
The work in the nursery requires planning and meticulous effort. “Work on the finished product starts months before. We plant thousands of seeds into seed trays. When they have grown enough they are transferred into blocks of growing compost. These compost blocks are produced in the nursery as well. If you can imagine planting thousands of seedlings into compost by hand. Then they are grown, watered and temperature-checked in the polytunnels,” explains Sean. “The potting shed is at the hub of everything we do” Sean explains. “The gardener, John Turp, gets about 500 seeds into a tray, which will be transferred to the seed room until they are large enough to be transferred into bigger trays and then into the polytunnel. When they’re ready they will be transferred either to the hot house or cold house, in order to be brought on” he says. X
Sean explains how the plants are maintained through an overhead irrigation system. They’re tended by the nursery staff who water and maintain the young plants until they’re ready to be put out in the gardens to harden up.
Variety There are 52 varieties of flowers and plants grown here from geraniums, begonias, lobelia, sweet William and marigolds of all descriptions including French and African. There’s also cineraria, millets, salvia, beautiful cosmos and all sorts of dahlias. Like many parts of the public service the nursery at St. Anne’s Park has suffered a decline in staff numbers. Sean explains that the work continues with a mixture of staff and students. “At the moment we have three full-time staff and one parttime. We also have students from the Botanic gardens,
“You get a great sense of achievement at the end when you see these beautiful flowers. This is tough work. You would want to love it. This month we are getting ready for the summer beds and pots,” says Sean.
Parks and recreation
St Anne’s park, which originally belonged to the Guinness brothers, has 270 acres and is a fairly typical example of the park facilities provided by local authorities throughout the country. It’s also home to the park’s famous Rose Garden, which marks its fortieth year this year, and has been a centre for International Rose Trials since 1981. St. Anne’s Park Annual Rose Festival takes place in the park on the third weekend of July. In recent years the Red Stables provide an arts centre, restaurant and a regular farmers market, and allotments are available. The most recent addition is the opening of St Anne’s Dog Park. The next time you visit your local park, take a moment to savour the great effort of all the park staff. And if the flowers are in full bloom, bear in mind Sean and his colleagues are already planning next year’s blossoms O
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Rights at work
However, Patricia remembers a time it was worse for women in the workplace. “Maternity leave was thirteen weeks when I had my first daughter in 1986. We’ve come a long way since then so many feel the fight is over, but female poverty and barriers to career progression is still a major issue. The union movement needs to keep up this fight now as much as ever.” In his speech to delegates Sean said “The marriage bar previously meant that female civil and public servants had to resign their posts when they got married. Thankfully, much has changed since then.” But, he added, there has never been a female director of services or a female county manager, “We know that women in Ireland are amongst the best educated in the world, and yet in the workplace this does not translate into career progression.” IMPACT official Angela Kirk told conference that figures from July 2014 reveal that, of the 31 chief executive posts in the local government sector, only seven are held by women. Angela added “That’s just 22%. In 2013 at least ten local authorities had no women employed at managerial level, including county manager posts, director of service and heads of finance posts.”
Picture by Dominick Walsh.
Angela also points out that, Angela Kirk. while there are low levels of women in management, women make up most of the lower paid workers in the public service. She points out that a 2013 survey showed 83% of grade III and grade IV officers were women earning between €23,000 and €43,000.
Training Mandate trade union piloted a female leadership programme for staff and members last year. Union organiser Tara Keane explains how she found it helped her to build confidence and put herself forward. “It was a difficult transition going from being a member of the union to becoming staff, so it was great to have guidance and to feel supported,” she says. As part of the programme female mentors who have made their way through the union movement are paired with women who are less experienced. “It was fantastic to have someone pushing me to do things that were outside my comfort zone, like speaking at conferences and going on committees. I wouldn’t have done any of that if I hadn’t had someone giving me a push and guidance,” Tara says. Tara feels strongly that women need leadership and assertiveness training in a trade union environment. “In meetings men often speak up a lot more than women and women are in the background. But if you give them the skills and help them they excel and flourish. Learning public speaking skills, and how to manage one to one conflict, is important because the workplace can feel like a boys club if you’re not equipped for it,” Tara says.
Leadership
Childcare
Patricia Fanning, IMPACT Equality Officer: It amounts to genderbased sick leave, because you’ve your whole family’s sick leave on your record. This in turn affects women going for promotion, and then again when it comes to pensions.
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IMPACT equality officer Patricia Fanning says that women tend to be disadvantaged due to their role as primary care givers in the home. “When a child falls ill it generally falls on the mother to take sick leave. It amounts to gender-based sick leave, because you’ve your whole family’s sick leave on your record. This in turn affects women going for promotion, and then again when it comes to pensions,” she says. Patricia says that childcare is a crucial issue in the debate about gender equality and work. “The system in Ireland is X
David Joyce, ICTU.
David Joyce, ICTU equality and global solidarity officer says that while the trade union movement has achieved breakthroughs in the workplace for women, there’s still plenty of work to do. “It doesn’t happen by accident. For example, we’ve audited the position of women within the movement and, while women make up 52% of trade union membership on the island, their representation at leadership level is nowhere near that,” says David.
However, this year has seen the appointment of the first woman to the top post in Congress. Patricia King was a full-time official with Siptu for over 25 years and was the first woman to serve as a national officer of the union when she was appointed vice-president in May 2010. In the UK, Frances O’Grady became the first general secretary of the TUC in 2013. The growing prominence of women in trade union leadership is good for the movement, and David adds that it sends a strong and encouraging message to other women starting out in their trade union roles.
Sean Reid, Chair Donegal branch.
“The lack of women in leadership positions is not unique to the public service. It exists right across the economy in general. We have to be able to organise work in a way that fits in with family life. It actually makes business sense to sort this out,” says David.
Present, past and future Around three quarters of IMPACT’s membership is made up of women, and the union has fought for many of the progressive policy initiatives that have improved gender equality in the public sector. The union’s history is steeped in this. Evelyn Owens came to prominence in a fiercely fought campaign for equal pay for women in 1963 and was the first woman to become president of the Irish Local Government Officers Union (a forerunner of IMPACT) in 1967. In 1971 Evelyn moved a motion at a conference of the LGPSU calling for the removal of the marriage bar across the public service. This was finally achieved in 1977. Sean Reid’s motion to conference calls attention to the need to build on the sense of justice that fuelled Evelyn’s work. Sean serves on the equal opportunities committee of IMPACT which has been developing training initiatives for members with a focus on gender equality. He explains that the committee is also in the process of developing plans to commission research into gender equality in the workplace. Sean explains that experience teaches us that the drive for workplace equality and fairness is always a work-in-progress. He says “It’s marked by occasional successes, but we can never assume the work is done. Ours is a simple question. With so many educated, skilled and experienced women in the workplace, what do we have to do to ensure that this is reflected at senior management level? Finding an answer and pressing it into action is the next step.” O
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Picture by Reg Gordon.
broken. People talk about it on the radio and television but nobody listens. The government needs to subsidise childcare so that childcare workers get a fair wage and mothers can work without losing all their wages to an endemically flawed system,” she says.
Picture by Dreamstime.com
SEAN REID, chair of the Donegal branch of IMPACT, put a motion to the union’s Local Government division conference in May, highlighting the ‘disturbing’ absence of women in senior management roles in local government. Sean emphasised that this absence exists despite the fact that women make up the majority of the workforce.
Closing the gender gap
Picture by Reg Gordon.
Despite decades of successful campaigning by trade unions to close the gender equality gap and with more skilled, educated and experienced women in the workplace, senior management roles remain largely occupied by men. An IMPACT conference motion in May sought to challenge this imbalance in local government. HELENA CLARKE talks to union activists and officials about the imbalance.
Your career
Making work experience work Poorly structured work experience programmes, for transition year students, are commonplace and of little value to transition year students. ISOBEL BUTLER takes a look at the value of providing a well-structured programme.
TRANSITION YEAR provides students with an opportunity to undertake work placements and gain valuable vocational experience. It also offers an insight into the world of work and what is involved in specific careers or work areas they may be interested in pursuing. These experiences inform leaving certificate subject choice and subsequent career choices.
Organisations and industries benefit, encouraging more students to study relevant subjects and apply for third level courses. Staff gain from mentoring and super vising work experience students through reflecting on their own roles and jobs and enhancing their own experiential learning.
No experiential value However, a frequent problem is students being used as simply an ‘extra pair of hands’, conducting menial jobs with no educational or experiential value. This is most likely to happen in the absence of a structured learning experience. The work placement should not be used as an opportunity to get unpaid work, this can lead to students being pushed into boring, unsupervised roles defeating the aims of the placement. Poor communication can be problematic and arises if there is no clear supervising individual to inform students about their role and tasks. Lack of clarity amongst other staff as to 20
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Structure Start the process of constructing a well supervised, interesting, structured learning experience by appointing an experienced, enthusiastic staff member to coordinate and supervise the programme. It helps if they believe in the benefit of experiential learning. They should have ultimate responsibility for students and their learning experience, orienting them into the organisation, communicating what is expected of them, ensuring they are aware of relevant policies and procedures, ensuring that desired learning outcomes are facilitated and dealing with problems arising. Next, identify the learning goals and outcomes that the student can expect to achieve and then structure the ‘work experience’ around this learning, not around the operations of the organisation. Identify the key tasks and activities that the student can observe or take part in that will help them to achieve their learning outcomes. Identify the background information or understanding they need in order to learn from these activities and consider how best to provide them with this knowledge.
