w&lissue27

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ISSUE 27 • AUTUMN-WINTER 2014

THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS

THE ‘SUPER JUNIOR’ FOR JOBS, PAY AND BARGAININGROBOTS TAKING OVER?NEW RIGHTS FOR WHISTLEBLOWERSCLIMATE CHANGEPUBLIC-PRIVATE PAY GAP

ALSO INSIDEJUDGING YOUR APPEARANCE. MIDDLE EASTERN FOOD. DOWN ON THE FARM.

CAREERS NOT JOBS PLEASE. HEALTH ADMINISTRATORS. OSTEOPOROSIS. HORROR MOVIES. ROCK’S OLD HANDS. SAINT PETERSBURG. AUTUMN GARDENS. ARAB UPRISINGS.

JULIA KELLY’S NEW NOVEL. PRIZES. ALL THE NEWS. LOTS MORE…

MID-WESTARISE!Cathy Duggan’s one ofthe IMPACT membersprotesting in mid-westhospitals.

WORK

6. ROBOTS TAKINGOVERIs yourjob atrisk?

8. CLIMATE CHANGEGlobal warming is a publicservice issue.

10. SUPER JUNIORWe talk to new ‘super junior’minister GED NASH.

13. PAY GAPUnderstanding the public-private pay gap.

15. BLOWING THE WHISTLENew legal rights forwhistleblowers explained.

18. SAFE FOODMeet IMPACT’s agriculturalofficers.

20. YOUR CAREERHow to turn a job into acareer.

37. INTERNATIONALArab workers need solidarity.

43. HSE ADMINStaff levels myth busted.

1WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS

work&& life Autumn-Winter 2014

In this issue

38. BOOKSWe talk to JULIA KELLY.

44. SPORTSWomen winners.

NEWS

40. PUBLIC SERVICE PAY TALKS

40. MID-WEST HOSPITAL DISPUTE

40. WORKPLACE RELATIONS BILL

41. RENT CAP CALL

41. IRISH WATER

41. BUDGET

WARNING

41. SOUTH DUBLIN COUNCIL

42. JOBS GROWTH SAFETY WARNING

42. UNIVERSAL HEALTH INSURANCE

42. ALZHEIMER’S SOCIETY

42. COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

PRIZES

38. Win a copy of Julia Kelly’s new novel.

46. Win €50 in our prize quiz.

47. Rate Work & Life and win €100.

Work & Life is produced by IMPACT trade union'sCommunications Unit and edited by BernardHarbor.

Front cover: IMPACT representative CathyDuggan works in Ennis regional hospital. Photo by Kieran Clancy.

Contact IMPACT at: Nerney's Court, Dublin 1. Phone: 01-817-1500.Email: [email protected]

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Unless otherwise stated, the views contained in Work &LIfe do not necessarily reflect the policy of IMPACT tradeunion.

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LIFE

2. FORTY WINKSIgnore the high-powered sleepdeniers.

4. IMPACT PEOPLECATHY DUGGAN is protestingin the Mid-West.

22. FASHIONBeing judged on yourappearance.

24. HEALTHUnderstanding, andpreventing osteoporosis.

26. FOODWarm up with Middle Easterncuisine.

28. GARDENSAutumn jobs await.

30. MOVIESHorrorflicksunpicked.

32. MUSICKnowing when it’s time toleave.

34. TRAVELStuck around SaintPetersburg.

AUTUMN/WINTER 20142

Snooze don’t lose STRANGE WORLD

THE BIG PICTURE

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HE’S A rock of sense. From theoretical physics to nuclear disarmament, you can rely on Albert Einstein, who also knew how to take a break. The great man, who snoozed for ten hours a night, would no doubt be stumped by today’s race to the bottom in the sleep stakes.

A survey of high achievers – mostly corporate bosses – carried out by The Guardian earlier this year found borderline contempt for sleep, and a similar attitude to work-life balance. Most claimed to rise before six, none after seven, and some as early as 3.30. Am, that is.

And it’s not because they’re tucked in good and early. Thomas Cook boss Harriet Green claims to get up at 3.30am to answer emails (poor thing) after three or four hours kip. She’s in good/bad company

depending on your point of view.

Margaret Thatcher arguably launched the power-sleep privation trend in the 1980s, when she boasted of running/ruining her country on just four hours shut-eye a day. Former US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice did something similar after her 4.30am gym session. Donald Trump throws Zs for as little as three hours at a time.

Bill Clinton – five to six hours – was big enough to admit he made most of his mistakes when tired. Experts agree. Neuroscientist Russell Foster recently warned against abandoning four billion years of evolution. “Long-term acting against the clock can lead to serious health problems,” he told the BBC. Psychophysiology professor Jim Horne puts it simply: “I just don’t believe anyone can get by on three to four hours without any naps.”

