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THE MOVES HAVE already been choreographed. After a period of ‘intensive negotiations’ and ‘crisis talks’ the leaders of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) and the government continue to come up with a package for the ‘extension’ of the Croke Park deal.
Last week, the government was trumpeting the progress it made on promissory note. The country, had, it appeared, saved €20 billion and this was considered a price worth paying to copper-fasten debt to the backs of our grandchildren until 2050.
Yet, strangely, despite these ‘savings’, the government feels it must reach into the pockets of nurses, fire-fighters and gardaí to take more money. These particular groups of workers engage in difficult, stressful activity. Sometimes, they are required to leave their families at all hours of the night or on Sundays to do it.
One of the most basic axioms of a modern, civilised society is that work during anti-social hours be rewarded. Traditionally, the rate has been set at double time but the government has deemed this an unacceptable luxury. Something else is peculiar about the idea of ‘extending’ Croke Park.
The Croke Park agreement is not due to expire until mid 2014 – more than a year away. Although, it has been lashed by media commentators from the right of the political spectrum, it was accepted by public servants because it guaranteed no further pay cuts. After the union leadership put up only a token resistance to a pension levy and a pay cut that took away 15 per cent out of their income, a demoralised workforce concluded that their best bet was to agree to the deal.
They assumed that it guaranteed their already shrunken pay packets and that was enough. Few examined the small print – so fearful were they of further cuts. But the agreement allowed their employers to change contracts, re-organise shift systems to eliminate overtime, to re-deploy workers up to 45 kilometres from their home, to link incremental progression to ‘performance’ as defined by line managers. In other words, it was a tough deal that brought many changes.
But, and here is the point – it still has a year to run. Which begs the question: why are professional negotiators discussing tearing it up and replacing it with one that is worse?
Union officials tend to have a bureaucratic mentality. They believe in rules, procedures and above all adherence to agreements. If one of their members says ‘we should not accept this’ they will invariably be told, ‘Unfortunately, we have signed an agreement and must stick to it’.
The only explanation, I can think, for breaking from this norm is that some of our unions must be very close to the government. There are conflicts of interest between the needs of parties and union members and they must be particularly acute.
This sort of thing has, unfortunately, been happened before. The Croke Park agreement promised that a share of the ‘savings’ gained from extra productivity would go to workers who earned less than €35,000. But that was also torn up – and the unions accepted it without a murmur. The original number supposed to depart the public services was to be approximately 18,000 employees but it rose to 30,000. The unions again accepted – and sometimes even cheered on – the increase.
Last year, the government managed to get through one of the biggest changes ever to affect workers. Namely an increase in the pension age to 68 for those currently aged under 50. While the rest of Europe erupted in anger, there was silence in Ireland. All of which indicates that the more sacrifices one accepts meekly, the more the government is emboldened to ask for more.
If we become lulled by a PR machine that claims the government achieved wonders on the promissory note by ‘quiet diplomacy’, is it any wonder we lose the will to resist.
The growing revolt of the 24/7 Alliance and the brewing anger over property taxes may, however, be a sign of a different mood. ‘Enough is enough’ appears to have become a popular watch cry. I do hope it grows louder.
Kieran Allen is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology in University College Dublin. He is the author of Ireland’s Economic Crash (Dublin: Liffey Press 2009). To read more by Kieran Allen for TheJournal.ie click here.
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So the government are going block the pension increase to the Aer Lingua CEO, Why did they not do anything when it came to the BOI CEO?
Because the clever people in FF only took preferential shares, which don’t come with voting rights
Very good point. But monster remuneration packages for any top executive should be unacceptable. Especially if they get increases while workers pay and benefits are being cut.
What team of overpaid consultants advised them on that farcical farsighted decision.
Dave
Have you been missing for a while? Blank of Ireland has returned every penny it received from the State and a bit more while the Government still holds some sixteen percent of its shares. On this basis I would double Bouchers salary and add a sizeable stock option arrangement.
If you cannot see the logic in such an arrangement then you don’t deserve any payback on the State rescue of the Banks with YOUR money!
Lose €50 million and get a pay rise seems about right in Ireland.
Once again the government have been made to look like clowns. There was the banker’s salaries, top-ups for HSE executives, the CRC and Rehab fiascos, and now another fat-cat with a massive pension while the ordinary man is still paying for mistakes that weren’t of their doing. This government is so incompetent that thousands are emigrating to North Korea every week.
The government aren’t being made to look like clowns by this, they are already clowns and the island of Ireland is just one big circus to them for the people (other countries) to laugh at!!
How can an individual responsible for running a company that has lost 50,000,000 in the first quarter even be considered for a pay rise let alone a huge increase in pension contribution? Ridiculous to say the least. If the losses aren’t greatly reduced by end of year, he should be sacked!
