NIPSA Reports: December 2013

NIPSAReportsDecember 2013 Tel: 028 90661831 www.nipsa.org.ukTHE NEWSPAPER OF THE LEADING PUBLIC SERVICE TRADE UNION

ONE MILLIONREASONS TO JOIN US

NIPSA members have pocketed more than £1.4 million incompensation payments for personal injuries sustained inaccidents over the past 12 months – thanks to the efforts ofNIPSA’s solicitors, McCartan Turkington Breen.

Members of the union can avail of free legal assistance on per-sonal injury claims under NIPSA’s highly successful Legal Assis-tance (Personal Injury) scheme.

Claims have been made for a range of incidents, includingroad traffic collisions, accidents at work, tripping and slipping ac-cidents as well as medical negligence claims.

The scheme offers members peace of mind, especially forthose who normally would not go to law, as they do not qualifyfor Legal Aid.

Viv Harty, a partner at McCartan Turkington Breen, told NIPSAReports: “The level of compensation we have been able to re-

cover for NIPSA members who have made use of the schemeover the past 12 months is the highest yet in the firm’s time asNIPSA’s solicitors.

“The fact that the scheme is free for NIPSA members providesthem with an invaluable benefit should they find that they are in-jured in an incident that was not their fault.”

If NIPSA members are unsure if they are entitled to compensa-tion, the Legal Assistance (Personal Injury) scheme provides fora free initial consultation with a McCartan Turkington Breen so-licitor.

The solicitor will assess the case and make a recommendationto NIPSA as to whether it is worthy of pursuit or, at the veryleast, of further investigation.

SEE FULL STORY PAGE 2

LSC members in two-day strike over pay

Visit http://www.nipsa.org.uk AND give a like to our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter @nipsa

NIPSA members at the Legal ServicesCommission took to the picket lines onDecember 4 and 5 in their battle for jus-tice over a pay dispute that stretchesback more than three years.

The two-day stoppage follows a one-daystrike in September.

LSC staff want to be treated equally withcounterparts in the Department of Justiceand are angered that their managementwalked away from an agreement reachedin 2008.

NIPSA Assistant General SecretaryKieran Bannon said: “Our members have

received no pay increase since 2009. Thishas caused significant financial hardshipto the lowest paid staff. They have suf-fered the worst possible and blatantly in-equitable treatment.”Full story and pictures – see pages 4 and 5

Councilagrees £250 paymentFOLLOWING aclaim by NIPSAand other recog-nised tradeunions, NIPSAwas advised thatNewtownabbeyCouncil haveagreed in princi-ple to pay the£250 for thoseearning less than£21,000 perannum.

This is for theprevious payyear when staffreceived no payincrease.

Deputy GeneralSecretary AlisonMillar said:“While it is a wel-come move thatNewtownabbeyBorough Councilhave agreed inprinciple to paythis money tolow-paid workersstruggling tomake ends meet,NIPSA is disap-pointed that the26 councilsunder the NIJoint Council re-fused to imple-ment this.

“We are nowhaving to lodgeclaims in each ofthe 26 councils.”

NIPSA is toenter discus-sions with localmanagement tohave this imple-mented as soonas possible.

Pensions strikecalled offafter late development – See page 3

Minister Poots is a class act – Seepage 6

Union bid tosave DVA heads to Commons – See pages 8/9

Campaign to save NIHE steps up a gear – See page 10

Union stands up in Assembly for NI Schools Inspectorate – See page 11

A merry Xmas and a HappyNew Year to all our members

NIPSAReportsNIPSA Harkin House, 54 Wellington Park,

Belfast BT9 6DP, Tel: 028 90661831 Fax 028 90665847or email: [email protected] Editorial contact details: Bob Milleremail: [email protected]

Correspondence should be sent to the above address.

Unless otherwise stated, the views contained inNIPSA Reports do not necessarily reflect the

policy of trade union NIPSA.

Page 2 NIPSA Reports News www.nipsa.org.uk

Challenges lie ahead but we will fight backCHANCELLOR George Osborne issued his Au-tumn Statement on December 5 and not unex-pectedly he doled out more of the same – morepublic spending cuts, another increase in thestate pension age and yet more misery for mil-lions and millions of people sick to the pits oftheir stomachs of austerity. As usual theyounger generation will be hardest hit andlower and middle income families squeezedheartlessly once again.

More people will have to work until they are68 before being entitled to a state pension. Pre-viously this Chancellor had been set to changethe state pension age from 65 to 68 by 2046.Now he has even reneged on this and hasbrought the date forward to the mid-2030s.

As one commentator said: “A child born onthe day of the Autumn Statement would have towork to 77 before they would get a State Pen-sion.”

It is ridiculous to think that teachers, fire-fighters, office workers, paramedics, socialworkers etc will be expected to deliver high-quality public services well into their seventies.

“While people may be living longer, the evi-dence does not support that people are neces-sarily healthy and fit to work into theirseventies.

This Government has also continued themantra of the attacks on universal benefits andthe welfare state.

Early in the New Year, it is expected that theNI Welfare Reform Bill will come back to the As-sembly. NIPSA, together with the Irish Con-

gress of Trade Unions, women’s and commu-nity groups are working hard to ensure North-ern Ireland’s politicians do not introduce thisdraconian legislation.

While UK Minister Mike Penning threatened toimpose a £5m per month penalty on NorthernIreland if the Assembly doesn’t introduce theWelfare Reform Bill – as reported elsewhere inthis edition of NIPSA Reports – it is a fact that£750m will be taken out of the Northern Irelandeconomy each year if the Bill is introduced.

But, be assured, people are fighting back.Two days before Osborne’s statement to theHouse, around 100 trade unionists gathered inBelfast to hear Steve Turner, Chairperson of theNational People’s Assembly, describe howacross Britain, ordinary citizens were increas-ing their actions on a wide range of fronts tooppose the austerity measures being forcedthrough by the UK Coalition Government.

On November 5, they organised the “Bonfireof Austerity”, a series of coordinated actionsthat included 2,000 people blocking Westmin-ster Bridge in London.

The Belfast meeting was supported by bothNIPSA and UNITE. It was unanimously agreedthat both unions should now be working to de-velop a similar “People’s Opposition” to auster-ity in Northern Ireland.

As you will read in this issue of NIPSA Re-ports, NIPSA members are certainly fightingback.

And they are not only fighting back butdemonstrating very clearly that it pays to or-

ganise and resist the attacks on public ser-vants.

Examples of this include the important deci-sion by Stormont Finance Minister SimonHamilton to exclude privatisation as an optionfor the delivery of civil service pensions.

This followed the launching of a campaign bythe local NIPSA branch to stop the privatisationof the administration of civil service pensions.It should be noted that the service in GreatBritain had already been effectively privatised.

There have been many challenges for NIPSAand members of this union over the past 12months, but NIPSA members can be proud thatthey have not been found wanting when wehave challenged employers on a range of is-sues and, in particular, privatisation of a num-ber of services, particularly in the area ofleisure services.

Threat of job losses such as the campaign tosave 320 jobs in the DVA and the many othershas been a thread that has run through thework of the union and this will continue into2014.

The New Year will see many more challengesfor NIPSA members and their families butNIPSA will continue, with your support to growin strength as a union that will fight to protectmembers.

I wish you all a Happy Christmas and a peace-ful and more prosperous 2014.

Alison MillarDeputy General Secretary

Editorial

"Reconciliation meansworking together

to correct the legacy of past injustice.”

RIP: Nelson Mandela 1918-2013

IN THE last 12 months NIPSA’s solicitors Mc-Cartan Turkington Breen have secured morethan £1.4m in personal injuries compensationfor members.

NIPSA members are entitled to free legal assis-tance for personal injury claims under the union’sLegal Assistance (Personal Injury) scheme.

The scheme may be used by NIPSA membersand their families who have been injured due tothe negligence or breach by statutory duty ofsome other person or organisation.

McCartan Turkington Breen have been able toprovide legal help on a wide range of claims, in-cluding road traffic collisions, accidents at work,tripping and slipping accidents as well as medicalnegligence claims.

The scheme is extremely successful and pro-vides cover and peace of mind for those who nor-mally could not afford to bring legal proceedingsas they don’t qualify for Legal Aid.

A union source said: “If members are unsure ofwhether or not they are entitled to compensation,the Legal Assistance (Personal Injury) schemeprovides for a free initial consultation with a Mc-Cartan Turkington Breen solicitor who will assessthe circumstances of the case and then make a

recommendation to the union.“The Legal Assistance (Personal Injury)

scheme covers members in respect of all of thelegal costs incurred in pursuing their case and, assuch, gives members peace of mind in knowingthat NIPSA will pay for all costs, which can runinto several thousands of pounds, to pay foritems such as medical assessments, engineers’reports and barristers’ opinions if the case is un-successful or is withdrawn.”

The scheme is also available to the families ofNIPSA members injured in the same accident.

Viv Harty, partner at McCartan TurkingtonBreen, told NIPSA Reports: “The level of com-pensation we have been able to recover forNIPSA members who have made use of the freeLegal Assistance (Personal Injury) scheme overthe past 12 months is the highest yet in the firm’stime as NIPSA’s solicitors.

“The fact that the scheme is free for NIPSAmembers provides them with an invaluable bene-fit should they find that they are injured in an inci-dent that was not their fault.”

Members should always make sure that thefact that they have been injured in an accident isreported to the relevant people in positions of au-thority, be they employers, landlords, occupiersor, in some situations such as road traffic colli-sions, the police.

The Legal Assistance (Personal Injury) schemeis easy to access and requires the completion ofthe Form LS2 application form which is availableon the Membership Services section ofwww.nipsa.org.uk.

Once the form is completed it should be sent to

the Executive Officer (Membership & Legal Serv-ices) at NIPSA Headquarters.

A free consultation will then be arranged with asolicitor at McCartan Turkington Breen who willassess the merits of the case.

Members pocket£1.4m in compo payments

NIPSA’s legal team from MTB (McCartan, Turking-ton and Breen) are: (l-r) Robert McKay, Viv Hartyand John McShane.

Page 3 NIPSA ReportsNewswww.nipsa.org.uk

PENSIONS STRIKE BIDPAYS DIVIDENDS

IN THE MAIDEN CITY NIPSA has backed the deci-sion by Department of Financeand Personnel Minister SimonHamilton to retain in-housefunctions for the future deliv-ery of Civil Service Pensions.

The move – described as “verywelcome” by NIPSA Assistant Gen-eral Secretary Kieran Bannon –comes after a long and determinedcampaign by members of the CivilService Pensions Branch, based atWaterside House, Derry.

As a result the union also calledoff industrial action scheduled forearly December.

Mr Hamilton had been consideringa business case involving a numberof options, including to outsource thework but NIPSA Branch 73, along

with NIPSA official Noel Griffin,mounted a vigorous campaign to re-tain the services in-house.

As well as holding a public meet-ing in the town, a NIPSA delegationmet with Derry City Council. Council-lors unanimously agreed to opposepublic sector job losses in the North-west.

As part of the campaign, membersin Civil Service Pensions Branchwere also balloted on industrial ac-tion.