But, sadly, sleep avoidance is one of the few things that’s trickling down to us mere mortals. Foster’s research found that, on average, we now sleep two hours less than 60 years ago. That might be okay if you get the benefits of running a country or company. The rest of us might consider a new campaign for the eight-hour night.

Quotes taken from ‘It’s time to stop this competitive sleep deprivation,’ The Guardian 16th May 2014

A roof is a right HOMELESSNESS CAMPAIGNER Peter McVerry was among the speakers at IMPACT’s A Roof is a Right public meeting in September. Hosted by the union’s Boards and Voluntary Agencies branch, the event brought together over 100 housing and homelessness practitioners, policy-makers, campaigners and experts to discuss practical actions to tackle Dublin’s home-lessness crisis. The meeting was addressed by Tánaiste Joan Burton and representatives of Threshold, Dublin Simon Community and Focus Ireland, along with local councillors and local authority officials. Full story on page 41

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YOU’D THINK that producing 47 novels – many of them long, long books – plus dozens of travelogues and short stories would be enough to fill a productive life. But Anthony Trollope also managed to fit in a successful public service career in the post office, where he was credited with introducing the pillar box. Not bad for a chap who was bullied at school and reputedly harboured suicidal thoughts as a kid.

The 19-year-old future novelist became a London post clerk in 1834 and for seven years hated the job and utterly failed to impress. But that all changed when he transferred to Ireland to undertake postal surveys in the 1840s.

Based in Banagher in county Offaly and, later, Clonmel and Belfast, he began writing novels during long train journeys around Ireland, where he built a reputation as a solid public servant. His first four novels – two set during the great famine - bombed with the critics, partly because of anti-Irish sentiment.

But the writer took to his new surroundings and found the Irish people “good humoured, clever – the working classes very much more intelligent than those of England – economical and hospitable.” After ten years he was back in Blighty where, in 1867 he left the post office after being passed over for promotion.

By now he was making money from his many novels, including his masterpiece The Way We Live Now, a sweeping satirical indictment of financial speculation that resonates strongly in today’s post-crash era. He died in 1882 and is buried in London

100 years ago A casualty of German mines, British battleship HMS Audacious is sunk off Tory Island on 27th October 1914 as world war one hostilities intensify. Britain and France declare war on the Ottoman Empire on 5th November as Britain annexes Cyprus, Egypt and Sudan. On 24th December, British and German troops observe an unofficial ceasefire at several points on the Western Front, some crossing into no man’s land to play football.

90 years agoSackville Street is finally renamed as O’Connell Street after a long, drawn out process. A report prepared by a whole house committee of Dublin Corporation on 31st October 1884 recommended the name change, but Sackville Street residents objected and the Chamber of Commerce passed a resolution stating the move would be “injurious to the interest of the trading and commercial classes.” The following year, local residents secured a court order stating that the Corporation lacked the powers to make the change. The necessary powers were granted in 1890, but time was given to allow the new name to become popular. Over the years the name O’Connell Street gradually gained popular acceptance. But the name change was not made official until 1924.

60 years agoTayto is founded in Dublin by Joe “Spud” Murphy in 1954. The potato chip had been around for some time but had remained largely unflavoured until Murphy’s technological innovation added seasoning during manufacture. After some trial and error, Murphy and his employee Seamus Burke produced the world’s first seasoned crisps with cheese & onion, barbecue, and salt & vinegar first off the production line. The new flavouring process caught the attention of the food industry and companies worldwide sought to buy the rights to Tayto’s technique.

20 years agoFollowing the IRA’s declaration of a ceasefire on 31st August 1994, Taoiseach Albert Reynolds, John Hume of the SDLP and Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams hold an historic meeting at Government Buildings in Dublin. A Loyalist ceasefire is declared on 13th October, six weeks after the IRA’s announcement. The inaugural session of the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation takes place in Saint Patrick’s Hall, Dublin Castle on 28th October.

3

That was then…

WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS

SURPRISING PUBLIC SERVANTS

Of pillar and post

IMPACT people

CTIM AACTAIMPPPPAPAPA

T peopleT people

WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS 5

AUTUMN-WINTER 20146

“WE ARE the robots. Kling. Klang. Biddip,” announced German electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk in 1978. Thirty-six year ago, feeding vocals and melody through a bank of synthesisers was a bold futurist statement. And, while some (like me) were seduced by the innovative soundscapes of these pop music automatons, others were equally appalled by their machine-like coldness. Like musical Marmite, you either love it or you hate it.

For science fiction writers, robots present endless opportunities to explore human feelings – poised between wonder and horror – about technology. They’ll relieve us of life’s mundane tasks. Whoo-hoo! But they’ll do your job far better than you, and for the price of a can of oil. Doh!

Androids scare us. But should they? From the workplace vantage point, the answer is quite possibly ‘yes.’ Because we may be facing a future where many of our jobs will be taken over by robots or similar technologies.