Aer Lingus made a profit of over 60 million euro last year. It was a basket case when Mueller took over and not only has he saved it he has turned it into a profitable business. One quarter’s figures, affected in a big way by the employees’ threatened strike, is no way to assess the man’s value.
Aer Lingus always makes a loss in the first quarter of the year. The real money is made during the summer and the rest of the year.
e.g. in 2013 they lost 45.5 million
in 2012 they lost 35.1 million
Now you could say these losses are increasing year on year, but they made a hefty profit in 2012 and 2013 and I’d still expect them to make a profit this year too.
All airlines make losses in first quarter, even Ryanair.
Alan..that’s why I said wait until the end of year.. but to try to give a huge increase in pension contribution based on last year’s figures is ridiculous as well. He got a substantial pay increase which increases the companies contribution anyway ! Why can’t he take out an AVC to boost his pension? He should be paid his bonus by profit share. That way if the company makes, he makes. It would be an incentive for him ..
Easter changes between quarter 1 and 2 all the time which represents the changes in losses.
Because it was based on last years profit figures.
That sounds like a sensible move by the government…
Makes you wonder why they’re doing it doesn’t it! Now I’m suspicious.
They had to, elections are near and the idiots are getting scared!
Story updated and if true the shareholders should sack the board immediately!
Didn’t read the story properly, seems the shareholders voted in favour! Figured Ryanair had voted against it too!
How sensible of them to do this. Am I the only one who thinks we should have elections far more often? A lot of stuff seems to be getting done now that they need our votes
I’m all right, jack policies for the executives, pay cuts and a messed up pension schemes for the little people.
Good to see an inept, greedy, me feiner stopped in his tracks for a change… You’d think there were elections coming up or something!
I think you’ll find that his pension will cost a lot less than that of some ministers.
It is such cowardice from the Irish Government to seek to block the foreign-born chief executive of Aer Lingus from being paid the pension that he is due as a successful and well-performing leader of an important Irish company. The only reason that the Government have adopted this posture is in order to placate the highly-destructive trade unions and the left-leaning press in Ireland. There is no true principle, or long-term thinking, here from our Irish government, only PR considerations for themselves. It is quite sickening and destructive.
Would the Government and elements of the Irish media prefer to lose high-quality, international-standard business leaders who are of big benefit to the Irish economy and to flag-carrying companies such as Aer Lingus? An ability to think things through properly, and for the benefit of the long-run, needs to be acquired by our political leaders and our media in Ireland. In short, our politicians and media have to mature; they have to grow out of the immaturity which is still a regrettable feature of Irish life.
Waffle. Where is there one article anywhere even suggesting unions wanted this CEO pension bonus blocked by government. He is still getting a pension sum of over €100k.
Go away to conspiracy theory land with ye….
The government know that this is a non starter but the optics are good. They would do better to provide support for a decent resolution to the pension fund deficit. Remember, it’s only a short time since the Airline was wholly owned by the state during which time many of the causes for the deficit were created by the state.e.g. Early retirement packages, investments failures due to tiger collapse and Government pension levies among other mistakes.
€1.5m plus share options brought the CEO take from Aer Lingus last year to around €2.3m.
The man is hardly going to sweat over loosing a bit of pension money. By bit I mean 75k give or take a few grand. That’s one years pension bonus for this man while his employees have practically loss all there pension money. 35yrs of service saving €75k in a pension the average employee would be lucky…
The government have been ignored and humiliated by this Micky-Mouse board of nest feathering of overpaid eunuchs.
Myles
A good laxative or a bottle of Duphulac will ease that faecal blockage for you. Your mood will improve substantially and you will be ale to pass wind with confidence.
We will also benefit!
Between water charges, election posters, The banking inquiry and now this?, this really is not a good news week!
What does Clare Daly think?
His deal was not shot down! The shareholders narrowly voted to give him his improved pay and pension increase.
The government is only a minority shareholder in Aer Lingus. They cannot reverse the decision of a majority of the shareholders – nor should they.
Sanity and good business sense have prevailed in the wake of this vote. Leo Varadkar was wrong to attempt to put Aer Lingus’ ability to hold-on to a good CEO, into the future, in jeopardy merely to score cheap political points with 1970′s-era trade unionists who really couldn’t care less if Aer Lingus collapsed.
More waffle from you. Most of the employees in Aer Lingus are in unions of some sort so to say unions don’t care if Aer Lingus would collapse is stupid.
No Aer Lingus – no employees – no money contributions to unions ?
Do you actually think a bita sense before you posting?.
In posting your propaganda at least try and make it remotely believable…
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