Of the 79 members balloted, 63returned their ballot with 73% votingin favour of industrial action consist-ing of strike action and 82% voting infavour of action short of strike ac-tion.

After the result of ballot become

known, Assistant Secretary NoelGriffin told NIPSA Reports: “The‘Yes’ vote and high turnout clearlydemonstrates the concerns of mem-bers and their conviction about re-taining public sector jobs in theNorthwest.

“We once again call on the DFPMinister to release the outline busi-ness case prior to making a defini-tive decision which may involve theprivatisation of these functions withthe potential loss of jobs.

“To suggest our campaign, includ-ing the ballot on industrial action, ispremature is ridiculous since itwould be senseless to await a defini-tive decision that may be to out-source the work and then to attemptto do something about it.”

On November 29, notice of indus-trial action in the form of a workstoppage, scheduled for Monday,December 9, was served on the De-partment.

NIPSA Branch 73 has also put inplace arrangements to hold a lunch-time protest outside their offices onThursday, December 5.

However, NIPSA was advised onDecember 2 that the Minister had

determined the work would remainin-house under a “system solution”option involving replacement of thecurrent IT system, which he indi-cated represented better value formoney.

In light of the Mr Hamilton’s an-nouncement both the lunch-timeprotest and work stoppage werecalled off.

Assistant General Secretary Ban-non commented: “The Minister’s de-cision is very welcome and confirmswhat NIPSA has claimed for a longtime that in-house services do repre-sent better value for money and webelieve higher standards of service.

“This is good news for our mem-bers in Civil Service PensionsBranch who should be commendedfor the sterling work they did in cam-paigning to keep this work in-houseand prevent job losses to the Derryarea.

“I know that they very much appre-ciate the support they received fromother NIPSA branches and membersand from a number of those withinthe local community, including arange of local political representa-tives.”

NIPSA General Council Election 2014/15– Why it is important toAS A TRADE union, everything theunion does is for the benefit of itsmembers.

The union’s work is governed bythe General Council and elections forthe General Council are once moreupon us.

Procedures for making nomina-tions for election to the GeneralCouncil have been issued andbranches have been asked to submittheir nominations by the deadline of2pm on Tuesday, January 14, 2014.

These elections take place everyyear by an individual ballot of allmembers in compliance with ourunion rule book.

What is the General Council?The General Council is the govern-

ing body of the union and is com-prised of the President,Vice-President and Honorary Treas-urer (who will be elected at NIPSA’s2014 Annual Conference fromamong those elected to the GeneralCouncil following the individual bal-lot) plus 22 other members.

The General Council is made upentirely of lay members; no one em-ployed by the union is allowed tostand for election to the GeneralCouncil.

Those elected to the GeneralCouncil act to ensure the union isgoverned effectively. General Coun-cil members’ role is to promote theinterests of the union and its mem-bers on many issues.

Between meetings of the DelegateConference, the general manage-ment and control of the union andthe handling of the whole affairs isvested in the General Council.

The strength of our General Coun-cil therefore lies in its mandate fromyou.This is Your Union – Use Your Vote

The ballot process will commenceon 28 January 2014 and end on 18February 2014. Please look out foryour ballot paper and ensure youcast your vote and make your choicein this important election.

VOTE

MUCH could be said of this dispute and howLSC members have been so badly treated – itis best depicted by the real-life experiencesof those low paid workers directly affected.The following is what just a few of thosemembers had to say:

‘At the end of our tethers’E says: I have been a CO in the Northern Ire-

land Legal Services Commission (NILSC), forthe last four years. I voted ‘yes’ when balloted onindustrial action over pay.

I am supporting strike action because I feelthat people who work in NDPBs in Northern Ire-land should be paid the going rate for the job.Our employer reneged on an agreement made in2008 to align our future pay with the rest of theNorthern Ireland Civil Service.

Since 2009, we have seen NICS colleaguesreceive annual pay deals, the equal pay dealand pay realignment for other grades followingon from the equal pay deal of 2009. In theNILSC, we have had an increase of 2.6% im-posed on us for 2009 and nothing since.

Since 2009 we have all lived through the mostprolonged recession since the 1930s and haveseen the cost of living shoot through the roof.

Over the last four years the savings I hadwhen I joined the LSC have gone. I have multi-ple credit card debts and had to get rid of my car.

For the last three years my summer holidayshave been spent camping – during the wettestsummers for decades! This year I could take nomore and went sun-searching to France for 10days. I will still be paying off that holiday a yearfrom now.

And we all will see further energy and food bill

price hikes before the end of this year.When people ask me how I can afford to go on

strike, my answer is simple – how can I affordNOT to go on strike! My colleagues and I are atthe end of our tethers but my story is by nomeans unique.

Equal pay now!!!

‘Suffered severe health issues’R says: I am a clerical officer and have

been working in LSC for the past sevenyears. I participated in the strike on Septem-ber 6 because I felt I had no other option butto do so.

For over three years now pay negotiationshave been going on and as time passes, mylife has become increasingly more difficult tocope – both financially and emotionally.

The costs of living have increased but mywages have stayed the same for the last fouryears. I don’t smoke, very seldom go out so-cially and cannot remember the last time Ibooked a holiday.

Recently I have suffered severe health is-sues and rather than take time off work, Iopted to seek medical help such as physio-therapy but this too has not been withoutsubstantial, personal costs (both financiallyand physically).

Since my health problems, things havegotten so bad for me that on a monthly basisI have become financial dependent on mymum to help me out because I can’t get mywages to last the whole month.

This has made me feel both depressed andembarrassed because I feel such a failure.

I understand that in this economic climate,

that pay issues are sensitive as everybody is‘feeling the pinch’.

It’s not that I’m greedy and want to ask fora big pay rise – I would just like a fair day’spay for a fair day’s work.

I don’t understand how morally it can bethat I am being treated differently to mycounterparts including civil servants, whoare doing a similar job as me, but gettingpaid thousands of pounds more than me –where is the justice?

I feel I’m being treated like a second-classcitizen and there is no moral fairness in that.

I just hope that an agreement can be sortedas soon as possible because I’m so tired ofworrying about financial matters on amonthly basis.

If you want me to beg then I will… I beg tobe treated equally and with fairness.

‘Undervalued and de-motivated’J says: I find that every month is a question of

affordability, with my travel costs nearly one-fifthof my monthly salary, and ever increasing cost ofliving. Not only is this frustrating, but it is also de-pressing.

With only a 2.6% increase in 2009, how are wemeant to survive? With all my bills and expensesto pay, there is very little I can put towards sav-ings or for those unexpected expenses that canoccur.

All I want is fair pay for the work that I do. It isvery disheartening situation, I feel undervaluedand de-motivated.

I’m not asking for any more but just to betreated the same as others within my gradethroughout the NICS and other non-departmen-tal bodies, same job for the same rate of pay!

LSC members express feelings in their own words...


TWO-DAY STOPPAGE STAGED BY NILSCSTAFF INPAY ROWNIPSA members at the NorthernIreland Legal Services Commis-sion have staged a two-daystoppage over management’scontinuing failure to resolve apay dispute that stretches backmore than three years.

The action, on December 4and 5, was the outworking of aNILSC management decision towalk away from a pay agree-ment entered into followingtalks in 2008.

NIPSA Assistant General Sec-retary Kieran Bannon explained:“Prior to the creation of the De-partment of Justice in 2009,NIPSA negotiated pay arrange-ments for the then-Northern Ire-land Office, NI Court Serviceand Legal Services Commis-sion.

“All were placed on NorthernIreland Civil Service pay scalesfully by 2008. This devolution-facing approach made senseand received Treasury/Minister-ial approval.

“Unfortunately while thosearrangements have been hon-oured and maintained in respectof the former NIO and NI CourtService (now the Department ofJustice), they have not been ho-noured in relation to the NILSC.”

He added: “Our members inthe NILSC have received no in-crease in pay since 2009, de-spite the soaring increases inthe cost of living over that pe-riod. This has caused signifi-cant financial hardship to thelowest paid staff. They havesuffered the worst possible and

blatantly inequitable treatment.“While we hear reports last

week of the need for the NILSCto control spiralling costs interms of the legal aid budget,here we have employees ofNILSC at the other end of thescale being paid significantlybelow their counterparts in theentire ‘justice family’, includingits sponsor, the Department ofJustice.”

NIPSA has already raised thematter with Stormont JusticeMinister David Ford.

In October, Mr Ford informedNIPSA that the necessary busi-ness case seeking the approvalof the Department of Financeand Personnel’s (DFP) had beensent on September 27.

The Minister also indicated he

wanted the issue resolved asquickly as possible.

Mr Bannon commented: “De-spite these assurances from theMinister, the matter remains un-resolved and DFP have yet toapprove the business case.

“Unfortunately the dispute re-mains unresolved despite theefforts NIPSA has made andonce again our members havebeen forced into taking strikeaction causing them even fur-ther financial hardship.

“It is time the respective man-agements in NILSC, DOJ andDFP resolved this matter. Assome of the lowest paid staffsaid, ‘We are not looking forspecial treatment – just to betreated equally and with fair-ness’.”

NILSC STAFF INTWO-DAY STOPPAGE

ON December 4 and 5,members working in theLegal Services Commis-sion (LSC), a body spon-sored by the Departmentof Justice, were onceagain forced to take indus-trial action in a long-run-ning dispute over theirpay.

They had last taken to thepicket line on September 6,later organising a lunch-timeprotest on September 13.

The background to thisdispute stretches back anumber of years.

In preparation for the set-ting up of the Department ofJustice in 2010, NIPSAsought to secure NICS ratesof pay in the former NIO, NICourts Service and LSC bynegotiating a three-year paydeal similar to that applied inthe NICS over 2006, 2007and 2008.

This was achieved and by2008 LSC pay scales werefully aligned with those in theNICS. While NIO and NICourt Service staff memberswere assimilated to NICSpay scales (as revised bythe equal pay settlement)when the DOJ was formed inApril 2010, LSC staff weredenied those increases insalary.

In fact, LSC managementwalked away from the agree-ment entered into with

NIPSA in 2008, by imposinga 2.6% increase in 2009 andrefusing to reflect the revisedrates of pay that all otherNon-Departmental PublicBodies (NDPBs) received inline with the NICS equal paysettlement.

LSC staff have received nopay uplift whatsoever since2009 – no cost of living andno progression/increment.

NIPSA has refused to ac-cept this position and haskept LSC management atthe negotiating table.

Progress was thought tohave been made when LSCmanagement and its Boardagreed to submit a businesscase that would have en-sured LSC staff were treatedthe same as their counter-parts in other comparablebodies attracting NICS ratesof pay.

However, the businesscase had not been approvedby the DOJ, LSCs sponsor-ing department.

It was argued by some thatthis was DOJ applying dou-ble standards as the formerNIO, with the approval of theDepartment of Finance andPersonnel (DFP), ensuredits staff were fully assimi-lated to NICS (revised) ratesof pay with effect from April12, 2010 when the DOJcame into being.

Assistant General Secre-

tary Kieran Bannon, who hasbeen heavily involved in thenegotiations along withNIPSA Branch 105 repre-sentatives, told NIPSA Re-ports: “We can no longerhave our members in theLSC singledout in thisway andsubjected tothe worstpossible andblatantly in-equitabletreatment.