Robots could be poised to take over your job. Yes, YOUR job. In the absence of the Doctor, NIALL SHANAHAN investigates.

point to the effect machinery had on agriculture where, in a few decades, employment shrank to just 2% of pre-industrial levels once machines took over the big tasks.

RiskSome believe robot technology could soon have a similar impact on medium-skilled jobs – but much more quickly. The effect could be self-perpetuating, denying young workers the opportunity to enter the workplace and develop skills of their own.

Researchers in the US and Europe have separately estimated that around half our occupations are at risk from computerisation. If that seems far-fetched, consider the commercial activities you can already bypass using your computer: Buying a book, arranging a holiday, paying the gas bill, making a phone call.

The process has already begun as we witness the demise of what was once considered solid, middle income work.

In the USA, clerical occupations are shrinking fast as easy-to-use software enables workers to do their own administrative tasks. According to data provided by ratings agency Moody’s, nearly 300,000 office and administrative positions disappeared in just five years between 2004 and 2009. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics says the pattern will continue for at least another half-decade.

Changing patternsThe changing nature of work raises big questions about how to plan for the future. Thankfully, Ireland’s unemployment rate is falling with a 15% drop in the Live Register since joblessness peaked in 2011. Yet too few young workers – and a large chunk of the rest of us – can be certain of stable, life-long employment.

Being able to plan and save for the future, buying a home, getting the kids through school and college – all of these could be harder for future generations as stable employment gets rarer.

Anything you can doBut it’s not all bad news. Or at least it doesn’t have to be. Rodney Brooks, head of US firm Rethink Robotics, thinks

“Economists point to the effect machinery had on agriculture

where, in a few decades, employment shrank to just 2%

of pre-industrial levels once machines took over the big tasks.”

Automation took over much of manufacturing long ago. But the technology hasn’t ventured far beyond the point where robots can do what they’re specifically programmed to do. They still need people to build, maintain and instruct them. As they used to say on Tomorrow’s World, that is until now.

A combination of rapidly-increasing processing power, the expansion of cloud technology and the growing volume of digitised information has increased the potential of robot technology to take on more complex tasks. This could lead to what economists describe as a ‘hollowing out of labour markets’ or what we call massive job losses.

Starting in developed countries, medium-skilled jobs in areas like media, law, administration, sales, translation and marketing can quite easily be displaced. The economists

Future of work

Aye,


are remotely operated on a 24-hour basis by a network of human operators. New jobs that otherwise wouldn’t exist.

The future of work will depend on our capacity to innovate and develop new areas of work beyond the scope of the robots – just as new jobs evolved in the post agricultural and post-industrial age. But how quickly can we achieve that level of innovation?

The 20th century saw massive technological development, but also societal change shaped by the collapse of empires, catastrophic wars and huge conflicts between competing ideologies. Is that the level of disruption required to create new work?

And, in an age of ‘intelligent’ machines, can we trust them to stick to the tasks we’ve delegated to them? In a 1942 short story, the influential science fiction writer Isaac Asimov developed the ‘three laws of robotics’ to set behavioural boundaries for machines. It’s entirely possible that programming will soon be necessary to incorporate those laws into technological hardware.

But it might be a long time before machines can emulate creative, emotional or social intelligence. Good news, perhaps, for those in education, care and therapy professions, as we can imagine a future where human capacity to deliver these kinds of services will grow as the machines obediently get on with whatever we task them to do

new technology could spark a renaissance in American industry, helping to bring manufacturing work back to the USA. If he’s right, it could circumvent the flow of these jobs to cheap-labour economies.

In Denmark, where interest in robotics is intense, they’re looking at complimenting human labour not competing with it. For them, it’s about increasing productivity in a country with the highest labour costs in the world.

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Robotics manufacturers view their products as ways of creating employment by improving efficiency and developing manufacturing processes that otherwise aren’t possible. In 150 US hospitals, TUG robots capable of shifting 350 kilo laundry carts have taken over the work of hospital porters. But, while they do the dull, dangerous and dirty work, they

“About half our occupations are at risk from computerisation.

If that seems far-fetched, consider the commercial activities

you can already bypass using your computer.”

Robots

AUTUMN/WINTER 2014 8

Global warming

I HOLIDAYED in Mayo this summer and saw local authority workers fixing and strengthening the storm barriers all along the coastline. As well as the shoreline, the devastating March and April storms damaged roads, houses, electricity and communications grids, here and across Ireland.

Flood insurers have paid out almost €750 million in claims since 2000. Meanwhile, the global temperature keeps rising, with current trends expected to mean at least a 4c average increase this century. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says global warming is causing climate change across the world’s continents and oceans. The storms aren’t going away anytime soon.

US president Barak Obama has a great way of putting things. He told world leaders, gathered to discuss this most significant and challenging problem in September, that: “We are the first generation to feel the effects of climate change and the last generation that can do something about it.”