Facilitate learning Decide how best to facilitate learning – perhaps through shadowing and observing, through helping a member of staff, through carrying out an activity under supervision or through a demonstration by another staff member. If they are carrying out a task, how will you demonstrate the correct way of performing this task and ensure competence and confidence before they need to do it? How will feedback be given? How many staff are needed to mentor, demonstrate or allow students to shadow them? Based on these considerations you can also decide how many students you can accommodate at the same time. Schedule the work experience week as a timetable outlining what activity the student will be carrying out, where, at what time and for how long, as well as what named member of staff they will be with. Intersperse tasks and work activities with demonstrations and talks and build in time for the student to reflect on what they have observed or taken part in and what they have learned. Encourage the student to keep a reflective journal to record this learning. Morning one should include a welcome and induction session providing an outline of the work experience programme, the learning objectives, tasks and activities and relevant organisational information on ‰
A quality work experience should… health and safety, confidentiality and other policies and procedures.
Understanding Once the programme has been drafted communicate it to all members of staff, ensuring their understanding of the objectives, benefits and operation of the programme, as well as the procedures and safeguards in place, their roles, who to contact should a problem arise and what students can and cannot do during their placement.
Include an induction session Focus on what the student can gain from the work experience Be an opportunity for learning and development Be coordinated by a named individual Be structured and scheduled
Pilot the programme and support your first group of students before evaluating the programme to allow changes and adjustments. Involve students and other staff members in the evaluation as they will have valuable insight. As you develop your work experience programme, put in place a clear and straightforward application process and think about the best way of making this known to schools and students. Once the programme is developed continue evaluating and adjusting the programme to ensure that it keeps abreast of workplace and career developments and continues to meet student learning requirements.
Provide feedback to the student
Parents and students, when looking for a ‘work experience programme’, ask questions about learning outcomes and structure but be aware those well-structured programmes with a clear application process often fill up quickly, so start your search early l
Be enjoyable
Encourage the student to reflect on what they have learned Provide a student with a realistic experience of what this job/career involves Include a variety of different experiences of typical tasks and activities
Should not be about getting an unpaid helper for a week.
Isobel Butler is an independent organisational psychologist who works with people on a wide range of workplace issues including conflict management, dealing with change and solving problems. If there are specific issues you’d like her to tackle in these articles send them in via the editor, Work & Life magazine, Nerney’s Court, Dublin 1 or info@impact.ie. WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS 21
Photo: dreamstime.com
The benefits ofa well-structured ‘work experience programme’ include getting a first-hand realistic grounding in what the job involves. Learning from experienced staff on real life issues, in real world contexts complementing what has been learnt in the classroom. Students who enjoy science in school learn how scientific knowledge and skill can be applied in a real world setting. This real world experience can enhance confidence and motivation, help students recognise that an area may not actually be for them or show them a number of alternative ways of building a career. Moving from the school environment to the professional work place provides opportunities to mature and develop social and interpersonal skills and self-confidence as they relate to the professionals who supervise them.
what the student can and cannot do, with no clear communication pathway for dealing with problems that arise, can add to the problem.
Looking good
Miss Selfridge
With summer music festival season now well underway, PATRICIA O’MAHONY dons her inexpensive designer wellies and says festivals are all about fun, so don’t let the wrong clothes spoil it. THE SEASON for outdoor concerts and festivals is now in full swing. Whether that’s a dedicated weekend at Electric Picnic in Stradbally, an evening on the historic grounds of the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, Marlay Park or the Marquee Cork. Wherever you live, there’s a variety of festivals happening. You can wear whatever you like to indoor concerts but deciding what to wear to get the best out of your outdoor time is not as straightforward a proposition. It requires a bit of planning and some savvy shopping. You want to look your best, and this is a chance to have some fun with your fashion choices while expressing your free spirit. You need to be prepared for the fickle and unpredictable Irish weather. Wind, rain and sunshine are as likely as each other as the opening band strikes their first chord. To tick all the boxes choices need to be practical, fun, comfort and trendy, but not necessarily in that order. Designer wellies and jackets are probably worth investing in if you are a seasoned festival goer, but if it’s just the occasional outdoor event, then maybe something more disposable will do the trick.
Black and pink top: Pennys. Green top: Marks and Spencer. Orange hat: Hobbs. Brown Suede Ankle Boot: Dune.
Expensive clothes that need dry cleaning, minding, and ironing, are a no-no on this occasion. Save them for the indoor events. It’s an enjoyable day out and you don’t want anything to hamper that fun, especially uncomfortable footwear or clothing and poor weather conditions.
Backpack and raingear I am trying to avoid using the word ‘sensible clothing’ in the same article as festival fashion, but maybe it needs to be a minor consideration. The two most important items you need are your backpack and, unfortunately, your raingear. Travel very light for maximum mobility. Start with your outerwear, raincoat and footwear, and build your portable wardrobe around that. Topshop have a great selection of swanky rain jackets that are seriously high fashion and something you will be glad of if the rain starts. Again, it will double up as a ‘ground mat’ if your legs need a rest. It will pack away neatly in your rucksack and undoubtedly get plenty of use before the summer season ends. If your rucksack is not waterproof pack everything in a plastic bag
Festival trends Photo: dreamstime.com
Wide brimmed fedoras. These not only look great, and make a big statement, they’ll prevent you getting too much sun, or rain. Such sartorial accessories are evident in street style all over the world. Indeed, street style can be a lot more inspirational and adaptable to our everyday lives than top designers showcasing their seasonal wares. For the cheap and cheerful version, every bit as stylish, a fedora from Penneys will set you back €10. Miss Selfridge stock the more floppy version at a cost of €25.00. Bandana scarves will serve a number of practical purposes too, again fringing is the on trend version. Ponchos, gilets and capes are smart, funky and great when the chill sets in and the main act are still doing their soundcheck. They look good over pants, dresses and jeans. Bear in mind you might find yourself using it as a picnic blanket so pick a neutral colour, or patterned, and ‰ 22
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avoid white. Statement runners will serve you well. Comfy ankle boots will work equally well with jeans and dresses, even shorts if the weather is favourable. Fringing is featured on everything. My advice on fringing is buy on the cheap, or chop them off as soon as they go out of fashion because they will not be around forever. If you are wearing wellies, remember to wear over-the-knee socks. They will double up as leg warmers and protect you from festival induced welly-friction.
Boho-chic Boho-chic is defined as ‘a style of fashion drawing on various bohemian and hippie influences, associated with actress Sienna Miller and model Kate Moss’. Boho fashion is the perfect style for concert goers because it’s fun, casual and comfy. Fringed tunic dresses, worn with ankle boots, equate to comfort and trend combined. Crochet, floaty cheesecloth dresses and blouses, floral playsuits and kimonos resonate with this style and lightweight patterned pants, worn with a tee shirt, will roll up neatly in your backpack and dry quickly if there’s an unexpected downpour. Enjoy the freedom to dress without rhyme or reason, clashing instead of matching, and you’re perfectly turned out for the occasion. It makes sense to buy high fashion, low cost, disposable clothing, rather than clothes and footwear that need minding. Penneys are always at the forefront in up to the minute affordable fashion and will not disappoint this festival season. Build your festival fashion around a few key pieces, bearing in mind that you could end up getting a lot more wear out of these type of clothes than you initially thought. Starting with the raincoat. Not wanting to sound like a broken record (vinyl is back so I can get away with that!), it would be a mistake to leave home without denim, in one form or another. The old reliable is a must in a variety of guises, like jeans, jacket, shorts and dresses. Denim cullottes are versatile, and will look good with those wellies. Now you’re prepared, let your hair down and enjoy the (really loud) music l WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS 23
JobBridge
A review of JobBridge was published by IMPACT last April to widespread media interest and attention of policy makers. HELENA CLARKE looks at the pitfalls of this labour activation programme and talks to contributors to the report.
Kevin says that, in a time of crisis, it is sometimes necessary to make sacrifices and think outside the box. “However, any justification of JobBridge as an emergency measure has now dissipated and it is time to take stock and address the gaps in regulation, monitoring and quality,” he says.
Dr Mary Murphy, lecturer in Irish politics and society at Maynooth University, was commissioned by IMPACT to write the report. She speaks of the importance of having independent evaluation and analysis of policy. “The government commissioned a report on JobBridge in 2012 but, three years later, it was important to revisit it, and to test 24
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whether the gut feeling many had – that all was not well – was borne out in reality” explains Dr Murphy.
Fits all
Targeted approach
The report came to a number of key conclusions but the one that struck Dr Murphy most was that the ‘one size fits all’ approach to getting people into employment was a major flaw. “The idea that one programme could target early school leavers, people with PhDs, or mothers hoping to return to work, inevitably led to a system which was open to massive exploitation and corrupt practices,” she says.