“The fact isthat in theworst eco-nomic cir-cumstancessince theGreat De-pression ofthe 1930s, members in theLSC have effectively hadtheir salaries frozen causingsignificant financial hardshipin many cases particularly,but not exclusively, for the

lowest paid staff.”While DOJ agreed to sub-

mit the pay strategy busi-ness case prepared by LSCManagement, to DFP, therehas been further consider-able delay in getting the

businesscase ap-proved.

Since lateDecember,DFP has re-turned thebusinesscase to DOJand LSCseeking fur-ther informa-tion andtechnicaldata.

NIPSA hasmade repre-

sentations throughout thisperiod to all the respectiveManagement Sides in an at-tempt to achieve progress byway of having the businesscase approved.

In the absence of the ap-proval, members of Branch105 took another two days ofindustrial action on Decem-ber 4 and 5.

They did this despite theadditional financial hardshipthis would mean for mem-bers in the run up to Christ-mas.

For their part, Branch 105members have appreciatedthe level of support given bythose who visited their picketon September 6, December4 and December 5 as wellas those who stood withthem during their lunchtimeprotest on September 13.

A NIPSA source said:“Somehow to routinely de-scribe the situation asmerely a pay dispute israther nondescript – it goesfar beyond pay, it is about aduty of care, hardship, men-tal wellbeing and poverty – itis about people.”

MUCH could be said of this dispute and howLSC members have been so badly treated – itis best depicted by the real-life experiencesof those low paid workers directly affected.The following is what just a few of thosemembers had to say:

‘At the end of our tethers’E says: I have been a CO in the Northern Ire-

land Legal Services Commission (NILSC), forthe last four years. I voted ‘yes’ when balloted onindustrial action over pay.

I am supporting strike action because I feelthat people who work in NDPBs in Northern Ire-land should be paid the going rate for the job.Our employer reneged on an agreement made in2008 to align our future pay with the rest of theNorthern Ireland Civil Service.

Since 2009, we have seen NICS colleaguesreceive annual pay deals, the equal pay dealand pay realignment for other grades followingon from the equal pay deal of 2009. In theNILSC, we have had an increase of 2.6% im-posed on us for 2009 and nothing since.

Since 2009 we have all lived through the mostprolonged recession since the 1930s and haveseen the cost of living shoot through the roof.

Over the last four years the savings I hadwhen I joined the LSC have gone. I have multi-ple credit card debts and had to get rid of my car.

For the last three years my summer holidayshave been spent camping – during the wettestsummers for decades! This year I could take nomore and went sun-searching to France for 10days. I will still be paying off that holiday a yearfrom now.

And we all will see further energy and food bill

price hikes before the end of this year.When people ask me how I can afford to go on

strike, my answer is simple – how can I affordNOT to go on strike! My colleagues and I are atthe end of our tethers but my story is by nomeans unique.

Equal pay now!!!

‘Suffered severe health issues’R says: I am a clerical officer and have

been working in LSC for the past sevenyears. I participated in the strike on Septem-ber 6 because I felt I had no other option butto do so.

For over three years now pay negotiationshave been going on and as time passes, mylife has become increasingly more difficult tocope – both financially and emotionally.

The costs of living have increased but mywages have stayed the same for the last fouryears. I don’t smoke, very seldom go out so-cially and cannot remember the last time Ibooked a holiday.

Recently I have suffered severe health is-sues and rather than take time off work, Iopted to seek medical help such as physio-therapy but this too has not been withoutsubstantial, personal costs (both financiallyand physically).

Since my health problems, things havegotten so bad for me that on a monthly basisI have become financial dependent on mymum to help me out because I can’t get mywages to last the whole month.

This has made me feel both depressed andembarrassed because I feel such a failure.

I understand that in this economic climate,

that pay issues are sensitive as everybody is‘feeling the pinch’.

It’s not that I’m greedy and want to ask fora big pay rise – I would just like a fair day’spay for a fair day’s work.

I don’t understand how morally it can bethat I am being treated differently to mycounterparts including civil servants, whoare doing a similar job as me, but gettingpaid thousands of pounds more than me –where is the justice?

I feel I’m being treated like a second-classcitizen and there is no moral fairness in that.

I just hope that an agreement can be sortedas soon as possible because I’m so tired ofworrying about financial matters on amonthly basis.

If you want me to beg then I will… I beg tobe treated equally and with fairness.

‘Undervalued and de-motivated’J says: I find that every month is a question of

affordability, with my travel costs nearly one-fifthof my monthly salary, and ever increasing cost ofliving. Not only is this frustrating, but it is also de-pressing.

With only a 2.6% increase in 2009, how are wemeant to survive? With all my bills and expensesto pay, there is very little I can put towards sav-ings or for those unexpected expenses that canoccur.

All I want is fair pay for the work that I do. It isvery disheartening situation, I feel undervaluedand de-motivated.

I’m not asking for any more but just to betreated the same as others within my gradethroughout the NICS and other non-departmen-tal bodies, same job for the same rate of pay!

LOCAL WAGES AND POVERTY

LSC members express feelings in their own words...


Background toLSC dispute

...it goes far beyond pay, it is about aduty of care,

hardship, mental wellbeing andpoverty – it isabout people

‘ ‘LSC staff members stage strike in September. Note: this picture was wrongly attibuted to another union action in the November’s NIPSA Reports.

POOTS IS A‘CLASS’ ACTSTORMONT MINISTER ACTED UNLAWFULLYIN TRYING TO BAN FORMER NIPSA GENERAL

SECRETARY FROM SOCIAL CARE POSTHealth Minister Edwin Poots identi-fied trade unionists as a "particu-lar class and excluded them from apublic body due to their status", ajudge has said.

Earlier this year a court ruled thatthe minister acted unlawfully over thefailure to consider a senior tradeunionist who had applied for a post.

In November the judge announceddetailed written reasons for his deci-sion.

He held that a change in appoint-ments policy was not subjected toconsultation.

Mr Justice Treacy added that thechanges were only implemented afterEdwin Poots came into office.

John Corey, a former general secre-tary of public sector union NIPSA,brought a legal challenge after beingdenied the position on the NorthernIreland Social Care Council (NISCC)after his interview.'Irrational and biased'It was specifically advertised as a

trade union representative on the reg-ulatory body.

In a legal challenge to the decisionMr Corey's lawyers claimed Mr Pootswas "irrational and biased" in vetoinghis appointment after becominghealth minister in May 2011.

Two other recruitment processesstarted under his ministerial prede-cessor, Michael McGimpsey, for theBlood Transfusion Service and theCouncil for Nursing and Midwifery,had also sought trade union mem-bers.

But the court was told none was ap-pointed by the time Mr Poots came toconsider candidates.

Mr Corey, who was appointed to theNorthern Ireland Human Rights Com-mission in 2011, had been put for-ward by NIPSA for a trade union poston NISCC, which regulates the con-

duct of social care workers.The department was also seeking to

appoint a lay member to the body.Only this position was filled.

Lawyers for Mr Poots said that hedid not want to narrow the pool ofcandidates by ring-fencing positions.

But lawyers for Mr Corey andNIPSA, who mounted a joint judicialreview challenge, said the explana-tion was a smokescreen to hide theminister's opposition to having tradeunionists on the panel.

Ruling on the case at the time MrJustice Treacy acknowledged MrPoots had a discretion to appointwhoever he wanted.Class and statusBut the judge held that it had been

unlawful to "frustrate" public law obli-gations from a published notice in theprocess that remained in place.

In newly published further reasonsfor his decision he said: "I am satis-fied that trade unions and their mem-bers were identified as a particularclass and excluded from considera-tion on the basis of their status."

Mr Justice Treacy identified achange in policy in relation to ap-pointments to public bodies such asthe NISCC, the Blood TransfusionService and the Council for Nursingand Midwifery following Mr Pootsministerial appointment.

"This important change in policywas not consulted upon," he said.

"It is correct that the minister has adiscretion to appoint whomsoever hewants and that there was no statutoryobligation to appoint a trade unionrepresentative to the relevant council.

"But the clear terms of the publishednotice and the policy in place at thetime the notice was published gener-ated public law obligations whichwere not complied with in the presentcase.

"It is accepted that the ministercould have simply abandoned thecompetition instituted by the publicnotice and/or initiated an entirely newcompetition to accord with any newpolicy provided of course the newpolicy was not unlawful. But he didneither.

"Consequently, in my view the publiclaw obligations generated by the pub-lished notice remained in place andwere unlawfully departed from by theminister."

Assistant Secretary for NIPSA,Kevin McCabe, said: "We welcomethe court's findings which fully vindi-cate our decision to challenge theminister's refusal to appoint a tradeunion representative to the SocialCare Council.

"NIPSA calls on the minister to ac-cept the court's findings and to con-sult properly and fully with the tradeunions representing health and socialcare sector as the court requires.

John Corey also welcomed the rul-ing: "Unfortunately this is another ex-ample where the operation of thepublic appointments process hasbeen found wanting.

"As well as the need for a full andfair remedy in this particular case, Iwould expect all those with responsi-bility for the public appointmentsprocess in Northern Ireland to exam-ine this judgement carefully to ensurethere is no repetition of such unlawfultreatment of candidates for other ap-pointments," he said.

A Department of Health spokesmansaid: "The department has receivedthe written judgement on the outcomeof the judicial review.

"We will wish to consider the detailof the judgment and consult our legalrepresentatives before making anyfurther comment."

Source: BBCNI

Minister Poots (above) -third strike in the courts.John Corey welcomed theruling


NIPSA members and officials at the unveiling of the union’s advert on Corporation St, in Belfast

MANY members will have heard the recent cov-erage about UK Minister Mike Penning’s threatthat if the Northern Ireland Assembly didn’t im-plement the NI Welfare Reform Bill, then £5m amonth would be removed from the Northern Ire-land Block Grant from January 2014.

Only time will tell how our local politicians will re-spond to this threat. However, what Mr Penningfailed to say is that if the Bill is implemented inNorthern Ireland, £750m a year would be taken outof the local economy. That’s £650 per annum forevery working age adult.

This is not scaremongering by NIPSA as somepoliticians have stated in recent days. This is afact.

A fact drawn from a NICVA-commissioned reportby two highly-respected researchers based on in-formation culled from Treasury sources.

In recent days, members may have seen a num-ber of billboards across Northern Ireland highlight-ing some of the worst elements of the NI WelfareReform Bill.

It is a fact that most low-paid workers and thosein the social security system spend their money innearby shops, takeaways and other local busi-nesses. The result of £650 a year less for everyworking age adult of the population will most cer-tainly impact on these small, family-run businesses,

many of which are already struggling to keep afloat. Does the Government, the Assembly and those

who are backing this Bill not see that they will de-stroy local communities, families and small, family-run businesses, if they implement this Bill?

Over the coming weeks NIPSA will be taking outfurther ads – on billboards and buses – highlightingthe impact Welfare Reform will have on NorthernIreland.