Meanwhile, increased levels of greenhouse gases are continuing to push global temperatures in the wrong direction, causing rising sea levels, floods, droughts and forest and bush fires. Meanwhile, the IPCC reckons the cost of sea flooding in Ireland and Britain will treble to almost €3 billion in decades to come.

MARTINA O’LEARY says unions – and union members – need to start acting to save the planet.

Time for climate Many scientists question whether ambitious internationally-agreed targets to reduce carbon emissions and stem rising temperatures will be enough. And a lot will have to change if they are to be met – including in public service and other workplaces.

ConnectionsIMPACT member Oisin Coughlan, who’s director of Friends of the Earth Ireland, says it’s time for a national conversation on how we’re going to do it. In a recent IMPACT blog, he made the connection between climate change and storms and floods in Ireland. Among other things, he called on the Government to address energy use in the buildings we live and work in.

You can cool it tooMARTINA O’LEARY says it’s easy to start doing your bit.

WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS

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change action

9

Successive Irish governments have been criticised for failing to set specific targets for reducing emissions. Environmental campaigners want clear carbon emissions targets with an independent advisory and monitoring body. And, although the recently-published heads of a bill on climate action envisages a significant lowering of emissions, the Government has controversially signalled that it will make an exception for the agriculture sector, which account for over 40% of Ireland’s carbon emissions.

Union actionThe International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) recently called on trade unions like IMPACT to campaign for an ambitious global framework to address climate change. Its report, Climate change is a trade union issue, says this is needed to protect lives and livelihoods.

The ITUC wants unions to seek government commitments through national social dialogue, and make action on climate change a priority in sectoral and local union bargaining. But what does that mean in practice?

There are plenty of other ways to reduce emissions in the public service and elsewhere. Retrofitting of schools, hospitals and government buildings could lead to huge energy savings while creating jobs. Friends of the Earth (FoE) says the public service could save €100 million in a couple of years simply by reducing energy waste in public buildings. It has also be suggested that renewable energy, green buildings and retrofits would be encouraged if carbon polluters were charged.

The Government’s 2012 climate change adaptation programme suggests targets for government departments and agencies to reach by 2015. These would include reducing waste, water consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions. It would also see them engaging with suppliers and buying more sustainable and efficient products. For you and me it means simple things like using less paper and turning off lights and computers.

The public service is a big customer and could certainly use its buying power to encourage contractors to act sustainably, and suppliers to make their products and services more environmentally friendly. The British public service has developed a sustainable procurement training programme, as well as sustainable food and catering policy.

For decades, practical concern over climate change has been limited to scientists, policy makers and a relatively small number of environmental activists. Now that the impact of climate change is literally breaching our defences – in Mayo and elsewhere – it’s time for IMPACT and other unions to become part of the debate and part of the solution.

It could save the country and its citizens a lot of money. And it might just save the planet

Conserve water

Use fewer chemicals

Turn off lights and appliances when not in use

Don’t leave the computer on overnight

Switch to energy efficient light bulbs

Turn the heat down a few degrees

Pull out phone chargers when you’re done

Print on both sides of the paper

Don’t print it, unless you really need a hard copy

Don’t use plastic bags

Reduce the temperature of your dish washer

Carpool

Walk short distances instead of using the car

Buy locally produced goods. It cuts down on air miles

Recycle in the office and at home

AUTUMN-WINTER 2014 10

Interview

Unions will be watching new ‘super junior’ GED NASH, who’s now in charge of collective bargaining legislation and the minimum wage.

GED NASH’S appointment as ‘super junior’ Minister for Business and Employment was one of the surprises of the summer Government reshuffle. The Labour TD for Louth and East Meath’s elevation was welcomed by trade unions, particularly as he was given the specific brief of putting new collective bargaining laws in place, a move IMPACT and others have actively sought since the 2007 ‘Ryanair’ Supreme Court ruling emaciated workers’ rights to bargain with employers over their pay and conditions.

His brief also includes the establishment of a new ‘low pay commission’ which, among other things, will set the rate for the national minimum wage. He’s also responsible for reconstituting other wage-setting bodies in low paid sectors, which also fell foul of Supreme Court rulings in recent years.

As ‘super junior,’ Nash attends cabinet meetings where he can speak but not vote. It’s doubtful that the new man’s contributions will be limited to his brief. Since his appointment, Nash has already been vocal – calling for a wage-led recovery – and he has the hallmarks of a minister in a hurry.

“We need to have a wage-led recovery. When the economy improves, workers’ wages should improve so that they are spending more in the economy to sustain jobs. We are seeing a recovery in jobs and growth, but I don’t want to see a recovery that’s defined by low wages and precarious work,” he says.

PayIn recent media interviews, the minister has attributed at least some of Ireland’s

All eyes on the


‘super-junior’recently-impressive growth to the limited pay recovery we’ve already seen. “It’s happening. Modest wage increases have been negotiated in manufacturing and services over the last 18 months. Nobody’s talking about trying to impose pay increases on firms that can’t possibly afford them. But there’s a requirement on successful employers to work with their staff and talk about pay increases for productivity gains.

