SIPTU calls on FAS to withdraw directive on CE grants

SIPTU has sought a meeting with the Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton, to discuss a Directive issued by FAS Community Services Unit in relation to its Materials and Training Budget for 2012. The Directive states that FAS will impose a proposed cut of 66% in materials and training grants for community employment schemes from January next.

This is despite recent commitments given to SIPTU President, Jack O’Connor by the Tánaiste, Eamon Gilmore, and Joan Burton that a review of CE schemes to establish their viability will be carried out before any further developments as the result of cuts announced in the December Budget.

SIPTU Sector Organiser, Eddie Mullins, said that FAS must be completely unaware of the commitments given to Jack O’Connor by the two ministers.

In separate letters to Jack O’Connor earlier this month, the Labour Party ministers stated that “community employment schemes provide a very important and valued contribution to social employment training and progression for unemployed people.” They said that no CE scheme will closed pending a review of their viability.

“The purpose of the review will be to establish the on-going viability of each scheme in the context of the overall objectives of the CE programme and recognising in particular the community and social value of each scheme,” the ministers wrote.

“In the event that the reduction in the training and material grant announced in the Budget creates financial difficulties for schemes that would otherwise be viable, the Department of Social Protection will be in a position to fund such schemes from the overall Departmental Budget,” they wrote.

Eddie Mullins said;

“In the context of these commitments the officials within the FAS Community Services Unit should immediately withdraw the Directive and allow the review to take place as promised.”

Hands Off Community Employment!

Thousands of Community Employment workers throughout the State have made their voices heard in response to government plans to implement a 66% cut to funding for all CE schemes. Course Participants, supervisors and service users have united to lobby TD’s of all political parties and vent their anger over budget cuts. Materials and training grants for schemes providing vital services to children, the elderly, the disabled and disadvantaged have been slashed from €1500 per participant to just €500 for next year leaving many schemes struggling to survive in their present format.

CE workers have also registered their total opposition to government plans to reduce payments to future course participants who are lone parents or disabled. 

A powerful Dail protest-arranged with just 24 hours’ notice- brought close to 1000 onto the streets outside of Dail Eireann for a demonstration of the depth of concern among communities battling hard to build a better future for their families, friends and neighbours.

Their message has resonated with representatives from across the political spectrum-including government parties- and on Thursday in response to workers concerns Tánaiste Eamonn Gilmore made a statement to the Dail in which he pledged that “the Government is not closing down any CE Schemes.”

Backbench Labour TD Eric Byrne called for community workers to be given a voice in the decision making process going forward and called for tripartite discussions involving the government, employers and unions across the sector.

While welcoming these statements as a sign of progress on the issues at hand community workers still have major concerns with regard to “value for money reviews” which are to be undertaken from the New Year with regard to all Community Employment schemes.

Commenting on this development SIPTU Sector Organiser Darragh O’Connor said “These reviews need to be more than a narrow accounting exercise designed to undermine the basis of funding for schemes. Any such review needs to take a broad view and recognise the value not just to course participants but also to local communities through the provision of vital services that otherwise would just not exist”. 

There also remains great anger with regard to the injustice of penalising lone parents and people with disabilities with regard to future participation in Community Employment programmes.

Colette Roberts commenced a CE scheme at the Oaktree Crèche in Finglas last August and is working towards a FETAC recognised qualification in Childcare.

“The extra money I earn as a CE participant made it possible for me to join this course. Without it I would not have been able to pay for childcare. It gives me a route to working full time and not having to rely on social welfare in the long term. If that additional money is not available to new CE workers who are lone parents where is the incentive for people to join the course?”

Frances Byrne, Chief Executive of OPEN representing lone parents in Ireland summarised the impact of these changes on one parent families: “According to official statistics lone parents are Ireland’s poorest families and have already been hit with deep cuts to their social welfare payments in the last three budgets. This disgraceful decision to abolish family payments for those who take up Community Employment will mean fewer and fewer lone parents will be able to move from welfare to work, this consigning our families to worsening poverty and deprivation.”