It is important NIPSA members realise that, if im-plemented, the Welfare Reform Bill will also impacton working families. Those most likely to be af-fected are those who are currently in receipt of taxcredits. This will be replaced Universal Credit.

Members will already have seen working families’tax credits reduced over the last number of yearssince the Con-Lib Government came to power in2010. This Government is not concerned aboutsupporting hard-working families – what they sayand what they do are totally different.

NIPSA is calling on its members to raise the issuewith local MLAs asking them not to introduce thisdraconian legislation which will have a devastatingimpact on hard-working, low-paid families, the sick,disabled and the most vulnerable in society.

Write to your MLA and insist they oppose theWelfare Reform Bill.

FORMER NIPSA General Secretary JohnCorey took over the caretaker role ashead of Northern Ireland Human RightsCommission at the end of October.

He takes up the interim post followingthe departure of Professor MichaelO'Flaherty as head of the organisation.

The outgoing head stepped aside fromhis £80,000 a year post for personal rea-sons and served around two years.

He is a former member of the UnitedNations Human Rights Committee andan expert on freedom of expression andthe prevention of torture. The academichas spearheaded human rights mis-sions in Bosnia and Herzegovina andSierra Leone.

Since September 2011 he has been anoutspoken advocate of a bill of rights.Under his watch the Commission saidlack of progress on creating legislationwas a matter of regret and called on theGovernment to act.

The influential organisation also in-vestigated alleged abuses in nursinghomes, including elderly residentsbeing admitted to hospital for dehydra-tion because a home failed to provideenough for them to drink.

Professor O'Flaherty said: "The North-ern Ireland Human Rights Commissionis a remarkable institution that champi-ons the human rights of everyone in so-ciety, but especially of the mostvulnerable and marginalised. The Com-mission is implementing a clear plan ofaction that is based on the human rightscommitments freely entered into by theUK."

He said it has been an honour andpleasure to serve the Commission.

"I have every confidence in the contin-ued effectiveness of the Commissionunder the interim leadership of JohnCorey and with the appointment of anew chief commissioner."

Mr Corey was General Secretary ofpublic service trade union Nipsa from2003 - 2010 and previously held otherpositions with the organisation. He wasa member of the Irish Congress of TradeUnions (ICTU) executive council andfrom 2008-2010 chaired the ICTU North-ern Ireland Committee.

He works on arbitration for the LabourRelations Agency and represents tradeunions on the Northern Ireland Busi-ness and Industry Forum.

Mr Corey said: "Over the last twoyears Michael O'Flaherty has made avery major contribution to the work ofthe Human Rights Commission. Hisunique experience and expertise inhuman rights have enabled the Commis-sion to develop a clear vision and pro-gramme of work to advance humanrights for every person in Northern Ire-land.

"Commissioners and staff will con-tinue to fulfil this programme of workwhile liaising with the Secretary of Stateto appoint a new Chief Commissioner."

The position of chief commissionerwill be advertised shortly.

Corey takes on interim role as head of NI Human Rights Commission


THE GRIM REALITY OFWELFARE REFORM


THE Public ServicePensions Bill con-tinues its passagethrough the North-ern Ireland Assem-bly with the nextphase being theconsiderationstage.

NIPSA will bemaking further rep-resentations toMLAs during thisphase which is likelyto be held in Febru-ary 2014

The Bill had beenunder scrutiny bythe Assembly’s DFPCommittee.

The Committee,which issued its re-port on November28, makes a numberof recommendationsto amend the Bill,most of them minorand, in the main, tobe welcomed.

Though NIPSAsources have ex-pressed disappoint-ment that the DFPCommittee did notreject outright theissue of linking Nor-mal Retirement Age(NRA) to State Pen-sion Age (SPA).

However, theCommittee did raiseconcerns about thelinking of NRA withSPA and has askedthe DFP Minister totable an amendmentto provide flexibilityat scheme level.

During the consid-eration stage,NIPSA, working withthe other publicservice unionsthrough NIC-ICTU,will ask members towrite to MLAs ex-pressing oppositionto the Bill.

In addition a num-ber of briefing ses-sions are beingplanned as well aslobbying of MLAs.

Over the nextnumber of weeks,work will build up onthese activities andfrom early in 2014members will beurged to work on thecampaign to protectpublic service pen-sions.

DVA CAMPAIGN ROLLSUP AT WESTMINSTER

NIPSA’s bid to save 300 jobs in Coleraine gets a warm reception

AssemblyCommitteereports onPensionsBill

NIPSA representatives and DVA stafftook the campaign to defend vehiclelicensing jobs and services right tothe heart of government recentlywhen they led a delegation to meetwith Transport Minister, RobertGoodwill MP, in London. The delega-tion also included local MPs, Gre-gory Campbell and Ian Paisley Jnr.

The Minister was shown a short film, com-missioned by NIPSA, which highlights theconcerns of local business representativesand the community in the Causeway coastarea at the potential loss of jobs at theDriver and Vehicle Agency.

Mr Goodwill thanked NIPSA representa-tives for going to the effort of producing thefilm and helping him understand how muchthe DVA jobs mattered to the local commu-nity.

The NIPSA delegation described themeeting as worthwhile and said they weregiven the time to highlight several crucialpoints dealing with the impact centralisationwould have on the service.

These included increasing number ofcomplaints made to the Department ofTransport’s Independent Complaints Asses-sor since DVLA offices closed, the pre-dictable rise of vehicle crime and taxevasion, issues associated with the landborder and other practical problems that donot arise in GB.

A source told NIPSA Reports: “We alsopointed out how staff would be affected and,in particular, how transferring or relocatingstaff would not be a solution.

“The Minister listened and was engagedthroughout and as the meeting concludedhe indicated that he had also been verystrongly lobbied by a number of other MPs,the Secretary of State and the Prime Minis-ter’s Office.”

The delegation was informed that the Min-ister would be unlikely to make an an-nouncement until late December or early inthe New Year.

Following the meeting the petition was of-ficially presented to the Minister on thesteps of the Department for Transport.

While in London the NIPSA representa-tives also met with the NI Affairs SelectCommittee in Westminister.

Although arranged at short notice, severalConservative and Labour MPs attended themeeting and all were supportive of the cam-paign. The Committee updated the MPs onthe previous day’s Committee meetingwhen they raised the matter with the NISecretary of State.

Importantly the Select Affairs Committeeextended an invitation to local council repre-sentatives and the Chamber of Commerceto meet with them in London. A furthermeeting in Portcullis House with theShadow Secretary of State for Northern Ire-land, Ivan Lewis MP, was beneficial. MrLewis also accepted the invitation to cometo County Hall, Coleraine, to meet with staffin December.

In the run-up to the meeting with theTransport Minister, NIPSA members workedintensely to increase the number of signa-tures to the campaign petition.

Assistant Secretary, Ryan McKinney toldNIPSA Reports: “The response to the peti-tion has been inspiring. By the time wereached Westminister, over 27,000 peoplehad signed up in support of keeping the

jobs and the local offices. “This is more than many long running

campaigns have managed to gather and isa tribute to the efforts of local staff as wellas testament to the importance peopleplace on every job in the age of austerity.

“The fact is that there were more signa-tures than people living in Coleraine, for ex-ample, and that point wasn’t lost on theTransport Minister who commented on theintensity of the campaign.

“It was agreed before we even left Londonthat we would seek to get more that 30,000names on the petition and return in Decem-ber to present it to Number 10 DowningStreet. That’s exactly what we will do tomake sure that the campaign cannot be ig-nored.”

The campaign film produced for NIPSA

by the Creative Workers Co-operative hasproven to be a huge success with morethan 1,000 views on YouTube alone andmany ‘shares’ via social media.

The Causeway Chamber of Commerce ishosting the film on their website as are theNICS and local councils.

As NIPSA Reports went to press, it wasclear that this additional publicity was bear-ing fruit as DVA staff gathered several thou-sand more signatures at local IFA leaguegames and the big Christmas lights switch-ons.

With additional pressure sure to comefrom the 1,500 motor traders who havebeen written to by NIPSA, It will certainly beabundantly clear to the Transport Ministerthat these jobs are going to be defended tothe very last!

Westminster briefing: (from l-r) Linda Laverty (DVA), Sandra Dunlop (DVA), Ian Paisley Jnr (North Antrim MP), Robert GodwillUK Transport Minister, Ryan McKinney (NIPSA Assistant Sec) , Stephen Knowles (DUP Parliamentary Aide), Bill Dornan (DoEDept Sec), Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry MP)


NIPSA has expressed its deep concernafter 10 of the 11 new Chief Executive poststo head up councils under RPA local gov-ernment reform were advertised.

It follows, what the union has described asmonths of procrastination and abuse of the in-dustrial relations process.

The Minister of the Environment opted tohave these posts advertised despite com-plaints from NIPSA, the Public Service Com-mission and the Local Government StaffCommission (LGSC).

According to NIPSA, the Minister ignored theRPA Guiding Principles, redundancy legislationand other industrial relation practices in doingthis.

The union also raised serious concernsabout other appointments being made throughpublic advertisement but has received assur-ances from the Minister that the StatutoryTransition Committee Regulations will not befurther used to breach the Guiding Principles.

NIPSA Assistant General Secretary BumperGraham said: “The work of the RPA Local Gov-ernment Reform Joint Forum (LGRJF) hasbeen severely hampered by the DOE’s obdu-rate obstruction of the proper industrial rela-tions process and came close to collapsing theLGRJF.

“The Trade Union Side has made it clear tothe Minister, the DOE and to the Management

Side that it requires all parties to fully engagein negotiations and to be wholly transparent onall aspects of Local Government RPA.”

The LGRJF meeting in mid-December in-cludes a detailed work plan, which will see anintense build-up of work in order to clarify, up-date and determine the way forward on issuessuch as: severance scheme; vacancy controls;location/relocation; transfer scheme; and thetransfer of functions.

Meanwhile, amid the debacle over the use ofClause 18 of the Statutory Transition Commit-tee Regulations (the clause that provides forpublic advertisement of posts), the DOE Minis-ter announced his intention to cull the LocalGovernment Staff Commission from 2017.

Underlining the continued need for the Com-mission, NIPSA described the announcementas “both vindictive and wholly irrational” andemphasised its intention to take every meas-ure possible to prevent it being wound up.

The union is taking its concerns over theLocal Government Bill, the main piece of RPAlegislation, to the NI Assembly’s DOE Commit-tee.

NIPSA representatives will be giving oral evi-dence to the Committee in mid-December tosupplement an earlier written submission. Theoral evidence session will also be used tohighlight the issue of the Staff Commission.

DVA CAMPAIGN ROLLSUP AT WESTMINSTER

NIPSA’s bid to save 300 jobs in Coleraine gets a warm reception

NIPSA concern overadvertising of council CEO posts

NIPSA representatives and DVA stafftook the campaign to defend vehiclelicensing jobs and services right tothe heart of government recentlywhen they led a delegation to meetwith Transport Minister, RobertGoodwill MP, in London. The delega-tion also included local MPs, Gre-gory Campbell and Ian Paisley Jnr.

The Minister was shown a short film, com-missioned by NIPSA, which highlights theconcerns of local business representativesand the community in the Causeway coastarea at the potential loss of jobs at theDriver and Vehicle Agency.