Photos: Conor Healy
At the very least, says Kevin, the system should be restructured, re-thought and re-sized. “We need to restrict the number of places available, restrict them to the long term unemployed and restrict both public sector employers – until the recruitLeft to right: Aengus Ó Snodaigh TD, IMPACT organiser Joe ment moratorium is ended – and low paid sector O’Connor and IMPACT deputy general secretary Kevin Callinan. employers from participating in such schemes. Everyone who participates in an internship programme is entitled to a quality experience which offers training and mentoring opportunities, career rageous. Basic protections that you would assume would be progression pathways, social insurance cover and fair there automatically just weren’t there. It was as if the Jobreimbursement,” he says. Bridge participants were being sacrificed for the greater good of economic recovery” she says.
Outcomes The IMPACT report was well received and there were a number of key outcomes from the publication of the report. Dr Murphy explains “We were invited to the Labour Market Council (the body appointed by the Government to drive the implementation of policies to tackle unemployment) to make a presentation of the report. This meant that the report went to the very heart of policy making, which was exactly what we would have hoped for.”
Dr Mary Murphy.
“Placing people into the open labour market, with inadequate monitoring to ensure standards were being adhered to, inevitably exposed people to exploitation,” she says.
Dr Murphy adds that the attendance at the report’s launch by Minister of State Kevin Humphries TD, and his engagement in media debate about the findings, indicates that it has the potential to influence future government policy.
The world of work is becoming increasingly insecure and therefore it is critical the government leads by example. “The degree to which people weren’t protected or insured against occupational sickness or injury, while being on an occupational programme created by the government, is out-
What the report has also managed to do is open up a debate about JobBridge, and the role of internships in the workplace, that relies on an informed analysis. As we face into the welcome decline in unemployment, the time has come to think more strategically about what kind of labour activation
Kevin speaks of a more targeted approach, guided by a national governance framework. “This would recognise different needs and challenge the growing culture of open market internships as a pervasive feature of our economy. Overuse and misuse of internships should not be allowed displace or replace full-time paid employment, or drive down basic terms and conditions for workers,” he says.
Kevin Humphreys TD Minister of State at Department of Social Protection.
Kevin says that there is a role to be played by all unions throughout the ICTU to provide leadership on the issue. “It’s vital that unions rise to the challenge of the wider regulation of internships, and to stamp out the culture of unpaid work as the entry route to paid employment in Ireland. Unions also need to play an oversight role in the use of internships as labour activation programmes” l WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS 25
Photo: Maura Hickey
Dessie knew that this approach effectively undermined the whole JobBridge scheme. “The proper criteria wasn’t being met, there was no training, no accompaniment, and no mentoring. People were being used as cheap labour,” says Dessie.
Looking into practices around JobBridge only led to more questions. “The Department of Social Protection did a complete review of JobBridge for the education sector because of our work but we needed to find out more – what was happening, why it wasn’t working, and what the benefits were, if any – so we commissioned the report,” says Dessie. The final report JobBridge – Time to Start Again? was published in April.
Deputy general secretary Kevin Callinan commissioned the report on behalf of IMPACT. “When the government’s own report suggests a 29% displacement of entry level jobs due to JobBridge, it’s time to question the validity of the system. We need to interrogate results from programmes such as these because they don’t just affect entry level jobs but the entire world of work, and therefore what we are willing to accept as a society.”
“It’s vital that unions rise to the challenge of the wider regulation of internships, and to stamp out the culture of unpaid work as the entry route to paid employment in Ireland.”
TWO YEARS ago IMPACT official Dessie Robinson found a number of JobBridge advertisements for the position of ‘classroom assistant’ in a number of schools. He explains “they were being used as special needs assistants, secretaries and in some cases teachers or even cleaners.”
Dessie contacted the Department of Social Protection and, after a number of meetings, the Department of Education and Skills, along with the Department of Social Protection “came out very clearly saying the role of classroom assistant doesn’t exist and therefore could not be advertised as a JobBridge position,” he says.
Photos: Conor Healy
JobBridge – time to s tart again?
schemes are needed in the current growth environment, and who they are for.
In the kitchen A quick sandwich at your desk or no lunch at all? We’ve developed some worrying habits around this essential mid-day meal. MARGARET HANNIGAN explores the range of lunchtime options.
ONE OF my favourite books, A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle opens with this wonderful line: “The year began with lunch.” And immediately I am hooked. What a great way to start a new year, having a six-course lunch with pink champagne in beautiful blue-skied Provence. I’ve re-read that book several times, always beginning with the same sigh of satisfaction and, in my imagination, sipping chilled bubbles that taste of grapefruit and happiness at Chez Mayle waiting for my foie gras, lobster mousse, and boeuf en daube. Not all lunches are such elaborate affairs. The whole notion of lunch as we know it has evolved in response to increased industrialisation. Before that the main meal was generally taken at mid-day, as the working day was shorter, and to facilitate cooking in daylight. With the industrialisation of society, the working day expanded. Long hours made a noon-time meal essential. This led to the arrival of the lunch hour which, contrary to the laws of nature, passes faster than any other hour in the day. The origin of the word lunch tells us more about its evolution. The word ‘luncheon’ dates back to the 17th century and comes from the 14th century Middle English word ‘nuncheon’, blending ‘noon’ and ‘schench’ (drink).
Pappardelle (ribbon pasta) with butternut and blue cheese Serves 6
It developed as a word for a snack taken between meals that you hold in your hands, with some credit due to the Earl of Sandwich’s favourite gambling-time snack. The development of a cheaper bread-making process in the 1950s, and Marks & Spencer’s packaging technology in the 1980s, has sustained this definition of ‘lunch’.
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Skipping food So where are we now? Well, we’re not in great shape. Recent research indicates that many workers average fifteen minutes in front of a computer for lunch. This is a growing trend, despite other research which shows that regular desk-dining elevates stress levels, boosting the stress hormone cortisol and increasing fat accumulation in the body. Stepping away from the desk for half an hour could be a useful strategy in the battle against weight gain. Nor is it advisable to skip lunch. This vital meal re-energises your body by boosting blood sugar levels and keeps your metabolism active. If you neglect the mid-day break, you risk exhausting your cognitive capacity, and will simply be running on empty. Aim for a combination of complex carbs (wholegrains, pulses) and lean protein to form a concentrated long-lasting source of energy. Add some fresh fruit, salads, leaves, and drink water or juice. For work, think portability, and invest in sturdy plastic containers in various sizes. Some foods are best kept apart until you’re ready to eat. Cucumber and tomatoes are healthy and tasty, but will make wraps, baps and sangers soggy unless added at the last minute. Similarly beetroot, raw onion, and pineapple tend to bully everything else into submission.
Leftovers Become opportunistic about leftovers, what’s too little for a main meal can be just right for lunch. But remember, too much carbs can cause a serotonin-induced lethargy, that’s the ‘4pm slump’ to you and me.
This recipe is easy, but looks like you made an effort. Best served with a green salad but that’s entirely up to you! l SUMMER-AUTUMN 2015
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Large butternut squash 1.25-1.5kg, cut into 2cm cubes 1 onion 2x15ml Tbsps. Olive oil Three-quarters tsp smoked paprika 1x15ml Tbsp unsalted butter 3x15ml Tbsp marsala(can substitute Amontillado sherry, or port) 125ml water Salt to taste 100g pine nuts 500g pappardelle, or other robust pasta 6 fresh sage leaves 125g soft blue cheese, such as Cashel Blue, or mature cheddar or Wensleydale if preferred
Peel and finely chop the onion and fry in the oil in a large heavybased pan that’s big enough to accommodate the pasta later. When the onion colours, add the paprika, then the squash and butter, turning everything together in the pan until coated in oil. Add the water and marsala, bring to bubbling point then reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile, put a large pan of water on for the pasta, add salt when it comes to the boil. Toast the pine nuts on a hot dry pan, keep an eye on them, they’re easily ruined, then tip onto a plate to cool. Check the squash is tender, if not cook for a few minutes with the lid off. When ready, season to taste, bear in mind the cheese will add saltiness later. Take it off the heat. Cook the pasta according to packet instructions. Give the pot an occasional stir, and while waiting, finely chop the sage leaves, and sprinkle most over the squash, keeping some back for garnish and give a quick stir; crumble the cheese and set aside for now. Before draining the pasta, scoop out a little of the cooking water in a mug and set aside. Drain the pasta, then add to the squash and slowly turn the pasta to combine. If it looks too dry, or won’t come together, add a little of the pasta-cooking water, the starch in it encourages the sauce to emulsify and cling to the pasta. Drop in the crumbled cheese and half the pine nuts and gently combine, then sprinkle over the remaining pine nuts and sage on top. The squash sauce can be made up to the addition of the sage one day ahead, then refrigerated and gently reheated. It can also be frozen for up to three months. Defrost overnight in fridge, and reheat as above. WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS 27
Photos: dreamstime.com
At home, just please yourself. For friends and family, sometimes simple assembly is all that’s required. Fresh crispy bread, three good cheeses, a salad of new tomatoes, and some cold cuts and chutney served with a warm welcome are all you need. Lunch is entertaining with a small ‘e’, without the performance anxiety of the dinner party, with perhaps a lighter heart, and in most cases, significantly less wine.