Speaking immediately after the protest outside the Dail, Helena McNeill, a community worker in inner city Dublin and President of SIPTU’s Community sector concluded “I think it’s essential that the government immediately remove the uncertainty over future funding of Community Employment schemes. They also need to reverse their decision re cutting payments to lone parents and the disabled. Finally workers need to recognise the importance of being organised. All Community Workers should be members of a trade union. It’s quite simple-if community workers aren’t organised they cannot fight back and defend their jobs, their services and their communities.”

SIPTU Community Protest Rally at Dáil

09 December 2011 - SIPTU is organising a protest rally at Daíl Eireann today Friday 9th December at 2pm to protest against proposed Budget cuts to Community Employment Schemes. The protest rally is being supported by a range of organisations including INOU, OPEN, Citywide Drugs Crisis Campaign, North Inner City CE Network, ICTU Community Committee, Congress Centre Network, and Lone Parents Campaign for Change and Mental Health Ireland.

The future viability of hundreds of Community Employment schemes across the country employing tens of thousands of people is now in doubt following a 66% cut in funding announced as part of Budget 2012. Materials and training grants for schemes providing vital services to children, the elderly, the disabled and disadvantaged have been slashed from €1,500 per participant to just €500 for next year leaving many schemes struggling to survive in their present format.

Single parents and people with disabilities will also be unable to retain a “top up” welfare payment if they enter CE from 2012 effectively making CE financially unviable.  This latter cut will mean a difference of over €200 a week to future CE lone parent/disabled participants.
Speakers at the rally include Andrea Galvey from the Lone Parents Campaign Group, Alibhe Smyth from OPEN, Grace Wills a Community Employment Supervisor with Clondalkin Centre for the Unemployed and Helena McNeill, President of SIPTU’s Community Sector Division.

Frances Byrne, Chief Executive of OPEN representing lone parents in Ireland summarised the impact of these changes on one parent families: “According to official statistics lone parents are Ireland’s poorest families and have already been hit with deep cuts to their social welfare payments in the last three budgets. This disgraceful decision to abolish family payments for those who take up Community Employment will mean fewer and fewer lone parents will be able to move from welfare to work, thus consigning our families to worsening poverty and deprivation.”

SIPTU Campaign Coordinator, Darragh O’Connor, stated; “In areas of disadvantage Community Employment is often the only access people have to work, training and education. The Government has said that fairness is a core principle with regard to this budget. Let them demonstrate that is the case by reversing these savage cutbacks which threaten the entire future of Community Employment in our country.

TDs taken on Road to Recognition presentation

As part of the Road to Recognition campaign the ICTU Community Committee and the Community Sector Employers Forum (CSEF) gave a joint presentation to TDs on the need for collective bargaining in the community sector on the 28^th November 2012.

Almost twenty TD and representatives from the major parties attended the presentation in the AV room of the Daíl along with activists from SIPTU and the CSEF.

Currently many union members in the community sector don’t have a say over their terms and conditions at work. However unlike the private sector, it is not the direct employer who determines pay, but Government Departments.

Union activists, employers and community groups have come together under the Road to Recognition campaign to establish collective bargaining in the community sector. In practice this means that those who make the big decisions, Government Departments, have to take their seat at the negotiating table.

Union activist Elaine Harvey stated “when we can’t negotiate with the people who are making the decisions about our terms and conditions – it reduces us as workers.  Collective bargaining is fundamental.  We need good politicians from all parties to do the right thing and support our campaign and recognise the value of the sector and the rights of its workers”.

The CSEF recently produced a Report ‘Tackling the Shadow Employer Role: Improving State and Community sector Employer Relationship’. This examines the difficulties being caused for employers because of inappropriate interventions by government funders in the internal decision making of independent organisations (full report available www.csef.ie). 

Spokesperson for the CSEF, Jean Somers stated “Tensions are arising between community sector employers and their government funders in relation to employment issues.  We need a forum within which Government funders engage with employers and TUs to resolve these and broader employment issues.’

Together with defending budgets to the community sector, the Road to Recognition campaign is a key objective for community unions. SIPTU Campaign Coordinator Darragh O’Connor stated “it is simply unjust that community workers are denied the fundamental right of negotiating their pay and conditions. We welcome that representatives from Labour, Sinn Fein and United Left Alliance recognised the challenges facing the sector and that they have committed to assisting the campaign”.

Photo Caption: “SIPTU activists after presenting the Road to Recognition at the Daíl”.