Mr Goodwill thanked NIPSA representa-tives for going to the effort of producing thefilm and helping him understand how muchthe DVA jobs mattered to the local commu-nity.

The NIPSA delegation described themeeting as worthwhile and said they weregiven the time to highlight several crucialpoints dealing with the impact centralisationwould have on the service.

These included increasing number ofcomplaints made to the Department ofTransport’s Independent Complaints Asses-sor since DVLA offices closed, the pre-dictable rise of vehicle crime and taxevasion, issues associated with the landborder and other practical problems that donot arise in GB.

A source told NIPSA Reports: “We alsopointed out how staff would be affected and,in particular, how transferring or relocatingstaff would not be a solution.

“The Minister listened and was engagedthroughout and as the meeting concludedhe indicated that he had also been verystrongly lobbied by a number of other MPs,the Secretary of State and the Prime Minis-ter’s Office.”

The delegation was informed that the Min-ister would be unlikely to make an an-nouncement until late December or early inthe New Year.

Following the meeting the petition was of-ficially presented to the Minister on thesteps of the Department for Transport.

While in London the NIPSA representa-tives also met with the NI Affairs SelectCommittee in Westminister.

Although arranged at short notice, severalConservative and Labour MPs attended themeeting and all were supportive of the cam-paign. The Committee updated the MPs onthe previous day’s Committee meetingwhen they raised the matter with the NISecretary of State.

Importantly the Select Affairs Committeeextended an invitation to local council repre-sentatives and the Chamber of Commerceto meet with them in London. A furthermeeting in Portcullis House with theShadow Secretary of State for Northern Ire-land, Ivan Lewis MP, was beneficial. MrLewis also accepted the invitation to cometo County Hall, Coleraine, to meet with staffin December.

In the run-up to the meeting with theTransport Minister, NIPSA members workedintensely to increase the number of signa-tures to the campaign petition.

Assistant Secretary, Ryan McKinney toldNIPSA Reports: “The response to the peti-tion has been inspiring. By the time wereached Westminister, over 27,000 peoplehad signed up in support of keeping the

jobs and the local offices. “This is more than many long running

campaigns have managed to gather and isa tribute to the efforts of local staff as wellas testament to the importance peopleplace on every job in the age of austerity.

“The fact is that there were more signa-tures than people living in Coleraine, for ex-ample, and that point wasn’t lost on theTransport Minister who commented on theintensity of the campaign.

“It was agreed before we even left Londonthat we would seek to get more that 30,000names on the petition and return in Decem-ber to present it to Number 10 DowningStreet. That’s exactly what we will do tomake sure that the campaign cannot be ig-nored.”

The campaign film produced for NIPSA

by the Creative Workers Co-operative hasproven to be a huge success with morethan 1,000 views on YouTube alone andmany ‘shares’ via social media.

The Causeway Chamber of Commerce ishosting the film on their website as are theNICS and local councils.

As NIPSA Reports went to press, it wasclear that this additional publicity was bear-ing fruit as DVA staff gathered several thou-sand more signatures at local IFA leaguegames and the big Christmas lights switch-ons.

With additional pressure sure to comefrom the 1,500 motor traders who havebeen written to by NIPSA, It will certainly beabundantly clear to the Transport Ministerthat these jobs are going to be defended tothe very last!

Westminster briefing: (from l-r) Linda Laverty (DVA), Sandra Dunlop (DVA), Ian Paisley Jnr (North Antrim MP), Robert GodwillUK Transport Minister, Ryan McKinney (NIPSA Assistant Sec) , Stephen Knowles (DUP Parliamentary Aide), Bill Dornan (DoEDept Sec), Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry MP)

THINGS are changing withyour Membership Plus Dis-count Card.

The card which will be is-sued directly to you inearly January 2014 will alsobe your NIPSA MembershipCard and it will last not for12 months but for twoyears running right the waythrough 2014 and 2015.You can continue to useyour current card into earlyJanuary 2014.

On one side will be theMembership Plus DiscountCard. As with the 2013card to make maximum useof the card you should reg-ister on line at:www.nipsa.membership-plus.co.uk or via the home-page of NIPSA’s websitewww.nipsa.org.uk by usingthe button. If you regis-tered your 2013 Member-ship Plus card all you haveto do is click on “update”to register your 2014/15

card using the MembershipPlus card number. If youdidn’t previously registerthen click on “Register”and complete the short de-tails section.

There is a new NIPSAMembership Plus websitewhich provides enhance-ments to what was previ-ously available, includingbetter search facilities,storage of favourite offers,more categories of offersand an interactive map.The site will also providethe opportunity for you toenter competitions limitedto NIPSA members.

In addition to being yourMembership Plus DiscountCard for 2 years it will alsobe your NIPSA MembershipCard detailing your NIPSAMembership Number andyour Branch Number. Youshould provide details ofyour NIPSA membershipnumber when contacting

NIPSA and when usingother services such asLegal Services, Insuranceand Financial Services.

The card will issue inearly January 2014 to homeaddresses (if no home ad-dress is held it will be is-sued to your workaddress). You shouldtherefore ensure that yourcontact details are correct,to update your details go tothe NIPSA websitewww.nipsa.org.uk contactyour Branch Secretary orthe membership section atNIPSA Headquarters.

You should retain yourcombinedMembership/MembershipPlus Discount Card in yourwallet or purse so that youcan either access the greatoffers or quote to NIPSAyour membership number.Replacement cards will becharged at £5 per card.

MEMBERSHIP CARD: TAKE NOTEOF IMPORTANT CHANGES ON THE WAY IN THE NEW YEAR


SINCE Social DevelopmentMinister Nelson McCaus-land’s January 9 an-nouncement of hisproposal to break up theNorthern Ireland HousingExecutive, NIPSA has beencampaigning to retain itand – its 90,000 properties– in the public sector.

If McCausland’s plan goesahead, the union haspointed out that these prop-erties will end up being runby housing associations withprivate sector funding – frombanks and hedge funds –used to build new homes orfund improvements.

NIPSA has voiced its fun-damental opposition to thiseffective privatisation of so-cial housing provision andwarned that such a move willnot be good for tenants in

the long term. A NIPSA source said: “Ef-

fectively tenants will have topay higher rents – which isnot denied by anyone.”

The facts speak for them-selves – in the first voluntarystock transfer in NorthernIreland – in Rinmore, Creg-gan – 55 homes werehanded over to Apex Hous-ing Association.

The motivation for thistransfer was purely financial– it was argued that theNIHE did not have the re-sources available to refur-bish and rebuild the homes.However, Apex Housing As-sociation is funded in a dif-ferent way… it will seek topay for the cost of the im-provement work using a loanfrom a commercial bank,and for the new-build

scheme using a mixture ofpublic funding and a loan.

At that time Apex HousingAssociation promised tomake significant improve-ments including extending orrefurbishing kitchens, electri-cal re-wiring, new gas cen-tral heating, as well as somenew builds.

However, these improve-ments were to cost, as the‘rent charge (and rates) ofyour homes will increase asa result of the transfer’.

The planned rent riseswere huge and significantlymore than if the NIHE hadbeen allowed to carry out theworks.

For example, the pre-im-provement NIHE rent for athree-bedroom house was£52.43 per week. If theNIHE had carried out the

work, that rent would haveincreased to £53.93 perweek. The Apex post-im-provement work wasplanned to be at least£65.60 per week. The ac-tual rent increases havebeen even bigger – being atleast 28.5% higher.

The result therefore ofstock transfer is motivatedsolely by accessing privatefinance – with the resultingincrease in rents for tenants.

Currently while 85% ofNIHE tenants are on full orpartial housing benefit – thatmay not be the case movingforward with the proposedintroduction of a bedroomtax for existing or new ten-ants – this will have an im-pact on the provision ofsocial housing and afford-ability for tenants.

Currently Department ofSocial Development officialswill not be drawn on whethertenants will have the right tohave a vote – NIPSA be-lieves it is absolutely essen-tial that tenants are fullyaware of all the facts of a po-tential of a NIHE break-upand what it may mean forthem.

NIPSA will be meeting withtenants over the next fewmonths to make them awareof their rights and to build acampaign of opposition tothe effective privatisation ofsocial housing here.

The union is currently or-ganising a number of publicmeetings that will be widelyadvertised. Please makeyour voice heard and stopthe privatisation of socialhousing in Northern Ireland.

NIPSA has voiced its oppositionto any attempt to abolish the Con-sumer Council for Northern Ire-land.

The Department of Enterprise,Trade and Investment is currentlyholding a series of public consulta-tion events on the future of the or-ganisation.

While the consultation documentincludes the option to retain theCCNI, it is understood the Depart-ment’s preference is to abolish it andtransfer responsibility for consumerrights to the voluntary sector.

Almost 50 members of staff are

likely to lose their jobs if the CCNIgoes.

NIPSA has set out its argumentsin favour of retention.

The union claims the CCNI’s effi-ciency and effectiveness has been“repeatedly established” in previousreviews and points out the DETIconsultation document contains “fac-tual inaccuracies, omits key informa-tion and offers unbalancedcomments”, citing the Council’s owninitial response to the proposals.

In fact, NIPSA has called for a“strengthened” CCNI rather than a“diluted or externally funded body”.

The union also pointed out, “if it ain’tbroke, don’t fix it.”

Last year, the Consumer Councilhandled nearly 4,500 consumerqueries and complaints, returningmore than £300,000 directly to hard-pressed shoppers and serviceusers.

Pointing out that consumer spend-ing represented 60% of GDP, aunion source told NIPSA Reports:“Consumers suffering from spirallingliving costs need a stable and pow-erful advocate.

“The suggested alternatives areuntested, insufficient and incapable

of affording the level of protection,advice, education and cohesive em-powerment that consumers have aright to expect.”

NIPSA has, in particular, praisedthe CCNI for providing a “unique mixof research, policy, education andcomplaint handling roles in an inte-grated fashion”.

This, the union has argued, is un-matched by any other organisationin Northern Ireland and flagged upthe fact that 97% of consumershelped by the CCNI expressed satis-faction with how their complaint washandled.

SAVE THE NIHE BIDSTEPS UP A GEAR

NIPSA: ‘Consumer Council should be kept’

A&E staff ‘pushed to the limit’, claims new reportACCIDENT andEmergency staff atthe Royal Victoriaand Mater Hospitalsare being “pushedto the limits withthe pressures facedby staff becomingunsustainable”, ithas been claimed.

These are the find-ings of an independ-ent report followingan inspection by theCollege of Emer-gency Medicine.

The report’s author,Dr Taj Hassan, found

the environment andthe workload beingfaced by A&E staff atthe Belfast Trust wasworse than anywhereelse in the UK.

Members of staffare working under in-tolerable pressuredue to understaffingthroughout nursingand medical profes-sions caused byyears of underfund-ing.

The report is confir-mation of whatNIPSA said would

happen when the As-sembly Executiveand Health Boardclosed the BelfastCity Hospital A&EDepartment in 2011.

The responsibilityfor the crisis lies withall the Assembly par-ties as they continueto oversee healthcuts under Trans-forming Your Care.