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Lunch is served
Green fingers
Our resident gardener ITA PATTON says the herb sage is not just for eating, but for making your borders look beautiful spring, summer and autumn. A FEW years ago, while researching for a presentation on herbs, I was intrigued by the many websites dedicated to Salvias (the scientific name for sage). All these sites were about one particular species, Salvia divinorum, and its mind altering hallucinogenic properties. It seems that Salvia divinorum, which is a native of Mexico, is used by the Mazatec tribe to facilitate shamanistic visions. Some very unusual results were noted on the effects of the plant, which include psychedelic-like changes in visual perception, mood and body sensations and, rather bizarrely, it made one subject “feel like a pair of pants”! Salvia is a particularly large genus, comprising of about 900 species (and countless cultivars), the best known to us being the common sage, Salvia officinalis, a native to the Mediterranean. The name “salvia” is derived from the Latin “salvere” which means to save or cure, alluding to the long held belief in the plants healing properties. It is claimed to be capable of curing many ailments such as colds, epilepsy, cholera and snake bites. Salvia argentea
Salvia officinalis and its more striking purple form, Salvia officinalis Purpurescens Group are easy to grow, like dryish soil and plenty of sun. They bear violet, purple or pink flowers in late summer/ early autumn attracting bees into the garden. After flowering, lightly trim the plant to keep them in good shape. They can be considered as relatively short lived perennial plants as they are
Sage - A wise choice for the garden Salvia microphylia
inclined to become very woody and leggy after five or six years. Fortunately, sage is easy to propagate by softwood cuttings, or seed sowing.
height and spread of four feet and five feet respectively and because the leaves and flowers cloak the plant down to the ground, it’s a perfect plant for the front of a border.
“It seems that Salvia divinorum is used by the Mazaree tribe to facilitate shamanic visions”
Borders In the National Botanic Gardens our salvia border, a south facing bed near the library/herbarium building, looks particularly well in autumn. This bed, although just a tiny example of such a large genus, does help display the variable growth habits, flower shape and colour of salvias (the hallucinogenic Salvia divinorum is not grown there!). Salvia patens, a tuberous perennial, is more Salvia officinalis in flower bed delicate than Salvia officinalis (the common sage) both in appearance and growing requirements, but is so worth a try. In autumn it bears deep electric blue flowers resembling the open beak of a hungry exotic bird. S. patens ‘Cambridge Blue’ is a popular cultivar and it grows well in containers. The shrubby Salvia microphylla may also look delicate with its neat growing habit, small mid green leaves topped off all through summer and autumn with vivid red flowers, but has proven to be a tough survivor of our winters. It reaches a X
The woodland sage, Salvia nemerosa has long been used in herbaceous borders for its showy slender spikes of indigo blue blooms. It is a native of Central Europe and Western Asia and grows best in well drained soil in full sun. Remove the spent flower spikes to prolong the already extensive flowering period. Two very good cultivars are Salvia ‘Ostfriesland’ and Salvia ‘Mainacht’.
Favourite Salvia involucrata from Mexico is probably my favourite version of this versatile herb. It has an arching habit and can reach heights of four to five feet if grown in the right conditions. Unlike most sages we are familiar with, it prefers a rich well drained soil and sun to semi shade, probably due to the fact that
the natural habitat of these plants is forest perimeter. The attractive velvety leaves are quite large and slightly hairy. In autumn it bears large purple red flowers of a bulbous puffed-out shape, enclosed in beetroot coloured bracts. This plant used to be lifted and overwintered under protection, but now seems well able to survive our milder winters. Medicinally, this plant has been traditionally used as a memory enhancer. The Royal Horticultural Society’s award of garden merit, Salvia involucrata ‘Bethelii’ is an excellent cultivar with its slightly smaller ovate leaves. As every gardener knows, foliage can also play a very important role in any planting scheme and salvias won’t let us down in this category either. Salvia argentea is easily the best for its ability to grab one’s attention with its rosettes of large silver leaves covered in soft hairs. It’s impossible to pass without stopping to touch. It is a short lived perennial and is often treated as a biennial. Because of our wet weather, we prefer to grow this sage under protection in the Alpine House. So if you are feeling a little gloomy as summer fades into autumn and the days shorten, make the wise choice and plant some sage in your garden O
Photos by dreamstime.com
Ita Patton is a craft gardener in the National Botanic Gardens O
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WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS
29
At the movies
Superheroes come of age The superhero genre is no more the sole preserve of children’s comic books, they are now a mainstay of today’s movie industry says MORGAN O’BRIEN. CINEMA HAS always loved its heroes and who is more heroic than the superhero? While the Oscar winning Birdman satirises Hollywood’s obsession with the genre, the last decade has witnessed a boom in superhero films that shows little sign of abating. Previously the preserve of childhood, comics have become part of the space of mainstream culture. While the notions of the Marvel and DC universes found in print may remain obscure to many, the burgeoning number of film adaptations will be familiar to most. The superhero genre is a broad church, principally associated with the costumed heroes of Marvel and DC comics, and houses a range of films. Before making his Spiderman trilogy, director Sam Raimi created the cult hit Darkman (1990). Equally, Matthew Vaughn’s X-Men: First Class (2011), marked by more traditional superhero action, stands in contrast to his blackly comic Kick-Ass (2010). Superheroes, in their early screen incarnations, including Captain America, Superman and Batman were the stuff of early morning TV shows. Hollywood remained largely indifferent. Childhood, after all, is short, and a 1950s congressional hearing on juvenile delinquency, influenced by Frederic Wertham’s scaremongering Seduction of the Innocent, pointed the finger of blame at comic books.
Blockbusters With the emergence of the era of blockbusters in the late 1970s, following the success of Star Wars and Jaws, Richard Donner capitalised with the release of Superman. Its success led to two sequels, with the films being generally light-hearted and marked by a nostalgic echoing of 1940s and ‘50s era Superman. In contrast, Tim Burton’s Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992) mimicked the darker tone of 1980s comics by writers such as Alan Moore and Frank Miller. The success of the films led to an increased interest in comic book adaptations. The results, however, were often lacklustre. Subsequent Batman films, directed ‰
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by Joel Schumacher, deteriorated into cheap laughs and an awful camp aesthetic, while early 1990s big screen versions of Captain America and The Fantastic Four disappeared largely without trace.
Best
Movies
Golden age The early part of the twenty first century has witnessed something of a golden age for superhero films, despite poorly realised efforts Daredevil (2003) and Catwoman (2004). The success of XMen (2000) hastened the development of a longrunning franchise, which drew together an effective balance between spectacle and character. Increasingly, this template of marrying blockbuster action with complex characters and plotting has been the template for a variety of superhero films ranging from Hellboy to Iron Man. This is due in no small part to the role of creative writers and directors, who have helped the superhero genre transcend its association with children’s entertainment and raised them above the lumpen crash-bang-wallop of, for example, the Transformers series. X-Men and Superman Returns director Bryan Singer made his name with the noir-inflected The Usual Suspects (1995) and the underrated Apt Pupil (1998), while Christopher Nolan successfully blended his intricate storytelling style into a darker reboot of the Batman franchise.
Adventure Similarly, in Joss Whedon’s hands the Avengers series has been an exhilarating, kinetic adventure, which ties together a range of characters from across the Marvel universe. Along with the stand alone films, which have essayed themes ranging from Norse mythology (Thor) and contemporary surveillance Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the series has become a highpoint in the canon of superhero movies. There seems little concern that audiences may have reached saturation point. DC plans the crossover films Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad, while later this year sees the release of Ant-Man and a rebooted Fantastic Four. Meanwhile, Netflix unleashed perhaps the darkest offering of all this year with the excellent Daredevil which capitalises on the long form storytelling offered by boxset binge viewing l
Darkman (1990) After making his name with the low budget horrors Evil Dead and Evil Dead II director Sam Raimi set about his own creation Darkman after being unable to obtain rights to either The Shadow or Batman. The film stars Liam Neeson as a scientist seeking retribution after being disfigured. Something of a cult hit, Darkman is a visceral revenge story that combines elements of noir, horror and superhero genres.
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1994) At a time when live action films had descended into a morass of nonsense, this animated feature, based on the excellent TV show Batman: The Animated Series, provided a welcome corrective. The film retains the noir inflected tone of the DC comics, with Batman pursuing a mysterious killer and the Joker (wonderfully voiced by Mark Hamill) and is considered by some as the best film adaptation of the Batman character.
Unbreakable (2000) Arguably M. Night Shyamalan’s best film, Unbreakable struggled to find an audience as X-Men set the tone for superhero pictures the same year. The film is a more low-key dramatic piece, which plays as an origins story. Bruce Willis is a security guard that discovers he has superhuman powers that he is encouraged to develop by Samuel L. Jackson’s comic book obsessive. A patient character study, the films quiet suspense is in contrast to more traditional superhero films.
Blade II (2002) The best in the Blade trilogy sees the titular human-vampire hybrid (Wesley Snipes) battle with an evolved group of vampires. Before vampires became the stuff of teen romance, Guillermo del Toro unleashed this wonderfully uncompromising and bloody comic book adaptation. Del Toro would subsequently take charge of the enjoyable Hellboy series.
Chronicle (2012) Failed to find an audience on its initial cinema release but has gained a strong reputation since. Josh Trank’s debut feature draws on the found footage motif to follow three teenagers who gain telekinetic powers. However, rather than this being the premise for the emergence of a superhero the film deals with the perilous consequences of the characters new found powers. WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS 31
Play it loud
Who are you? In his latest column, RAYMOND CONNOLLY marks the 50 year milestone of two great institutions. The first is Connolly’s musical idols The Who, a band that marked 50 years with recent concerts in Dublin and London. The second institution is Connolly himself, as he considers the challenge of growing older as gracefully as his heroes Roger and Pete.