“We’re returning to a more normalised industrial relations environment. I’ve been criticised in some quarters for encouraging business to make modest pay awards. But in the real would we all know people are responsible. If an organisation is struggling, there’s no point in me telling its workers that now’s the time for pay increases.

of the statutory minimum wage to €8.65 an hour, a reversal of the €1 cut introduced by the previous administration. Nevertheless, it’s now seven years since minimum pay increased and unions are calling for a raise.

Nash now has direct responsibility in this area through the commitment to establish a new Low Pay Commission which will, in future, make annual recommendations on the rate.

“At the moment, the minister can go to the Dáil and announce an increase. But the corollary of that is what we experienced in 2009-2010 when the previous Government reduced it on the basis that this would create jobs and improve competitiveness. It didn’t do either. All it ended up doing was reducing people’s living standards,” he says.

Hence his support for an independent, statutory commission, which will review the evidence and recommend the minimum pay rate. The body, likely to include commissioners from unions, employers, academia and civil society, is expected to report annually and will be at least partly modelled on Britain where a statutory body has been in place since 1998.

But will it be able to recommend an increase in the statutory minimum wage in a low or zero-inflation situation?

“Certainly. I don’t think the Low Pay Commission should be obsessed with inflation or the lack of it. There are other factors that it will take into account. There’s a debate across civil society about the ‘living wage’ and the Commission can contribute to that discussion.” But he insists this would have to be done on a gradual basis to guard against any negative impact on jobs.

“It will take account of living standards and competitiveness and there’s one thing that I won’t do in this job. I won’t take any steps that will jeopardise the creation of a decent job. And ‘decent’ job is the active phrase. We are in the midst of an economic recovery and it’s important that it isn’t characterised by a race to the bottom,” he says.

He says the Commission will look at data from standard sources like the Central Statistics Office as well as other experts including the trade union-backed Nevin Institute. “They will also be encouraged to go out and speak directly to trade unions, employers and other organisations and individuals who

But even the governor of the Bank of England is saying now might be the time for wage increases in the UK. This is happening and it works because it increases consumer demand. People on low pay are spenders, not savers. If they’ve

got more money in their back pocket – modest and all as it is – they will spend it in the local shop and support the

local economy.”

MinimumThe first pay recovery of the crisis

was arguably the restoration

“I won’t take any steps that will jeopardise the creation of a decent job. And ‘decent’ job is the active phrase. We are in the midst of an

economic recovery and it’s important that it isn’t characterised by

a race to the bottom.”

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Pay debate


ANYONE WHO reads the papers now knowsthat, on average, public servants earn 48%more than private sector workers. This paygap was revealed in August in the CSO’smost recent earnings survey, which alsoshowed a 93% pay gap between workers inthe IT and retail sectors and a 210% paygap between finance sector staff and thosewho work in food and accommodation.

These two private sector pay gapsattracted no media comment at all. Rightlyso, because everyone knows that pay ratesdiffer depending on the job you do, theskills you have, the responsibility you hold,

Explainingthe pay gapPay rates differ depending on the job you do, the skills you have, theresponsibilities you hold and more besides, says BERNARD HARBOR.

The original version of this article firstappeared in The Journal on 30th August inresponse to media misrepresentation ofpublic-private pay statis tics. It has sincebeen viewed almost 20,000 times.IMPACT spokespeople also outlined theunion’s position on national TV and radioincluding RTÉ, Today FM, Newstalk, theIrish Times, Irish Independent, Irish Examinerand local radio. The union also had lettersresponding to misleading coverage of thepublic-private pay gap published in theSunday Independent and the SundayBusiness Post.

‰contined on page 14

MAKINGTHE CASE Public

servants earn

48% more than

private sector

workers

93% pay gap between

workers in the ITand retail

sectors

210% pay gapbetween financesector staff and

those who work in food

andaccommodation

Photos: dream

stime.com

12 AUTUMN-WINTER 2014

Interview

have a stake in this. It’s going to have a real-world perspective,” he says.

Bargaining rightsPerhaps the trickiest part of the ministerial brief will be getting new collective bargaining legislation in place. The outline of a new law, published last May, was described by ICTU general secretary David Begg as the “most significant development” in his 35 years as a trade union activist. He said it would give unions an opportunity to improve pay and working conditions for thousands of exploited workers who are not now members of unions.

The legislation has been subject to a lot of consultation and delay, not least because of the difficult constitutional questions created by the Supreme Court when it ruled in favour of Ryanair, and against IMPACT in a landmark 2007 case.

Nash wants to have new collective bargaining legislation in force by the end of this year. “The Ryanair judgement had a chilling effect on industrial relations in this country. It turned our understanding of how collective bargaining is done on its head.”