A union sourcesaid: “While NIPSAcommends the A&Estaff as they workhard to maintain a

safe service, unfortu-nately for staff theworkload is becomingmore and more un-achievable and, assuch, is not sustain-able.”

NIPSA held ademonstration on No-vember 21 at theRoyal Victoria Hospi-tal site to highlightthis intolerable situa-tion and to demand areopening of CityHospital A&E.

Further protestsmay be planned. A&E protest at RVH


THE NORTHERN Ireland Assembly’s Educa-tion Committee, which is currently undertak-ing an enquiry into the Education andTraining Inspectorate and the school improve-ment process, recently heard oral evidencefrom a NIPSA delegation.

This supplemented a previous written submis-sion from the union on the issue.

As NIPSA represents the overwhelming major-ity of school inspectors, the union was called togive evidence at Stormont.

NIPSA Official Tony McMullan and Departmen-tal Secretary Janette McNulty spoke at the No-vember 6 sitting of the Committee.

The delegation reminded the Education Com-mittee that inspectors possessed a wide range ofeducational experience, professional expertiseand knowledge.

Describing them as “highly reflective individu-als”, the Committee heard that the context of theschool is foremost in inspectors’ minds at everyinspection and that the “the interests of thelearner was paramount”.

MLAs were told that inspectors did not shyaway from “making difficult decisions where thesedecisions were merited”.

Mr McMullan pointed out that the work of theschool inspectors was “underpinned with rigour”.

However, he cautioned that the Department’sdecision to raise the number of inspections withfewer resources (the Chief Inspector had cited a20% reduction in funding over the next few years)and reduced time for inspectors to evaluate had aclear potential to cause divisions between inspec-tors and schools.

NIPSA members had, he added, serious con-cerns about the time allowed to complete inspec-

tions. This led to very little time for professionaldevelopment.

Mr McMullan called for time allocations similarthose currently in place in Scotland. School in-spectors in Scotland are given 40 days a year forprofessional development in contrast to the two tothree days offered in Northern Ireland.

One of the issues being looked at by the As-sembly Committee is whether the Inspectorateshould remain employees of the Department ofEducation or whether they should be in someform of public body outside the Department.

Mr McMullan argued strongly that being part ofthe Department of Education and the wider NICSallowed the ETI to be accountable for their ac-tions and helped foster greater levels of trans-parency and public accountability.

He told the Committee that NIPSA members inthe Inspectorate were extremely dedicated andhard working. They consistently worked well overtheir job requirements and over their prescribedhours.

Mr McMullan explained that inspectors were“extremely child-focused” and “only wanted thebest for the children”.

In her presentation, Janette McNulty raisedconcerns about some comments made by othertrade unions, in particular the non-ICTU-affiliated

National Association of Head Teachers. She claimed NAHT had had made a number of

unjustified criticisms about inspectors. In particular, they had highlighted that inspec-

tors had little or no experience of teaching, lead-ing or managing schools.

Ms McNulty countered that was not the case,pointing out that in order to become an inspector,staff were required to have at least 10 yearsteaching experience.

Slamming the National Association of HeadTeachers assertion that the Inspectorate cost alot of money, she argued that it represented “ex-tremely good value for money”, comprising just0.3% of the Department of Education’s overallbudget.

She also flagged up that consideration wasbeing given to adopting the inspection modelselsewhere, both within and outside the UK.

In her conclusion, Ms McNulty said that the in-spectors saw themselves as being “a criticalfriend providing objective opinion, support andchallenge where appropriate”.

Mr McMullan said that NIPSA members in theInspectorate felt that they had a “good mutuallyrespectful, high-quality working relationship” withschools.

They are aware that young people rely on themto ensure that they do their level best in all situa-tions to make the most accurate evaluation call inthe interests of pupils and learners.

He said that inspectors are intrinsically repre-senting and giving a voice to those childrenwhose schools they inspect and, more often thannot, they affirm the “very good and outstandingwork of the very many excellent teachers inNorthern Ireland”.

NIPSA STANDS UPFOR SCHOOLS INSPECTORATE

NIPSA members havetaken to the steps ofGovernment Buildings inStormont again inprotest at the number ofcivil servants who didnot benefit from the fullterms of the 2009 equalpay settlement brokeredby the union.

Speaking before the No-vember 18 demonstration,NIPSA Assistant GeneralSecretary Kieran Bannonsaid: "This is the secondprotest to be held followinga disappointing outcome toa court case earlier in the

year. Due to a legal techni-cality, this group of civilservants have been badlytreated.”

He noted that there wasa growing level of supportfor these civil servants on

the basis of “fairness andjustice on moral grounds”.

"A few months ago boththe First Minister and theFinance Minister said therewas a strong moral casefor these members. Senior

civil servants have pro-vided a briefing to the Fi-nance Minister on theimplications of a paymentbeing made and we awaithis consideration of thatbriefing."

Secondequal payprotest atStormont

Organise to protect services, jobs, pay and pensionsYOU HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY...SUPPORT YOUR UNION AND YOUR COLLEAGUES

Assembly Committeetold of ETI evidenceby union officials


UNION FIGHTING BACK AGAINST AUSTERITY’S CLASS WARRIORS

AUSTERITY is a class war being wagedby the rich and powerful against workingpeople, NIPSA Policy and Research Offi-cer John McVey has warned.

He made the comment at the official launch ofa new NIPSA publication ‘Their System’s Crisis,Our Fightback’ on November 13.

Mr McVey told those gathered at the Youth Ac-tion NI offices in central Belfast, that though thenature of this attack had intensified in recentyears, its general thrust had been in place fordecades.

“We look at the facts of pay freezes and paycuts and put these in their historical context toshow this isn’t just about the current governmentin Westminster, there has been a pattern of at-tack on pay for decades.”

Pointing out that Northern Ireland had thehighest proportion of workers paid less than theliving wage in the UK – 26% – he contrasted thiswith what the super-rich paid themselves.

And noted: “By contrast at the tip of the corpo-rate pyramid it is a very different story – average

pay for the top directors has increased by 49%in the last year alone.”

When it comes to pay, it was not a case of pri-vate sector versus public sector, “it is the top ofthe pyramid and the rest”.

In particular, Mr McVey highlighted the pen-sions issue.

“The people who were attacking us for ‘goldplated pensions’ a couple of years ago and cry-ing crocodile tears for the private sector workerson lesser pensions are now showing how hollowtheir concern for these workers was.

“The Government has now given a green lightto private sector employers to raid pension pay-outs to dependents, in other words end the obli-gation to pay out to a retired worker’s survivingspouse.

“The technical stuff on pensions may be and isdull but the politics of it are crucial as theydemonstrate the type of society and the type ofworkforce those in power want – and that is anentirely disposable workforce, worked for aslong as feasible, paid as little as possible but

dumped as cheaply as possible as quickly aspossible when they’ve outlived their usefulness.”

Mr McVey said the market system could besummed up in one infamous phrase: “There isno such thing as society”.

He continued: “You have a world where Pri-mark post profits of half a billion pounds, as gar-ment workers in Bangladesh work for sevenpence an hour – a dog eat dog society – wherewe are all vulnerable and ripe for exploitation ortreated with negligence and contempt.”

He claimed the anti-welfare propaganda wasjust a “smoke screen” for an assault on universalprovision and represented “a descent from theideal that there was a duty to provide social se-curity in its fullest sense for citizens and the cur-rent model of charity, pay day loans and foodbanks.”

Turning to the implementation of Welfare Re-form across the water, he pointed out that thewhole policy was “unravelling” yet the UK Gov-ernment was still pressing for it to be introducedin Northern Ireland.

“We’re being asked to go into a burning build-ing because the rest of the town is going to goon fire anyway,” he added.

Slamming local politicians for the response tothis, he predicted it would represent the “litmustest of their political seriousness”, before addingthat it was a “test they are currently failing”.

Mr McVey claimed the fightback against aus-terity needed “troops” and underlined the impor-tance of building up the strength of trade unions.

“This starts from the basis of looking at whatunions have done for us and what the world ofwork looks like without them. This will lead to adiscussion of the threats we are facing being ofhistoric significance – the defence of health andsafety, for example, is to challenge the roll backto legislation that dates from the time of the in-dustrial revolution.”

But he cautioned: “The point is made that notfighting back won’t guarantee us that we keepthe status quo – there is no status quo – inthese times if we don’t resist – you won’t getless – you’ll get nothing.”

TYC impacton homeshighlighted

Exploris:Decision deferred to preparebusiness case

IN RECENT months, NIPSA hasbeen to the fore in highlightingthe impact the Transforming YourCare (TYC) initiative is having onstatutory residential homes inNorthern Ireland.

In September, NIPSA AssistantSecretary Kevin McCabe ad-dressed the Health and SocialCare Board’s monthly meeting inSt Columb’s Park, Derry, havingbeen given speaking rights byHSCB Chair Dr Ian Clements.

He reiterated NIPSA’s opposi-

tion to all closures and notedthat the issue had been removedfrom the Trusts.

Mr McCabe also challenged theBoard over the proposed termsof reference and recently pub-lished project initiation docu-ment.

Given the seriousness of theissue, NIPSA has called for regu-lar engagement with the Boardand other bodies on the issue.

A rally and protest involvingNIPSA activists, carers, residents

and community representativeswas also held to coincide withthe meeting.

On October 29, the HSCB helda public consultation on theissue at Grosvenor House,Belfast.

Again, NIPSA held a rally andprotest and sought speakingrights at the meeting.

In advance of this, the unionproduced a leaflet circulatedthroughout the Health Servicecalling on patients, carers and

families to join with NIPSA tostop the Board and others “re-moving your choice, closing resi-dential homes in your area andcutting thousands of hours ofdomiciliary care across allTrusts”.

Pat Lawlor, a local NIPSA repre-sentative from Branch 730 whoaddressed the meeting on behalfof the union, was scathing of thefact that all the Trusts were oper-ating a no admissions policy toresidential homes.

He pointed out that this, whencoupled with wilful lack of invest-ment in the homes, was makingthem ripe for closure.

NIPSA sent a clear message tothe Board and other bodies thatthe union would continue to en-sure there is scrutiny and ac-countability on this importantissue and that it would be seek-ing regular engagement with allstakeholders.

NIPSA has been to the fore in cam-paigning for regional funding for theExploris Aquarium and Seal Sanctuaryafter Ards Borough Council’s decisionto close the facility was deferred fortwo months.

This two-month deferment expired atthe end of November and the Councilwas set to make a definitive decisionon its future.

However, councillors then votedthrough a further two-month defermentto allow for a business case to be pre-pared to save Exploris.

It follows a NIPSA lobby of DOE Min-ister Mark H Durkan and other depart-ments on the issue.

The Minister advised the union thathe would fund a seal sanctuary andgive consideration to some capitalfunding on the basis of a number ofpoints, including a business case putforward by the Council.

However, it is understood council offi-cers could not work outside of thecouncil's decision to close the service.

A motion was tabled to the Council byone of the political parties seeking afurther deferment on the decision.