Right, I shall commence with an apology. I’ve been banging on about the greatness of The Who for many years to anyone or anything who dared to listen. Even Felix, the feral cat that I feed daily, is in tune with the entire back catalogue at this stage. I have heroically tried to avoid any mention of The Who in recent columns but, as The Who Hits 50 tour nears a conclusion, I was specifically requested to do this piece. Sorry folks, my editor made me do it! By happy coincidence, as The Who mark 50 years as a band, your humble correspondent marks 50 years on this wonderful, wacky planet. The great thing about turning 50 is that if you haven’t grown up by now you don’t have to. Laughter is the gift which keeps you in the present. I heard a quote recently which I think is designed to console women. “Hot flushes? Don’t think of it as menopause. Think of it as regular short vacations in the tropics.” Excellent advice I reckon. On reaching 50 it’s surely time for me Keith Moon to realise some of my long held ambitions? Shall I explore the Antarctic or become an astronaut? It’s important to be decisive about these new challenges. Maybe right after my afternoon nap. My own celebration for The Who hitting 50 was to catch their Dublin and Hyde Park shows. A visit to Hyde Park also provided me with a wonderful opportunity to take myself into 32
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Photo: gettyimages.ie
“Hot flushes? Don’t think of it as menopause. Think of it as regular short vacations in the tropics.”
a corner with a loudspeaker and give it socks on my pet subject. The golden era of the British trade union movement – 1951 to 1963. An acquired taste I agree. But it was the improving working conditions at that time which helped to create a generation of Who-loving mods in the first place.
Sceptical I have always been sceptical about this ‘band turns 50’ type of thing. It reminds me of Trigger and his sweeping brush in Only Fools and Horses: ”This old broom has had 17 new heads and 14 new handles.” Many of the bands who are still on the go five decades later have had so many personnel changes that the claim of longevity barely stands up. At least with The Rolling Stones there are three of the original five, including one dead. With The Who it’s two from four as we lost Keith Moon in 1978 and John Entwistle in 2002. This does tend to present a bit of a problem. Keith Moon could do everything on a drum kit except keep time. John Entwistle, to me the world’s greatest ever bass player, kept the entire band in time and thus allowed ‘Moon the Loon’ the freedom to beat the bejaysus out of whatever drum happened to be nearest. The result was so exhilarating that the Moon/Entwistle axis is simply irreplaceable. I have a friend of a friend called ‘Stocking Dave’. A lovely lad but so named because of the stocking face features he has acquired from numerous brawls. His appetite for destruction is fulsome. And it’s never his fault. Honest! I was at a recent stag party in Lisbon with Dave. The groom was worried sick that something would kick off. I discovered that Dave’s hero is Keith Moon. Kindred spirits. So every time Dave looked as if he was about to kick off I’d simply shout “hey Dave… Happy Jack”. Dave would John Entwistle respond by bashing an imaginary drum kit to this Who classic. The deescalation strategy worked a treat. What we’re left with, Who-wise, isn’t too shabby. Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey are an immense and complex cocktail. They spent the years in their pomp not really getting along. Townshend is a complex guy. It is hard to warm to someone who takes 60 odd years to warm to himself. ‰
While The Beatles were ooohing and aaahing their way around the pop world a 22 year old Townshend was breaking taboos with songs like I’m a boy exploring gender identity. He’s intense. Nobody else was being so wilfully and daringly creative in pop music in 1967. Roger’s linear thought process didn’t really synchronise with Townshend’s arty genius. Roger’s approach to conflict resolution was to loaf him, which is a bit Dublin 11. Now, before any D11ers take offence, I’m D11 born, bred and buttered myself.
Daltrey Daltrey idolised Townshend’s ability but he never really got a fair crack of the whip in return. However, in his relatively recent brilliant autobiography Who I am Townshend had this to say: ”Roger Daltrey has been lovingly concerned about my writing this book. He is one of the most important people in my life and certainly the most important man in my life. Roger has so far refused to tell his side of the story. For now he has to sing the stories I write for him. Nobody does it better.” The combination of tension and mutual respect between the two keeps The Who fresh, but is unlikely to see the band producing new material. They know their audience. There are bound to be a few anoraks intrigued by the possibility of a new Who song, but the parka jackets need the old tunes delivered with that dangerously pugnacious spirit that defines The Who’s sound. Thanks for the wonderful legacy boys l
Summer-Autumn 2015 solutions (From page 46) Easy 5 4 1 9 2 7 3 6 8
6 8 3 5 4 1 2 7 9
2 9 7 3 6 8 4 1 5
3 2 9 4 5 6 7 8 1
7 5 4 1 8 3 6 9 2
1 6 8 2 7 9 5 3 4
8 3 2 6 1 4 9 5 7
9 1 5 7 3 2 8 4 6
4 7 6 8 9 5 1 2 3
6 4 5 7 8 3 9 1 2
7 9 2 5 4 1 3 6 8
1 3 8 2 9 6 5 4 7
2 7 3 4 1 8 6 5 9
5 8 4 6 7 9 2 3 1
9 1 6 3 5 2 7 8 4
Difficult 3 4 8 2 6 5 1 7 9 9 8 1 6 2 3 4 5 7 8 1 4 7 9 2 5 3 6
Spring-Summer 2015 Crossword Solutions See page 46 for the competition winners from issue 29.
ACROSS: 5. Ballivor 6. Cap 9. Apache 11. Eb 13. Runner 16. Slavery 17. Pass 18. Faha 20. Tea 21. Be 22. Cruiser 23. USA 24. Stream 25. Sham.DOWN: 1. Parnell 2. Plot 3. Ivor 4. Crater 6. Cavan 7. Ac 8. Phase 10. Cree 12. Bathe 14. Nostrum 15. Rhea 17. Priest 19. Abet 22. Coat.
WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS 33
Travel and trips The Spanish cathedral city of León is a jewel amongst the timeless walking trails of the famed Camino de Santiago. The city is just isolated enough in Spain’s north western wine country to allure with its own colourful traditions. JAMES HENDICOTT looks to the Spanish northwest and checks out the culture.
A memorable stop on the
a tumble-down village that feels like it’s been raised straight from the dusty stone it now sits upon.
Castrillo With a population of around 100, Castrillo is a relic of La Maragatería, a unique local culture with its own simple architectural style, fiercely localised cuisine and language.
CASTILE AND León is the largest autonomous community in Spain, constituted in 1983, although it existed for the first time during the First Spanish Republic in the 19th century. León province lies to the northwest of the region and the city of León is the provincial capital and home to just over half a million people.
Burial of Genarin.
There are no cars, only craftily hidden shops and restaurants, while the streets are strewn with ramshackle carts and creeping flower beds that feel like they appeared as long ago as the houses themselves. Even on the fringes of summer, the heat starts to kick in around midday, which means braving it, a retreat for a quick siesta, or dropping in somewhere cooler.
The starting place for any trip to this historic city is the Plaza Regla, where the dominant gothic cathedral towers over the city. It’s a formidable structure, all jaggedly imposing towers, intimidating interior, and jarring gold statues. Inside, soaring stained glass prompts open-mouthed gaping below vaulted ceilings.
The locals retreat to candlelit las cuevas, restaurants set in red-rock underground caverns, where generous plates of meat are served on tables made from wine barrels, alongside wine fresh from the vineyards.
León seems to spread out from the feet of the 13th century structure, with ice cream parlours meeting crumbling city walls in ancient streets.
The Holy Grail Basilica of Saint Isidore.
The city lays claim to possession of the Holy Grail, in the form of a gold encrusted, stone-enshrined goblet that’s been scientifically dated and is housed in the slightly more crumbling structure of the Basilica of Saint Isidore.
Every dangerously cheap drink comes with a different offering: full bodied prieto picudo red wine with meatballs; beer spiked with herbal shots and served with breadcrumb baked mussels, or matar judíos – a spiked, sparkling lemonade – with cured cow tongue.
The wonky two-century old goblet certainly looks the part, but as one of two hundred separate claims across Europe, also requires a certain suspension of disbelief.
Photos: draeamstime.com
León’s finest corners are filled with details that charm. Calligraphy shops, clocks built into the arch of wrought iron lamp posts, or the tiled plazas that are polished enough to reflect the sun’s glare over a morning coffee. There’s a hint here of Rome’s quieter corners – the city’s history is a Roman one – and is given still more timeless appeal by the clatter of clamshells and the morning hike from the city that signals another batch of travellers making their way across the famed Camino de Santiago. They follow the brass markers in the footsteps of St James as they stroll on down their famous path. Summer in León means street markets, in the form of the crowded walkways and jumbled 34
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Camino de Santiago brass markers.
assortments of the huge Rastro de León (Sundays) or the classier but pricier throwback of Mercado de Antigüedades, home to some authentic (and some less-than-convincing) antiques alongside musty hardback books and flamboyant art. The glaring colours of the Museum of Contemporary Art home to a grand mix of workshops and exhibitions - also come to life in the summer sunshine. Down the road at Burgos and the Castrillo de Murcia, newborn children are ‘cleansed’ annually by grown men in yellow devil costumes and masks. The ritual of ‘baby leaping’ sees the newborns lie scattered in petals and entirely oblivious. This bizarre sight is enough to drive a nervous parent to drink.