Nash points out that just 45% of workers in the Republic are covered by collective agreements, compared to a European average comfortably over 60%. “We are an outlier and this legislation will address that. While it’s not trade union recognition, it will mean working people who are not members of trade unions can have their terms and conditions collectively negotiated and assessed by the Labour Court.

The potential for collective bargaining to ensure wider coverage for trade unions is considerable. When people see the legislation in practice they’ll consider joining trade unions as the best option for them in terms of having their pay and conditions respected and protected,” he says.

He also points to the legislation’s proposed anti-victimisation provisions. “These will prevent people being targeted or victimised because of their wish to engage in collective bargaining, as has happened in the past. This critical piece of the legislation will reduce the fear factor that people might now have,” he says.

Interview by Bernard Harbor

“The Ryanair judgement had a chilling effect on industrial relations in this country. It turned

our understanding of how collective

bargaining is doneon its head.” ”

Ryanair is not the only employer to have successfully challenged industrial relations and pay-setting legislation on constitutional grounds in recent years. For instance, the Supreme Court also declared wage-setting mechanisms for low-paid sectors unconstitutional on foot of a complaint from hotel owners – an issue that Nash is also addressing through new legislation.

Legislation“We need constitutionally robust collective bargaining legislation. The principle is very clear and straightforward, but getting a piece of legislation that will withstand a challenge is a big task. But we’re doing it because it’s the right thing to do, it’s in the Programme for Government, and it will bring us in line with our European partners and most developed economies in the world,” he says.

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AUTUMN-WINTER 201414 15WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS

Whistleblower protections

New protectionsfor workplacewhistleblowersThe Protected Disclosures Act, 2014 introduces some of the best workplacewhistleblower protections on the planet. BERNARD HARBOR outlines the basics.

THE PROTECTED Disclosures Act, whichcame into force in July, gives strong newprotections to workers who expose ille-gal practices and other specifiedwrongdoings that take place atwork. IMPACT warmly welcomedthe new law, which was the suc-cessful culmination of a longtrade union campaign. But theunion says workers have tomeet the criteria set out in theAct to ensure they are pro-tected.

Who’s covered?The Act gives protection toemployees, contractors,agency workers and peopleon work experience schemes.It applies to both the privatesector and public service, in-cluding the Gardaí. Impor-tantly, protection kicks in fromyour first day of employment,unlike standard unfair dismissalsprotections which only apply afteryou’ve been in the job a year.

What wrongdoings arecovered?To be protected under the Act, a worker must be disclosingone or more of the following:

l A criminal act

l Failure to comply with a legal requirement

l A threat to health and safety (including risks to thepublic)

l Misuse of public funds

l Oppressive or discriminatory acts or omissions by a public body

l Gross mismanagement or maladministration by a public body

l Damage to the environment

l A miscarriage of justice.

You can make a disclosure if you have a reasonablebelief that one or more of these things is

happening, has happened, is goingto happen, or has been concealed.The wrong doing doesn’t have tohave taken place in the Republicof Ireland, nor does it have tohave taken place after the legis-

lation came into force.

How do I make adisclosure?

It’s important that whistleblowers follow the cor-rect procedures to ensure that they enjoy the pro-tections of the Act. The law requires public bodies

to put disclosure procedures in place, whichshould provide clarity in the public service. Unions

are also encouraging commercial, voluntary and pri-vate sector bodies to do the same. The Act sets out a

stepped procedure:

l Workers who have a reasonable belief of wrongdoingcan communicate this to their employer. An organisation’sdisclosure procedure should include details of who work-ers can report to.

l Staff in state bodies can also disclose to their parent de-partment if there’s a specific reason why disclosing totheir employer is not appropriate.

l Staff in state bodies can also disclose to the relevant gov-ernment minister if they are not satisfied with the re-sponse they get from their employer, or if there’s aspecific reason why disclosing to their employer is not ap-propriate.

‰contined on page 16

your experience, your professional and other qualifi -cations and a range of other things. And average payrates in, say, the IT and food sectors tell us nothingabout these things.

But headlines and editorials seldom apply thesame common sense to the difference betweenearnings in the public and private sectors. Theamount taxpayers spend on public servicepay is an important issue that must remain amatter of public scrutiny and discussion. Butthere needs to be a bit more objectivity,and genuine analysis, in the debate.

The CSO figures are not weighted in anyway to take account of the actual jobsthat people do or their qualifications,edu cational attainment, age or any of the otherfactors that determine how much each of usgets paid. On average (that word again!) publicservants are more likely to be profess ionallyor technically qualified – and to begraduates – than private sectorworkers. This alone explainsmuch of the pay gap.

That’s not to say that publicservants are somehowsuperior to private sectorworkers – any more than anIT expert is superior to ashop worker. It’s just that theyhave different skills, respon -sibilities and qualifications thatare rewarded differently in thejobs market.