NIPSA and the SEA campaign grouphad lobbied the Ulster Unionist Party totable an amendment as the original mo-tion would not have gained the requiredsupport.

The UUP tabled an amendment seek-ing a further two-month deferment toallow council officers to submit a busi-ness case to the relevant governmentdepartments.

The amendment was passed by theCouncil and work has since begun onthe business case.

NIPSA will continue to campaign andlobby for regional funding to ensure thecontinuation of the service and ourmembers’ employment.

Members who live in the Ards Bor-ough Council area are asked to write tolocal councillors asking that the servicebe kept open.


UNION FIGHTING BACK AGAINST AUSTERITY’S CLASS WARRIORS

AUSTERITY is a class war being wagedby the rich and powerful against workingpeople, NIPSA Policy and Research Offi-cer John McVey has warned.

He made the comment at the official launch ofa new NIPSA publication ‘Their System’s Crisis,Our Fightback’ on November 13.

Mr McVey told those gathered at the Youth Ac-tion NI offices in central Belfast, that though thenature of this attack had intensified in recentyears, its general thrust had been in place fordecades.

“We look at the facts of pay freezes and paycuts and put these in their historical context toshow this isn’t just about the current governmentin Westminster, there has been a pattern of at-tack on pay for decades.”

Pointing out that Northern Ireland had thehighest proportion of workers paid less than theliving wage in the UK – 26% – he contrasted thiswith what the super-rich paid themselves.

And noted: “By contrast at the tip of the corpo-rate pyramid it is a very different story – average

pay for the top directors has increased by 49%in the last year alone.”

When it comes to pay, it was not a case of pri-vate sector versus public sector, “it is the top ofthe pyramid and the rest”.

In particular, Mr McVey highlighted the pen-sions issue.

“The people who were attacking us for ‘goldplated pensions’ a couple of years ago and cry-ing crocodile tears for the private sector workerson lesser pensions are now showing how hollowtheir concern for these workers was.

“The Government has now given a green lightto private sector employers to raid pension pay-outs to dependents, in other words end the obli-gation to pay out to a retired worker’s survivingspouse.

“The technical stuff on pensions may be and isdull but the politics of it are crucial as theydemonstrate the type of society and the type ofworkforce those in power want – and that is anentirely disposable workforce, worked for aslong as feasible, paid as little as possible but

dumped as cheaply as possible as quickly aspossible when they’ve outlived their usefulness.”

Mr McVey said the market system could besummed up in one infamous phrase: “There isno such thing as society”.

He continued: “You have a world where Pri-mark post profits of half a billion pounds, as gar-ment workers in Bangladesh work for sevenpence an hour – a dog eat dog society – wherewe are all vulnerable and ripe for exploitation ortreated with negligence and contempt.”

He claimed the anti-welfare propaganda wasjust a “smoke screen” for an assault on universalprovision and represented “a descent from theideal that there was a duty to provide social se-curity in its fullest sense for citizens and the cur-rent model of charity, pay day loans and foodbanks.”

Turning to the implementation of Welfare Re-form across the water, he pointed out that thewhole policy was “unravelling” yet the UK Gov-ernment was still pressing for it to be introducedin Northern Ireland.

“We’re being asked to go into a burning build-ing because the rest of the town is going to goon fire anyway,” he added.

Slamming local politicians for the response tothis, he predicted it would represent the “litmustest of their political seriousness”, before addingthat it was a “test they are currently failing”.

Mr McVey claimed the fightback against aus-terity needed “troops” and underlined the impor-tance of building up the strength of trade unions.

“This starts from the basis of looking at whatunions have done for us and what the world ofwork looks like without them. This will lead to adiscussion of the threats we are facing being ofhistoric significance – the defence of health andsafety, for example, is to challenge the roll backto legislation that dates from the time of the in-dustrial revolution.”

But he cautioned: “The point is made that notfighting back won’t guarantee us that we keepthe status quo – there is no status quo – inthese times if we don’t resist – you won’t getless – you’ll get nothing.”

IN RECENT months, NIPSA hasbeen to the fore in highlightingthe impact the Transforming YourCare (TYC) initiative is having onstatutory residential homes inNorthern Ireland.

In September, NIPSA AssistantSecretary Kevin McCabe ad-dressed the Health and SocialCare Board’s monthly meeting inSt Columb’s Park, Derry, havingbeen given speaking rights byHSCB Chair Dr Ian Clements.

He reiterated NIPSA’s opposi-

tion to all closures and notedthat the issue had been removedfrom the Trusts.

Mr McCabe also challenged theBoard over the proposed termsof reference and recently pub-lished project initiation docu-ment.

Given the seriousness of theissue, NIPSA has called for regu-lar engagement with the Boardand other bodies on the issue.

A rally and protest involvingNIPSA activists, carers, residents

and community representativeswas also held to coincide withthe meeting.

On October 29, the HSCB helda public consultation on theissue at Grosvenor House,Belfast.

Again, NIPSA held a rally andprotest and sought speakingrights at the meeting.

In advance of this, the unionproduced a leaflet circulatedthroughout the Health Servicecalling on patients, carers and

families to join with NIPSA tostop the Board and others “re-moving your choice, closing resi-dential homes in your area andcutting thousands of hours ofdomiciliary care across allTrusts”.

Pat Lawlor, a local NIPSA repre-sentative from Branch 730 whoaddressed the meeting on behalfof the union, was scathing of thefact that all the Trusts were oper-ating a no admissions policy toresidential homes.

He pointed out that this, whencoupled with wilful lack of invest-ment in the homes, was makingthem ripe for closure.

NIPSA sent a clear message tothe Board and other bodies thatthe union would continue to en-sure there is scrutiny and ac-countability on this importantissue and that it would be seek-ing regular engagement with allstakeholders.

Union members and officials at thelaunch of NIPSA’s ‘A Statement toMembers’ publication

Despite rising food prices,as much as half theworld’s food is simplythrown away. Now aBelfast-based organisa-tion is putting some ofthat ‘surplus’ food ontothe plates of those whodesperately need it.

FareShare (Island of Ire-land) diverts food away fromthe rubbish tip and deliversit to charity and communityorganisations working withhomeless people and othervulnerable groups through-out Northern Ireland.

Based in Weavers’ Courtin south Belfast and man-aged by the Council for theHomeless in Northern Ire-land, it’s one of 17 depotsacross the UK. When VIEWvisited on a cold, wintrymorning, the warehousewas crammed with a hugevariety of fresh and frozenfood, including rice, pasta,soup, vegetables, meat, andeven ice lollies.

But as Méabh Austin, theproject’s Strategic Develop-ment Officer explained, thewarehouse is actually rela-tively Spartan on a Mondaymorning, as they wait for de-liveries from food producersand supermarkets to comein. The food is all good qual-ity and within its best-be-fore-date. It’s just that itcan’t be sold for trivial rea-

sons, such as having dam-aged packaging or beingfrom a seasonal line.

Established in March 2011and partly funded by theFood Standards Agencyand the Public HeathAgency, FareShare cur-rently supplies food to 61organisations – and thatnumber is growing all thetime. Recipients include theEast Belfast Mission, theMethodist City Mission,Mindwise in Carrickfergusand Lighthouse in Bally-mena.

Méabh said: “In the firstyear we diverted 154,000meals from landfill. We wereable to work that out usingFood Standards Agencyguidelines, so if you lined upall the plates they wouldstretch from Belfast to Ban-gor.”

The food comes fromaround 40 local producers,including Avondale, Gilfresh,Premier Bakeries and DaleFarm, and supermarkets, in-cluding Sainsbury’s. The or-ganisation is in talks withAsda, and has also takenfood from Tesco and Lidl.

The benefits to busi-nesses are obvious – Fare-Share takes food that theywould otherwise have topay to dispose of as landfill,saving them money, reduc-ing their carbon emissions

and doing their public imageno harm either.

Méabh said: “The morefood producers that we canget on board, the more foodwe can get out to commu-nity food members – thecharities that benefit fromthe food.”

As well as Méabh and Op-erations Manager SimonGeddis, there is one otherpaid staff member, but theproject depends on volun-teers who receive training in

forklift truck driving, food hy-giene and health and safety.

Volunteers Liam Mc-Carville from Belfast andJim Hamilton from Comberwere working in the ware-house when View visited.Liam said: “I’m a volunteerwith Volunteer Now. I makeup the food parcels forthose who need them.” JimHamilton, a former govern-ment press

officer, said: “My last jobwas in the DoE so I knew a

bit about FareShare and Iwas interested in doingsomething that helped peo-ple.”

Méabh said that Fare-Share is making a real dif-ference to charities andcommunity groups strug-gling with budgets.

For more information onFareShare, email:[email protected] or call 02890246440.

A team of workers getting the food ready for delivery from FareShare’s depotin Weaver’s Court, Belfast, to charity and community organisations

Fare way to Share foodwith those who need it

Picture: Kevin Cooper

Worrying trend: Alarming growth in Northern Ireland food banks MORE than 500,000 peoplenow depend on food banks inNorthern Ireland and the UK.

NIPSA and the trade unionmovement have described this“alarming rise” in the number ofdesperate people turning to helpfrom food banks as a nationalscandal.

“The huge growth in people

struggling to survive on a dailybasis and turning to charitablecontributions is no substitute forfailed government policiesmarching to the tune of auster-ity,” said a NIPSA spokesperson.

The union movement is ap-palled that inquiries about foodbanks have rocketed with morethan 500,000 in the UK availingthemlves of the service.

The NIPSA spokespersonadded: “The impact of harshgovernment benefit reforms canclearly be seen by the risingnumbers turning to food banks.However, this union and itsmembers will not shirk from a re-sponsibility to defend the lesswell off and the low paid in ourcommunity.

“NIPSA is appealing for its

members to support local foodbanks by contributing non-per-ishable supplies.

“Many of those who use foodbanks are low-paid workers,many in the public sector andthey are our colleagues.”

A YouGov survey commis-sioned by Citizen Advice Bureaushows that more than half ofthose on low incomes have had

to resort to savings accounts inthe past six months so that theycan meet living costs.

And 37% of respondents onlow incomes report that theyhave no savings to turn to in anemergency, meaning many haveno safety net when they run outof money.

The Citizna Advice Bureau haswarned that its offices are begin-

ning to see people in employ-ment seek emergency food sup-plies before they get paid,despite positive unemploymentfigures revealed earlier thismonth.

Like CAB, NIPSA believes thatfood banks have no place inmodern Britain.

“Millions of families are facinga perfect storm of pressures on

their budgets.“The combined impact of wel-

fare upheaval, cuts to publicspending, low wages and thehigh cost of living are puttingunbearable pressure on manyhouseholds, forcing them toseek emergency help puttingfood on the table."

Unlike the Con-Dem govern-ment ministers who blame the

poorest in society for theirpredicament, NIPSA is urging itsmembers to contact the follow-ing food bank organisations inNorthern Ireland and contributein some way:http://www.trusselltrust.org/http://www.storehousebelfast.comhttp://www.svp-ni.org


Lucy Gollogly, from View NI, a digital community magazine, reports on the FareShare organisation which deliversfood to the charity and community sector

Worrying trend: Alarming growth in Northern Ireland food banks MORE than 500,000 peoplenow depend on food banks inNorthern Ireland and the UK.