Out on the tiles
Plaza Regla.
Like most corners of Spain, León’s nightlife centres around tapas bars and the lively buzz of dimly lit evening streets. Bars boast a variety of old world themes as you’re ushered through to high-stooled corners and often served morcilla, a sloppy, ruby red form of black pudding mopped up with toast. ‰
Matar judios, bizarrely, is a local special that translates roughly (and disturbingly) as ‘kill the Jews’, a throwback to the ending of holy week prohibition in the 14th century. It's a metaphor untouched by political correctness, based on the hope that locals would drink themselves into a stupor rather than search out the local Jewish populace for an Easter reckoning.
Drinking rituals This is a town with odd drinking rituals. Holy Week includes "The Burial of Genarín”, a celebration of getting drunk to honour Genarín, an unfortunate beggar killed in 1929 by the city’s first refuse truck. It’s hard not to get lured into a tapas pub crawl as a dinner replacement. The hunt for the bar with the best side dishes is one that will go on as long as you stay. León remains very child friendly in the early evenings. With a night-time culture revolving around social food and drink rather than binging, having a kid tucking into a plate of chips and an orange juice while you’re working on your third glass of wine simply seems the sociable option. An escape to the wineries or the nearby rustic villages puts León in context. Castrillo de los Polvazares is top of the list,
Castrillo de los Polvazares.
León fuses the charm of a sociable city with alluring food, a rich atmosphere and history poking its nose out of every hollow. Every morning, as the backpackers search out their Camino stamps and trek out of the city to their next stop, León maintains its more graceful traditions.
Practicalities Fly to Barcelona and then onwards to León airport with Spanish airline Iberia. Alternatively, regular flights to Madrid (Aer Lingus, Iberia, Ryanair) take you four hours from the city by bus, or three by handy car hire. There’s no lack of accommodation options, in cheerfully affordable and exuberantly luxurious. The classy decor of the oddly named Purple Dog Suites is particularly worthy of splashing out on l WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS 35
From the author
A city at war with itself
with my granny for herself and her three sons, and that was my family’s total involvement in the Irish Civil War.” It is this gift for storytelling that has made Pádraig’s writing on Dublin in the early 20th Century so compelling. Starting with his definitive work on the 1913 Lockout, Pádraig has since written A City in Wartime 1914-1918, and A City in Turmoil 1919-1921 which looks at the effect of the War of Independence on the city.
Lockout
"Initial euphoria (about the British departure) gave way to fear. Parts of the country were run by units of the IRA, some were conscientious, but others were not” he says.
“When I wrote about the Lockout and its effect on the people of the city, I became curious about how the city had changed” says Pádraig. Newspaper archives provide him with his primary guide to telling the story of events, allowing him to track what else was taking place in the city as events unfolded during the Civil War.
Photo: gettyimages.ie
“The truce at the end of the War of Independence marked the beginning of the Civil War. This was the high-water mark of paramilitaries in Ireland, while at the same time large numbers of people were displaced, sometimes brutally, by
the departure of the British. Initial euphoria (about the British departure) gave way to fear. Parts of the country were run by units of the IRA, some were conscientious, but others were not” he says. It was, he says, a lawless period. The turmoil and fear, along with catastrophic collateral damage caused by the fighting, helps to explain the popular support that developed for the Free State government. This included support from the trade unions.
Ultimately, Padraig observes, the Irish middle classes succeeded in replacing the British government as a ruling elite. He points out that Karl Kautsky, the Czech-Austrian philosopher and Marxist said that the Irish working class had done more than any other group to achieve Irish independence but that they would pay the highest price for it. A City in Civil War: Dublin 1921–1924, by Padraig Yeates is published by Gill & Macmillan and available in all good bookshops. The book will be reviewed in the next edition of Work & Life. By Niall Shanahan l
Challenging study Four Courts siege, 1922.
In his latest book, A City in Civil War: Dublin 1921–1924, PÁDRAIG YEATES turns his attention to Ireland’s bitter and hard-fought civil war and its impact on the capital city and its inhabitants.
occupied my granny’s flat, which was at the back of a house in Parnell Street.” So begins a conversation with journalist and author Pádraig Yeates when we met recently to discuss his latest volume of Dublin history. We’re standing on the corner of Rutland Place as Pádraig jabs a thumb over his shoulder, in the direction of a small building at the end of the lane. “You can just about see where the flat was, they started sniping at Barry’s Hotel. I heard that story from my father. “Many years later I heard the story from a veteran from the Civil War, in the Citizen Army, who had gone up to Barry’s with Countess Markievicz, after they were driven out of O’Connell Street. He told me the story of being sniped at from a building in Rutland Place, my Granny’s flat. He said at first they thought the firing was coming from the Orange Hall, at the bottom of the laneway.
Shot Padraig Yeates pictured at Rutland Place, where his grandmother's flat came under fire. Watch him tell his story on the IMPACT YouTube channel at youtube.com/user/IMPACTUnion.
“DURING THE civil war the headquarters of the anti-treaty IRA, in the initial fighting, was Barry’s Hotel, which is on Great Denmark Street. The Commander there was Oscar Traynor, and as the Free State troops cleared O’Connell Street and closed in on Barry’s, a group of national army soldiers 36
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“It was Countess Markievicz who worked out where the shots were coming from and she told them to aim their fire at this house instead. She told them not to try and hit anyone specifically. On her order they were to fire at this window together and the sheer number of bullets being fired would generate such dust and splinters of glass and brickwork and wood and so on, it would blind anyone from firing inside. “So that’s what they did and the firing stopped. Now, I’ve no record from my father of anyone being injured in the house, but he certainly said at one point they were rumbled, the snipers, and they left again. And they left some of their rations
Following the launch of his new book on the difficult subject of suicide, IMPACT’s Boards and Voluntary Agencies branch chair Derek Beattie spoke to KEIVAN JACKSON about the publication. CO-AUTHORED with consultant psychiatrist Dr Patrick Devitt, Suicide: A Modern Obsession (Liberties Press) is a wide-ranging and highly detailed examination of one of society’s most sensitive subjects. Derek explains that the book stresses the importance of separating myth from reality around suicide and does not shy away from controversy in the process. Having both personally known people who have taken their own lives the authors´ work is inspired by compassion, but also by a desire to ‘clarify many of the misunderstandings that surround suicide’. The book openly questions the widely-held assumption that talking about suicide and regular media coverage of the issue is a good thing. The authors have come across no evidence that it actually reduces suicide and they fear it may even be harmful. Derek expresses concern about ‘suicide's copycat effects’ and notes that “When celebrities die by suicide, there are more suicides in the general population.” Rather than focussing on the topic of suicide itself, Beattie and Devitt suggest that the problems that lead people to have suicidal thoughts such as mental
Derek Beattie.
illness, alcohol and relationship problems, should be the focus of discussion and interventions. Research for the book has also led the authors to challenge the orthodoxy that most suicides are preventable. Derek argues that suicide “has existed in all societies throughout all periods of human history. Any notion that it can be eradicated from Ireland or any other country is therefore misleading. We feel that it would be more accurate to talk about suicide reduction initiatives.” Suicide: A Modern Obsession’s key messages contain some bold assertions that challenge contemporary thinking on the subject of suicide. These insights are not made lightly. They are meticulously researched and backed up, highlighting this book as essential reading for decision-makers and professionals as well as those personally affected by suicide in our communities. Whether the content will successfully help develop the way we engage with suicide, only time will tell l WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS 37
Book reviews
Tender Belinda McKeon (Picador, €20.30).
Happily for us this new book is as brilliant, if not better, than her first. It is not so much a novel as a literary time machine. It offers the opportunity to transport you back to your eighteen–year old self and to a time when all the possibilities of life shone in dazzling colours within easy reach of your grasping hand. The book is structured around the relationship that develops between Catherine, from Longford, and James from Meath when they meet through mutual student friends in Dublin. Catherine is a fresher in Trinity College, studying English and History of Art, and James has just returned from an internship with a photographer of some renown in Berlin. He’s not in college, pursues his art independently, is widely read and has met everyone. He’s full of ideas, and discussion, and unlike anyone Catherine has ever met. For his part, he is happy to have an accomplice in the everyday acts of living.