QualifiedImagine a hospital located next to adepartment store. Both employ, say,200 people. It’s likely that 80% ormore of the hospital staff aregraduate professionals with highlevels of personal and professionalresponsibility at work – doctors,nurses, physiotherapists, radiog -raphers, pharmacists, speech thera -pists and so on. These are highlyqualified staff in relatively well-paidprofessions.

The staff in the department store do important work too, andcarry it out to a high standard. But only a small proportion ofthem are likely to be professionally qualified or evengraduates. There will probably be a very wide gap betweenthe average earnings in the hospital and the department store,but there are good explanations for it. The same would be trueof a secondary school located near a hotel, or a forensicscience lab across the road from a meat factory.

The reality is that economists, statisticians and otherresearchers disagree about both the size and the significanceof the public-private pay gap. The most balanced andcomprehensive study of recent years – also conducted by theCSO, in 2012 – acknowledged this. It showed that, takingaccount of qualifications and other relevant issues, the gapcould be as little as minus 1.4% or as much as plus 11.4% ifthe public service pension levy is factored in.

Significantly, it also found a much wider public-privatepay gap for women, which raises real concerns aboutthe prevalence of low paid and often precarious work in

large, female-dominated private sector enclaves like retailand hospitality. Indeed, the respected journal Industrial

Relations News recently made the point that thesesectors, which have no equivalent in the public

service, drag down average private sector earnings.

In August, IMPACT published Making sense ofIreland’s public-private pay gap, which argues

that media headlines always exaggerate thesize of the gap, and that commentators

seldom attempt to explain the reasons why itexists. In the recent past, this has fuelled

calls for public service pay cuts. Thesedays, it’s being used to argue against payrestoration – not just in the public

service, but across the economy.

On that point, it’s perhaps nocoincidence that another aspectof the recent CSO figures, whichwas highlighted by the agencyitself, went virtually unreported.

In the year to mid-2014 earnings fellin both the public and private sectors,despite rising growth and employ -

ment.

After six years of stagnant orfalling earnings, this stark findingunderlines the need for pay

restoration in all sectors of theeconomy – private and public – both

to improve dented living standardsand to support our fragile recovery by

getting people spending in the local economy again.

Sadly, there hasn’t been much discussion of that.

Bernard Harbor is IMPACT’s head of communications l

Pay debate

“Media headlines alwaysexaggerate the size of

the pay gap, whilecommentators seldomattempt to explain thereasons why it exists.”

Much widerpublic-private

pay gap forwomen

IMPACT members get news quicker

IMPACT members can sign up for full access to our website – plus a monthly

emailed news bulletin via

www.impact.ie

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Whistleblower protections


Whistleblower protectionsl You can also disclose to an external ‘prescribed person’,

usually the regulatory body that covers your employment.These are prescribed by the minister and many have beenoutlined over the summer. Disclosures to a prescribedperson require you to meet a higher burden of proof toensure you get the protections of the Act. You must rea-sonably believe “that the information disclosed, and anyallegation contained in it, are substantially true.”

l In certain circumstances you can disclose to an externalbody like the media, a TD or a senator. But you have tomeet significantly stronger criteria to ensure you have theprotections of the Act. You can get guidance on the IM-PACT website (www.impact.ie), which strongly advises younot to make external disclosures unless you have soughtexpert advice, and have been advised that the disclosurewould be protected.

The burden of proof over whether a disclosure is protectedrests with the employer, not you.

Must I be certain that wrongdoing hastaken place?If you disclose to your employer – or a sponsoring depart-ment or minister if you work in a public body – you only needto have a ‘reasonable belief’ that wrongdoing is, has, or will betaking place.

If you disclose externally – including to a prescribed person– you have to meet stronger criteria: You must reasonably be-lieve “that the information disclosed, and any allegation con-tained in it, are substantially true.”

If you disclose to an external body other than a prescribedperson, stronger criteria over other aspects of the disclosurealso have to be met and you are strongly advised not to makesuch external disclosures unless you have sought expert ad-vice, and have been advised that the disclosure would be pro-tected.

Untrue allegations made maliciously are likely to get you in se-rious trouble.

What protections does the legislationgive?Provided you meet the criteria of a protected disclosure, thelaw gives you:

l Protection from, among other things, suspension, lay-off,dismissal, demotion, loss of opportunity for promotion,transfer of duties, changes of work location, reduction ofwages, changes to working hours, unfair treatment, ha-rassment and the threat of reprisals.

l Immunity from civil liability in respect of the disclosure.In other words, you can’t be sued for defamation.

l Protection from victimisation from a third party (eg, aprospective employer who refuses to hire you because youpreviously made a protected disclosure).

l Protection from criminal proceedings in certain circum-stances.

The law also prohibits your employer from victimising others(eg, your sister who also works for the same employer) onfoot of a protected disclosure.

