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A NEW WORKPLACE initiative is being launched to get civil servants more active.
Health Minister Leo Varadkar will today announce a new initiative to get public sector workers healthier.
The public sector employs 288,561 people in Ireland, around 15% of the workforce, so Varadkar says that tackling sickness and absenteeism is common sense.
“It’s well established that a healthy workforce is a happier one with low levels of sick leave and greater productivity.
So this approach makes pure business sense too for the public and private sectors. We are putting this on a statutory basis to send a clear message that we mean business in improving the nation’s health.
Under the scheme, employers across the public sector will develop “healthy workplace” policies to support the health and well-being of their employees.
The proposed Health and Wellbeing (Workplace Wellbeing) Bill signed off at cabinet recently will require public service employers to develop a ‘healthy workplace’ policy to promote the physical, mental and social wellbeing of employees.
The measures will be voluntary and each workplace will be able to come up with their own initiatives.
These could include travel programmes, exercise clubs or smoking cessation programmes.
Many private companies have similar schemes, but Varadkar says they can still play a big part in the health of the nation.
“We want to learn from them about what has worked. There will also be opportunities for companies which haven’t developed their own policies just yet. That’s why we are setting up new ways to engage with both public and private sector employers to promote healthy workplaces.”
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You want us to be more productive and lower sick leave Leo?!Hows about you address the problem of critical understaffing in our hospitals by giving us more nurses doctors and resources then!!Prevent the burnout.what an idiot
Agreed Rachel – more doctors and nurses in the hospitals are definitely required. How would you fund them by the way? Increased taxes on what… or cuts where?
Yes of course more doctors and nurses would help but this is a good step to help tackle the problem at source. If people do a bit of exercise their mental and physical health is improved and people will not get as sick as often.
Really need to tackle the schools too and get kids more active and eating more healthy. Showing simple dinner and lunch ideas might get them more interested in what they eat.
How many millions a year do we contribute in aid to other countries?? I’d cut that, thats an extra E602m towards nurses, doctors and hospitals. Next?
Yeah, why should we care if a few black babies starve as a result. Don’t we have a horrendous wait in the A&E to deal with – what with all these drunks and junkies needing stitches and meds,
Yeah, those fighter jets etc that Uganda and other third world country buy really need Irish Euros for their upkeep.
Great idea, more doctors, nurses, but less administrative staff, middle managers, etc is how this should be achieved, not throwing more money at it.
And what about the €3m humanitarian aid the Irish government donated immediately after the Nepal earthquake recently? Were you against that donation?
By not paying 40 cent of every euro of tax to pay off debts that were not accumulated by us or how about not sinking 1.5 billion into the setting up of a utility that will end up becoming extinct because there is mass non payment.. Going on the figure 67% of the populace have registered with irish water and giving them a very nice figure of 50% payment rates that means that only a third of people have paid their water bills.. The utility will fold with numbers like that..
@ Sean: Well over half of the of the Irish national debt came from budget deficits rather than the bank bailout. Those budget deficits were used to maintain spending for Irish citizens on social welfare, health and education among other areas.
Ryan, that was a one off and i’d have no problem helping out in a crisis like that, but E602m to countries who have it in their budgets to buy state of the art military equipment is not something i agree with.
Expect lots of photos of the bold Leo in lycra..
I wish I had time for yoga at work.
Is this a joke, just take away the lifts,
I’m a public sector employee. I buy from the salad bar at lunch. I then go for a half hour jog. I do approx 3k in that half hour. Exercise doesn’t have to cost money, running is free, walking is free. Canteen is subsidised but the salad is the best value for money item on the menu and people still choose the unhealthy more expensive options. My point is that you can bring a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.
Who you calling a horse?
how ya horse
Leo, this isn’t what we mean when we say the Public Sector is not fit for purpose.
you might get people fitter and healthier but you won’t reduce absenteeism in the public sector as they aren’t always sick when they take these days to begin with
The thing is that often it is better for the public if public sector workers do take sick leave.
I’d rather see a teacher take sick leave than pass on a bug to his or her class. Or I’d rather see a nurse or doctor take sick leave rather than make a mistake with a patient due to fatigue or pass on a bug to their patients…
I think you missed Dermot’s point Ryan, maybe read again?
3.5 uncertified days a year. A cert required if you take more than 2. Those days?
Can we really afford to pay for all these vote buying ideas from FG. I would love to see the costing on this
Give them the same sick leave and payments as people in the private sector. That’ll sort it. Fact!
No, that’s taking it too far obviously. Out of the question.
That would be anyone in the PS for the last 20 years.
beach master in many private sector organisations (e.g bank of ireland) you can take six months sick leave at full pay. it is less than half that ANYWHERE in the public sector.
BOI are not exactly a shining example of a well run and successful business.
Another example is ebay – modern, high-paying, no scandals. My point is that people think the public sector have fantastic pay and conditions. Our pensions are excellent – I am a public servant but pay and conditions have deteriorated.
There was a widespread campaign to recruit people at Principal Officer from the private sector. It is a Senior Management role – salary starts at €79,000. Only 15% of applicants were from outside the public sector. Reasons given for not applying were giving up bonuses, losing private health insurance and promotion was slow.
I will be the first to say that a cleaner in the public sector is probably treated better than a cleaner in the private sector but at the upper echelons there is no comparison in salaries. Look at the CEO of RSA – he was on 400k plus 200k bonus. Not even President Higgins is on anything like that.
Great initiative – the wife has it and says she has to pay more for yoga in this than outside work.
Genius…. I love it.
How about making them more active and pro-active in there jobs!?
They already get great conditions and pay, now it’s time to work for it!
So will the taxpayer have to foot the bill for this new initiative? Maybe we taxpayers should subsidise gym memberships and time off for them to go for a jog on the 3 hour lunch breaks they take?
Ted I seem to remember Irish water staff having subsidised gym membership as a perk
@Integra-Ted, I started in the civil service in May. I work from 9 – 5:15 Monday to Friday. I get a half hour lunch each day, otherwise it messes my hours up. Now, i could come in at 8 and stay till 6 to work a 3 hour lunch back, but i’d still have to work the hours.
PS the money is not great either. I am making less now that i was in my last job in a call centre. Although my mental health is a lot better out of the call centre.
Is it civil servants or public servants or both , anyway lets all continue knocking the public sector as the journal and its readers love to do .
What about the introduction of medical & dental health cover for the public sector ?
Yes please. There’s minimal difference between the public and private PRSI rates, but PS dont get freebie trips to the dentist.
Ya gotta love the insinuation baying for spite with these type of articles.
1. They pay from their own pocket.
2. It’s after work.
Ban chicken fillet rolls. Done.
The first line in that article is a contradiction “civil servants more active” !!!!!
Great, now the Blueshirt’s are going to pay inefficient, overpaid, public service workers to do even less work
You’ll have to get some of them into work first !
Is it me or has Leo lost his evil other self since he came out .
And they’ll probably get time off to use the facilities causing more delays for the consumer, who ultimately pay them.
They got bikes or €1,000 towards bikes recently yet cars are parked in the middle of Trinity College, Dublin Castle etc. only in Ireland would the biggest tourist attractions be allowed parking. Of course they make up their own rules. Mr Keegan should start sorting out his our house first and lead by example.
Don’t they get enough exercise going for 20 fag breaks a day. Even the non smokers.
It is called sex with Leo…
Pope Leo???
have your say