A Shadow in the Yard Liz McManus (Ward River Press). POLITICAL AND social upheaval forms the background to Liz McManus's new novel. Spanning time from 1969/70 to 1998, the story opens with a tragic occurrence in Donegal. It’s narrated mostly by Rosaleen McAvady, a young housewife who cares for her husband and two young children while dreaming of a more exciting life. In many ways, Rosaleen’s life is better than many of her contemporaries. She has a degree in architecture and her husband, Kevin also an architect, provides them with a good income. She even has her own car. She is open and friendly with people but when she befriends an elderly neighbour, Kevin cautions her to stay away. Rosaleen's rebellious friend Laura hates the boredom of marriage and motherhood and is having an affair. Rosaleen remains unaware that she has walked herself into a world of pain and betrayal. Rosaleen is captive to the conventions of her time. She’s expected to stay at home despite having a good education, has no access to contraception, must seek permission from 38
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In the way that many such intense friendships are forged, they become close over a weekend of drinking tea and talking in a student flat on Baggot Street, Dublin. Bathed in the light of James’ charisma and optimism, Catherine blossoms and asserts her independence. But, as her horizons expand, James’s boundaries appear to reach their limit. They move in animated circles of friends and parties and partings and couplings and unrequited crushes. They create an unsafe and secret harbour for themselves within that. The resulting crisis is borne of obsession and has life-long implications. It is there all the time, in the shadows and music and memories of those years that can bring a long-forgotten day, or hour, or even a moment suddenly and vividly to life. Belinda McKeon has said that this book is autobiographical at its core. It would be hard to believe otherwise, so true and vivid is her writing. She absolutely captures the confusion of being young and on the threshold of adult life. Excited about the possibility of doing absolutely everything, and so terrified at the same time of messing it all up. The whole practicality of navigating your way into the world leaves Catherine feeling overwhelmed. She hasn’t yet solved the mystery of her new self. James’ certainty, his charisma, and his incorrigible sociability buoy her up. Their intense closeness gives her confidence. She has never known a boy like him, never really known a boy at all. He gets her, and she gets him, and that propels them forward. This is a wonderful book. Donal Ryan, author of The Spinning Heart , is quoted inside the cover thus: “Belinda McKeon has an inimitable, to die-for writing style, and a sublime talent for constructing a clear, often poetic exposition of the complexities of friendship and love, of the unfathomable nature of human relationships.” I couldn’t agree more. Margaret Hannigan.
her husband to get a job, and worries about what people think of her. The second part of the book is told from the 1998 viewpoint of Rosaleen’s daughter, Aoife McAvady. Her story demonstrates the changes to the lives of Irish women in less than 30 years. She seeks approval from no-one and values independence. Aoife is, however, clearly affected by the events that took place when she was only six years old. She has been brought up perfunctorily by an aunt in Dublin. She’s having an affair with a married man. The book deftly explores many aspects of Irish life. McManus navigates the passage of time, the sea change in social attitudes and conventions, and developments in the North over the period. The novel isn’t preachy though it is strained by the weight of ambition to include so much social history. The story itself is engaging and the wild weather of Donegal is used well to signal the doom lurking beneath. Kathryn Smith.
Domestic workers’ plight remains hidden Tragic events in the Mediterranean, with migrants risking their lives to flee conflict and extreme poverty in volatile parts of the world, have grabbed the media spotlight in recent months. KEIVAN JACKSON says that while international attention remains focused on the issue, it’s important that we make the most of opportunities to support migrant workers across the world. A RECENT report by the EU Fundamental Rights Agency revealed that migrant domestic workers in Ireland are most susceptible to workplace exploitation. This is a story repeated across the world with domestic staff, who often experience appalling working conditions and a lack of basic labour protections. Workers leave their home countries in search of a better life elsewhere, but often find themselves facing exploitation and abuse, hidden away in private households without any recourse to justice.
Domestic workers There are over 50 million domestic workers globally, but labour laws in many countries tend to exclude them, giving rise to a culture of exploitation. Human rights campaigners have documented abuses including long hours with no breaks and no days off, unpaid wages, daily beatings, sexual assaults and confiscation of passports. Such conditions have often led to mental health problems and, in extreme circumstances, some workers have attempted suicide. In May the Indonesian Government announced that it will stop sending domestic workers to 21 countries across the Middle East and North Africa. This followed a welldocumented history of ill-treatment and the execution of two Indonesian women in Saudi Arabia. There are an estimated 2.4 million domestic workers across the Gulf area and allegations of abuse are widespread. Upon arrival in the region most domestic workers enter the kafala system, within which it is illegal to abscond from abusive employers or switch workplaces. Ending these abusive practices is a formidable challenge. Official bans on migrant workers going to blacklisted countries could drive labour underground, and into more perilous conditions. Gulf countries rely on foreign labour to fill their employment markets. With more than 22 million migrant workers in the region they have the potential to
Photo: Migrant Rights Centre Ireland - MRCI
BELINDA McKEON’S first book Solace, won the Geoffrey Faber memorial Prize, the Sunday Independent Best Newcomer Award and the Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book of the Year in 2011. Coming fresh on the heels of such success, her second novel bears the burden of high expectations. A brilliant debut can be a hard act to follow.
International
organise and could exercise considerable bargaining power. But many forces exist to inhibit any such development, including the fear of being deported while still in debt to employment agencies in their home countries.
Basic rights The global domestic workers’ movement is relatively young, but has managed to secure some notable advancements in recent years. The June 2011, ILO Domestic Workers Convention (C189), which outlines basic rights, marked a huge step forward. Progress has been slow. Only 14 countries having brought the new labour standards into force. Several individual governments have adopted labour reforms, but new regulations are often limited in scope and not enshrined in law. A comprehensive overhaul of the kafala and other tied visa systems is essential, ensuring that workers are free to escape abusive employers. Legal protections must be extended to include domestic workers as well as access to services that offer practical support. Despite hostile environments across the world, workers are attempting to organise and promote unity and collective action. The international trade union body Public Services International (PSI) has taken action by developing a ‘PSI Passport card’ and continues to lobby for rights-based labour migration governance. In Lebanon, a newly-formed Lebanese Domestic Workers’ Union led this year’s Workers’ day parade in Beirut, highlighting conditions for 250,000 migrant domestic workers in the country. International solidarity is the key to commanding attention in other parts of the world. We all need to support exploited migrant workers to emerge out of the shadows, share their experiences and contest the commodification of working people l WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS 39
Union business
IMPACT members vote 3 to 1 in favour of Lansdowne Road Agreement
The agreement is subject to ratification by an aggregate ballot of the Public Services Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. This is expected to take place in the early autumn, once all of the public service unions complete their ballots. IMPACT general secretary Shay Cody said that a series of information meetings, held in workplaces throughout the country during the three-week ballot, had encouraged IMPACT members to fully interrogate the provisions of the agreement.
Cabin crew ballot in favour of Aer Lingus roster proposals
Shay said “The Lansdowne Road Agreement marks the first positive movement on public sector pay in more than eight years, and the commencement of the process to unwind the emergency legislation that was used to cut pay during the economic crisis. It was important for IMPACT members to be fully informed about the agreement before casting their vote.” He said this had encouraged a quality debate within the membership of IMPACT and that this was reflected in the ballot result. Shay said that the increase to public sector worker incomes, from 1st January 2016, would boost domestic demand and support continuing economic growth. “Pay improvements in the public and private sectors will be spent in the domestic economy, in small and medium enterprises all over the country. That spending will help those businesses to grow, to create jobs and help to improve living standards. “IMPACT has consistently argued that the whole country needs a pay rise after such a long period of wage stagnation. With pay improvements already taking place in the private sector, more noticeably since 2014, it makes sense for public sector pay to keep in step” he said.
Win on SNA post arrangements
Photo: IMPACT communications unit
IMPACT HAS finalised an agreement with the Department of Education and Skills on a revised circular to deal with our dispute over the fragmentation of special needs assistants (SNA) posts. The agreement follows a ballot for industrial action by SNAs in March this year. Subsequently, the Minister for Education and Skills Jan O’ Sullivan TD, issued an invitation to unions and management to discuss the issue when she addressed IMPACT’s Education divisional conference in April.
The dispute over rosters led to a one day strike action by cabin crew in 2014.
In a letter to SNA branch secretaries in June, assistant general secretary Dessie Robinson explained that the union ballot sought a firm commitment from the department that no SNA would have their working hours or income reduced, once there is work available in the school as determined by the NCSE allocation, and prior to any new member of staff being recruited to the school.
MEMBERS OF the cabin crew branch have balloted in favour of proposals put forward by Aer Lingus to address outstanding roster issues. IMPACT national secretary Matt Staunton explained that the branch had balloted for industrial action following an earlier Labour Court recommendation which the branch described as ‘disappointing’.
Dessie added, “The Education Divisional Executive Committee meeting on Wednesday 10th June 2015 received an update on the negotiations and expressed the view that the terms of the industrial action ballot had been met. The Department of Education and Skills placed a revised circular on its website on Friday 12th June in advance of the announcement of the allocations for the 2015/2016 school year.”
Subsequently, the union was approached by the employer with an offer which the branch and full-time official assessed could provide the basis for a settlement. This was put to a ballot of members with a recommendation to accept the proposals, which were approved by a margin of 89%.
Dessie further explained that there will be some situations where the special needs assistant allocation to the school is reduced because of particular circumstances. “In such situations affected SNAs should ensure that the supplementary assignment arrangements are complied with so that the SNA has the opportunity of alternative employment” he said.
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Inner city grants scheme Photo: IConor Healy
IMPACT members have voted 3 to 1 in favour of the Lansdowne Road Agreement. The ballot result, which was announced in early July, saw 75% of IMPACT members vote in favour of the agreement, which extends the main provisions of the Haddington Road Agreement until September 2018, and restores around €2,000 to the pay of most public servants in three phases between January 2016 and September 2017.
Public sector pension restoration PUBLIC SECTOR pensions were the subject of a separate engagement with the ICTU Public Services Committee and the Alliance of Retired Public Servants during the recent pay talks, as pensions are not directly covered by the agreement. The parties reached an agreement that pensions would be increased by way of a reduction in the pensions related deduction (Public Service Pension Reduction – PSPR) made from pensions in payment. The agreed measures were subject to a government decision on the matter. Details were subsequently announced by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin TD, on Tuesday (16th June). The changes provide for a restoration of pension income on a phased basis over three years. A total of 80,000 out of 140,000 public service pensioners will be exempted from the PSPR deduction during this agreement. Pensions below €12,000 were not subject to the deduction, which was originally introduced in 2011. More detailed information and tables are available on the department’s website (per.gov.ie/press-releases/).