NIPSA and the trade unionmovement have described this“alarming rise” in the number ofdesperate people turning to helpfrom food banks as a nationalscandal.

“The huge growth in people

struggling to survive on a dailybasis and turning to charitablecontributions is no substitute forfailed government policiesmarching to the tune of auster-ity,” said a NIPSA spokesperson.

The union movement is ap-palled that inquiries about foodbanks have rocketed with morethan 500,000 in the UK availingthemlves of the service.

The NIPSA spokespersonadded: “The impact of harshgovernment benefit reforms canclearly be seen by the risingnumbers turning to food banks.However, this union and itsmembers will not shirk from a re-sponsibility to defend the lesswell off and the low paid in ourcommunity.

“NIPSA is appealing for its

members to support local foodbanks by contributing non-per-ishable supplies.

“Many of those who use foodbanks are low-paid workers,many in the public sector andthey are our colleagues.”

A YouGov survey commis-sioned by Citizen Advice Bureaushows that more than half ofthose on low incomes have had

to resort to savings accounts inthe past six months so that theycan meet living costs.

And 37% of respondents onlow incomes report that theyhave no savings to turn to in anemergency, meaning many haveno safety net when they run outof money.

The Citizna Advice Bureau haswarned that its offices are begin-

ning to see people in employ-ment seek emergency food sup-plies before they get paid,despite positive unemploymentfigures revealed earlier thismonth.

Like CAB, NIPSA believes thatfood banks have no place inmodern Britain.

“Millions of families are facinga perfect storm of pressures on

their budgets.“The combined impact of wel-

fare upheaval, cuts to publicspending, low wages and thehigh cost of living are puttingunbearable pressure on manyhouseholds, forcing them toseek emergency help puttingfood on the table."

Unlike the Con-Dem govern-ment ministers who blame the

poorest in society for theirpredicament, NIPSA is urging itsmembers to contact the follow-ing food bank organisations inNorthern Ireland and contributein some way:http://www.trusselltrust.org/http://www.storehousebelfast.comhttp://www.svp-ni.org


NIPSA say YES to realjobs at Europa protestNIPSA members at the Department forEmployment and Learning held “a goodhumoured but determined” protest out-side the Europa Hotel on November 14,as DEL Minister Dr Stephen Farrylaunched a Jobs Fair and Advice Foruminside the building.

Tony McMullan (pictured above at thedemo), the NIPSA Official who has respon-sibility for DEL, told NIPSA Reports: “I wantto make it clear that we as a trade unionwelcome the Department’s objective in pro-viding employment schemes for young peo-ple.

“However, while that is a principle weshare with the Department, we do not be-lieve that the current YES programme isable to provide the real jobs which youngpeople need in order to play a beneficialrole in Northern Ireland society.”

The YES (Youth Employment Scheme)programme is the Department’s attempt atidentifying jobs and training opportunitiesfor young people.

Mr McMullan raised concerns that so farthe YES programme had not been able toturn its objectives into providing real, mean-ingful and properly paid jobs for young peo-ple.

He said: “The employees of DEL and

members of NIPSA are fully committed toproviding the support which our young peo-ple need. However, that cannot be donewithout the necessary training and re-sources.

“Despite the union’s best efforts, we havenot been able to persuade the DEL man-agement to provide additional training forour members which is an essential prereq-uisite to assisting young people.

“In addition, the union believes that thereis a fundamental requirement for the neces-sary resources, both monetary and physi-cal, to ensure that the YES programme isproperly staffed and resourced.”

Mr McMullan, who earlier handed DrFarry a letter setting out NIPSA’s position,also expressed concern over the Depart-ment’s decision to outsource some func-tions to the private sector.

He added: “We believe that staff in DELare best placed to provide the quality serv-ice which our young people require and we,therefore, urge the Minister to desist fromhanding over any elements of our work onthe YES programme to training providersand instead commit himself to providing thenecessary resources to allow his employ-ees to do the job they have committedthemselves to carrying out.”

AS PREVIOUSLY reportedin NIPSA Reports, the newDirector of Transforma-tion has been appointedon a salary of £142,000,plus £15,000 travel andaccommodation costs.

In recent days NIHEChairman Donald Hoodless,in discussing the advertisingof the new Chief Executivepost, said: “The Departmentof Social Development willconsider a significant payrise to the Chief Executivesalary in a bid to attract ahigh-calibre candidate.”

It is speculated that thesalary will be advertised inexcess of £150,000.

This is at a time when theNIHE salary budget is undersevere pressure and hasbeen reduced year-on-yearover the past three years.

Staff have just beenawarded a meagre 1% payincrease after a three-yearpay freeze yet new appoint-ments at a senior level arebeing paid £50,000 plusmore than posts at an

equivalent or previous level. Deputy General Secretary

Alison Millar told NIPSA Re-ports: “NIPSA is deeply con-cerned that the NIHE salarybudget – which has beencapped and reduced for thepast three years – will be re-quired to bear the additionalsalary costs at a time of lowpay rises for staff who havehad to resort to writing totheir MLAs to force the pay-ment of the meagre 1% in-crease this year.

“I have written to SocialDevelopment Minister Nel-son McCausland expressingNIPSA’s concern in a bid toensure that the Departmentmakes available the addi-tional money for the veryhigh salaries currently beingoffered to new senior staff inthe Housing Executive.

“It is unfair that perhaps ifthis does not happen thatmore junior staff or tempo-rary staff will lose their jobs– this cannot be allowed tohappen.”

DEPARTMENT of Fi-nance and PersonnelTUS has welcomed clari-fication issued by theCentral Procurement Di-vision over the issue of‘blacklisting’.

The CDP was respond-ing to representationsmade by the TUS at a re-cent meeting of the DFPCommittee and followsreports of ‘blacklisting’in other parts of the UK.

TUS wanted to ensurethat firms applying totake part in Northern Ire-land public procurementcompetitions were notalso engaged in thepractice.

In response CPD ad-vised TUS that:n CPD is against black-

listing and does not con-done it in any form.n CPD encourages theright of any individual totrade union membership.n CPD will monitor thework of the Ethical TradeInitiative.

CPD’s position waswelcomed by DFP TUS.

A source said: “Whilethere is no evidence tosuggest blacklisting hasbeen a problem in North-ern Ireland, it is impor-tant it stays that way.

“The assurances fromCPD from a public pro-curement perspective ismost helpful, includingtheir recognition of theright to join a tradeunion.”

NIPSA concern over salaryhikes for senior execs

CDP ‘blacklisting’clarification welcomed


And...it’s a goodbyefrom activist TrevorUNION stalwart Trevor Smythretired from DARD at the end ofSeptember after 42 years in theNICS.

In that time he has worked in theDepartment of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment. During the last 42years Trevor has worked in the Vet-erinary Research Laboratories,Forestry Division Beef Special Pre-mium Division, Personnel Division

and Policy and Economics Division. For the last 16 years Trevor has

worked in Agricultural EconomyBranch in DARD. Trevor is wellknown in the Department and highlyrespected by his colleagues. Hiswealth of knowledge and experiencehas made a valuable contribution tothe work of Agricultural EconomyBranch over the years and it is fittingthat he now enjoys a well-earnedrest.

Activist Trevor Smyth (yellow jumper) with union colleagues at NIPSA HQ fora party to mark his retirement from NICS

DURING the equal pay negotia-tions conducted in 2009, NICSmanagement insisted on conduct-ing a review of the TechnicalGrades I and II (TGI/TGII).

The findings of that exercise con-firmed that a very high percentage ofTGIIs were undertaking work of theTGI grade and also that a number ofTGIs were undertaking work beyondtheir substantive grade.

Temporary promotion arrange-ments were put in place for all thosedoing work of a higher grade al-though for a number of TGI staffthey were only paid the salary of anEOII rather than that of the next

higher grade in their grading struc-ture (i.e. PTO).

The temporary promotion termswere made retrospective to Septem-ber 2009 and were to remain inplace pending the outcome of nego-tiations on longer-term arrange-ments.

Recently NICS management re-sponded to the representationsmade by Trade Union Side onlonger-term arrangements.

Following consideration of the pro-posals, the Civil Service Group Ex-ecutive accepted them on the basisthat they addressed the issuesraised by Trade Union Side.

The arrangements are:

TGII staffIn line with NIPSA’s representa-

tions, it is now agreed that all currentTGII posts be confirmed as TGI andthat TGII staff should be re-graded(effectively promoted to TGI with ef-fect from September 1, 2013).

It was also proposed that this befacilitated by means of a paper-based assessment and line man-agement recommendation. Thedetail of this process is being fi-nalised with NICS management whowill circulate it to staff and line man-agers.

It was also agreed that the TGIIgrade would remain part of the Pro-fessional and Technology Officergrading structure that can be drawnupon in the future where the needarises.

TGI driving examiners

These members of staff are cur-rently receiving temporary promotionterms on the Executive Officer IIsalary scale. Over a number ofyears the driving examiner functionshave moved between the Profes-sional and Technical and GeneralService disciplines. It has been agreed that Driving Ex-

aminers be re-graded to EOII withinthe General Service discipline. It isproposed this would be facilitated bymeans of a paper-based assess-ment and line manager recommen-dation. The process would mirrorthat for the TGII staff when agreed.

Other TGI affected posts

NICS management indicated thatDepartments had suggested theneed to create a new PTO II gradefor TGI posts that had been evalu-ated as falling within the EOII JEGSscore boundary. However, this proposal would havereintroduced part of the P & T disci-pline structure that existed prior tothe P & T re-grading exercise in thelate 1980s. It would also run con-trary to NIPSA policy in seeking toaddress grading anomalies and thepotential creation of a new singleExecutive Officer grade.Following consideration of this pro-posal by the Civil Service Group Ex-ecutive Committee, it was rejected. Further discussions with NICS man-agement are planned to consider amore appropriate alternative bywhich NIPSA policy can be achievedand members’ interests protected.

“Silent Night - “Silent Night - “Silent Night -

“Silent Night - “Silent Night - “Silent Night - “Silent Night -

“Silent Night - “Silent Night - “Silent Night - “Silent Night -

“Silent Night - “Silent Night - “Silent Night -

Long-term proposals tabled after Technical Grades review

NIPSA has called on members toget fit in the New Year by going topublicly-owned gyms and helpingsupport public sector jobs.

It follows the decision by NorthDown Council to outsource itsleisure centres to internationalservice company Serco.

Local Government leisure serv-ices are increasingly under threatand it is understood that a numberof other councils are consideringthe future of leisure centres intheir areas.

A union source said: “It is com-ing to the time of year where mem-bers and their families give

consideration to getting fit, joininga gym and generally looking aftertheir health and that of their fami-lies, buying presents or makingNew Year resolutions.

“Members are asked to help pro-tect public services by buyingpublic service gym membershipsfor presents or by joining publicleisure centre gyms in the NewYear.

“This will help to protect publicservices and jobs. It will also en-sure your money will be rein-vested into public services andnot into the pockets of privatesector employers.”

Get fit and protect jobs

NIPSA Reports: December 2013

Documents