IMPACT objection to psychometric testing upheld IMPACT’S OBJECTION to the use of psychometric testing for the short-listing of applicants to the positions of senior executive officer, senior executive planner and senior executive engineer has been successful in preventing this form of evaluation for internal applicants in local government. Peter Nolan, national secretary with IMPACT explained “the Local Government Management Agency and Public Appointments Service had commenced a short-listing process based upon psychometric testing.” Peter said that, following IMPACT’s objection, psychometric testing will not be applied to the confined competition for these posts. Candidates who applied for the posts and who have been notified that they failed the tests will now be advised that they are eligible to go to the next stage of the competition.
Labour Court success for homeless hostels workers THE LABOUR Court has issued a recommendation to maintain shift premiums for redeployed homeless hostel staff in Dublin City Council (DCC). The staff receive a time-plus-one-quarter shift premium. A review carried out in 2013 led to a decision to close the DCC homeless hostel service. IMPACT assistant general secretary Phil McFadden explained, “Initially, the employer only wanted to give this allowance to some of the staff involved. IMPACT’s view was that this approach would have been unfair. The Court agreed that retaining the premium for all of the staff would be the most equitable approach. We made the case because we needed to ensure our members did not suffer unjustly because of circumstances outside of their control.”
Left to right: Alan Tsang, Fergus McCabe, Nahom Alem, Calvin Darcy Kanda at the Launch of the Inner City Grants Fund.
IMPACT’S INNER city small grants fund was launched in June. IMPACT operates this small grants scheme as part of an ongoing contribution to the community in which it is based and the fund supports local initiatives in the areas of education and intercultural development. IMPACT vice president Paddy Quinn launched the scheme. “In 2015, the Dublin fund had a budget of €35,000, which will be divided between the two designated areas of education and intercultural development. “This year the fund has been extended to other parts of the country in which IMPACT is based. Therefore, IMPACT is looking to establish community contacts in the areas surrounding its regional offices in Cork, Limerick and Sligo” he said.
GET UNION NEWS FAST IMPACT members can sign up to receive regular emailed news bulletins from the union.
Visit www.impact.ie for details.
WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS 41
Conference season
Conference close-ups
by NIALL SHANAHAN
Education division IMPACT’s Education division held its conference in Galway in early April. The fragmentation of SNA posts was on the agenda, as well as Early Childhood Care and concerns, about cuts to the School Completion Programmes (SCP) and other issues including grant paid school secretaries. Delegates also voted on a motion to seek improved recognition on pregnancy-related sick leave. The conference was addressed by Education and Skills Minister Jan O’Sullivan TD.
Health & Welfare/Civil Service divisions The union’s Health and Welfare and Civil Service divisions held their conferences in Ennis, Co. Clare in May. IMPACT national secretary Louise O’Donnell told the Minister for Health, Leo Varadkar TD, that there is an inbuilt culture of dysfunction in Irish health services that is threatening its future, and said that results from a recent health service employee survey, Have Your Say reflected very poorly on the HSE as an employer. Helen Cousins, Galway branch, brought a motion seeking the end of zero hours contracts, which she said is a growing feature in the social care sector. At the Civil Service division’s conference, national secretary Eamonn Donnelly said the time has come for recruitment in the civil service as gaps emerge in some professional and technical grades.
Local Government and Services & Enterprise divisions The Local Government and Services & Enterprise divisions held their conferences in Galway in May. Outgoing chair, Shane Lambert, told delegates that the years of recession have encouraged workers to unite and support each other. Delegates also voiced concern over the underrepresentation of women at senior management level in local government (see page 18). The Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government Alan Kelly TD made a commitment to engage in discussions with IMPACT on a number of issues including library amalgamation proposals, the future of fire services, social housing and sick leave anomalies. A range of motions including an emergency motion opposing the sale of the state’s share in Aer Lingus, were debated at the Services & Enterprises conference.
Photos: Reg Gordon.
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WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS 43
Sport Sport Kerry are the last county to successfully defend the All-Ireland senior football championship title and entered the summer of 2015 as the county most likely to lift the Sam Maguire once again. KEVIN NOLAN looks at the form and focus of the county, as well as the contenders who want to stop them reclaiming the big prize.
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Photo: Stephen McCarthy / SPORTSFILE
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Photo: Ray McManus / SPORTSFILE
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HOW TO PLAY: Fill in the grid so that every row, column and 3x3 box contains the digits 1–9. There is no maths involved. You solve it with reasoning and logic.
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Which superhero featured in a 1989 movie? A Superman B Batman C Raymond Connolly. Who instigated this year’s Ethics at Work initiative? A John Higgins B Alex Higgins C Michael D Higgins. Which environmentally-friendly means of transport increased its Irish sales by 400% last year? A The skateboard B The electric car C The horse. The small print* You must be a paid-up IMPACT member to win. Only one entry per person (multiple entries will not be considered). Entries must reach us by Thursday 17th September 2015. The editor’s decision is final. That’s it! 46 46
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How do you like Work & Life? WE HOPE you enjoyed this issue of Work & Life, the magazine for IMPACT members. We want to hear your views, and we’re offering a €100 prize to one lucky winner who completes this questionnaire.
Simply complete this short survey and send it to Roisin Nolan, Work & Life survey, IMPACT, Nerney’s Court, Dublin 1. You can also send your views by email to rnolan@impact.ie.
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ACROSS 1. European country (5) 5. Usually comes after 7 (5) 8. Lists of items for discussion (7) 9. Tred round ring sounds infatuated (5) 10. Eskimo hut (5) 11. Rop went round this town (7) 14. Cares for those fields (5) 17. Sam, Maggie or Black, depending on the spelling (5) 20. See a wing pan turn to dpositing it’s wares (7) 21. An open space (4) 22. A fruity appointment (4) 23. To dislike anything new (9) 24. Any of the faculties, sounds sweet! (5) 27. Brief/pithy (5) 30. Breed of dogs (6) 32. As with see placates (5) 33. Superior in rank (5) 34. Entertaining (7) 35. Big Ear’s BF (5) 36. Something your dirty linen should not be in public (5) DOWN 1. Large Country (5) 2. Fater comes later (5) 3. Tall tales of cloth (5) 4. Childish card game (4) 5. Some show them its proper name gives off (5) 6. Ditch (5) 7. Molar like projection on a rake (5) 12. Don’t cry should this happen
PRIZE CROSSWORD 1
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The survey
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1. What did you think of the articles in the summerautumn 2015 issue of Work & Life?
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13. 15. 16. 18. 19. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 31.
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to the milk! (4.5) Prepared to entertain guests at all times (4,5) Fib after the cleaner to get an informal prince (7) PS daxen increases in size (7) Authorisation from electorate for him to go on 22A (7) Plans & procedures to act out with tics (7) Lustre with 15D (5) Soden disconcerted the curious (5) Composition (5) A genus of conifers in the pine family (5) Fresher (5) Sinned (5) Exlamation shut upturned (4)
Win €50 by completing the crossword and sending your entry, name and address to Roisin Nolan, Work & Life crossword, IMPACT, Nerney’s Court, Dublin 1, by Thursday 17th September 2015. We’ll send €50 to the first correct entry pulled from a hat.
Winners!
4. What were your least favourite articles? 1 __________________________________________________ 2 __________________________________________________
Crossword composed by Maureen Harkin
Which band recently marked their 50 year anniversary with concerts in London and Dublin? A The Where B The Why C The Who.
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What did a 1950s confressional hearing blame for juvenile delinquency? A Comic books B Elvies Presley C Communism.
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Just answer five easy questions and you could win €50. YOU COULD add €50 to your wallet or purse by answering five easy questions and sending your entry, name and address to Roisin Nolan, Work & Life prize quiz, IMPACT, Nerney’s Court, Dublin 1. We’ll send €50 to the first completed entry pulled from the hat.* You’ll find the answers in this issue of Work & Life.
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Prize quiz
Your view
The winners from competitions in the spring-summer issue were:
Crossword: Brian McKeever, Cavan. Survey: Grace Conlon, Teagasc General. Quiz: Paul Scollard, Dublin City. Books: Therese O’Connor, Dublin, Barbara Gethings, Wicklow, Karen Harrington, Cork, Michael Foley, Dublin. Lots more competitions to enter in this issue!
3 __________________________________________________ 5. What subjects would you like to see in future issues of Work & Life?
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6. What did you think of the balance between union news and other articles?
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The balance is about right
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I want more union news
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I want less union news
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2. What did you think of the layout, style and pictures in the summer-autumn 2015 issue of Work & Life? Excellent
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7. Any other comments? ______________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________
Comments ________________________________________
Name ________________________________________________
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Address ______________________________________________
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3. What were your favourite three articles?
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Email ________________________________________________
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Phone ________________________________________________
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IMPACT branch ______________________________________
The small print* You must be a paid-up IMPACT member to win. Only one entry per person (multiple entries will not be considered). Entries must reach us by Thursday 17th September 2015. The editor’s decision is final. That’s it! WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS 47