What if my employer sacks me?For the first time ever in Irish employment law – and at theinsistence of IMPACT and other unions during the consul-tations that preceded the legislation – you will be able toapply to the circuit court for an injunction, seeking rein-statement, after 21 days of the dismissal.

If the injunction is granted, your employer would then ei-ther have to reinstate you or pay you while any legal casewas underway. The employer would then have to provethat your disclosure was not protected under the Act. Ifthey failed, your dismissal would be deemed unfair.

The maximum penalty for unfair dismissal in pro-tected disclosure cases has been set at five years pay– substantially more than the usual two years – al-though this can be reduced by up to 25% if “the in-

vestigation of the relevant wrongdoingconcerned was not the sole or

main motivation for making thedisclosure.”

The unfair dismissals protec-tions are in place from the dayyou start work. Uniquely,

under this legislationthere is no qualifying

period for an unfairdismissals claim.

Will my identity be revealed?The person you disclose to, and any manager they have torefer the disclosure to, mustn’t disclose information thatwould reveal that you’re the person who made the disclosure.You can sue if you suffer as a result of a failure to meet thisrequirement.

What about existing legal obligationsto disclose wrongdoing?All existing laws that include professional or other obligationsto report wrongdoing or suspicion of wrongdoing, like childprotection laws or the 2011 Criminal Justice Act, remain inplace.

Further informationA more detailed version of this article is available on the

IMPACT website l

“You can divulge the informationto a trade union official, solicitor orbarrister to seek advice on whetheryour disclosure would be protectedunder the Act and, if so, how to pro-ceed with a disclosure. Obviously,it will cost you if you choose to go

to a solicitor or barrister.”

AUTUMN-WINTER 201416

This article is for information only. It is not a definitive interpretation of the law. Members who are considering making a disclosure are strongly advised to seek advice from their IMPACT representative first.

How can I get advice before making adisclosure?You can divulge the information to a trade union official, so-licitor or barrister to seek advice on whether your disclosurewould be protected under the Act and, if so, how to proceedwith a disclosure. Obviously, this will cost you if you choose togo to a solicitor or barrister.

Features of the new lawComprehensive protection against employer reprisals

Redress for penalised workers Strong protections against unfair dismissalImmunity against civil and criminal liability

Single framework of whistleblower protection

Covers wide range of wrongdoingApplies to all sectorsProtects employees, contractors, agency

workers and those on work experienceStepped disclosure

procedure with different evidence thresholdsBurden of proof on

employer

Confidentiality protected.

“The Act protects employees, contractors, agency workers and people on work experience schemes.

It applies to both the private sector and public service, including the Gardai.”

‰

Photos: dream

stime.com

At your service

AUTUMN-WINTER 2014 18

MARTINA O’LEARY never used to think of public servants when she tucked in to her dinner. Now she’s glad they’re there.

Down on the WHAT BOOSTS our economy by €24 billion a year, accounts for 10% of exports and employs 150,000 people? Yes, it’s Ireland’s agriculture sector, and the nation’s technical agricultural officers are tasked with maintaining the industry’s reputation so it can continue to thrive.

More to the point, they’re the ones who make sure the food on your plate – meat, fruit, veg, dairy and bread – is high quality and safe to eat.

From seed classification to meat inspection, from disease eradication to dairy inspection, be it crop variety testing, pesticides regulation or grain marketing, members of IMPACT’s Agriculture No.1 branch work to maintain food quality from farm to fork. Not to mention underpinning €1.8 billion worth of EU grants payments each year.

and technical job involving checking storage facilities and practices, ensuring milking areas and paddocks are safe and secure, and checking the cleanliness of the milking parlour.

Vital as they are, the agricultural officer isn’t always a welcome visitor. “You need to be prepared. You are door-stepping people and sometimes there can be conflict, but there’s plenty of legislation to back you up. All you’re trying to do is protect the integrity of the food, and so many jobs depend on this. We are only a small part of the big wheel, but we are important all the same,” says Peadar.

SafeHe’s concerned with the segregation of sick animals, potential contamination of feeds, and the quality of water supply and detergents and the testing of the final product itself. Only then can Peadar be sure the milk is safe for human consumption. “My job is to ensure that any problem is nipped in the bud and, most importantly, that any problem can be pin-pointed at source. It’s about traceability,” he says.

His colleague Michael Rabbitte agrees. That’s why every cow has a passport that tracks all its movements from birth to death. “If there’s been a problem with cows from a particular farm we increase the monitoring of livestock coming from there,” says Michael.

Michael works in meat plants across the eastern region of Ireland and can generally be found in Kildare Chilling, which employs over 400 people who process 85,000 cattle and 500,000 sheep each year. “You must remember every day that everything produced here has to be eaten. If there’s a problem, you have to deal with it. That’s our job,” he says.

LawComplex EU legislation sets down specific check lists for every part of the factory from holding areas through to the abattoir, boning hall, offal room, cold store, chills and containers. Michael takes lots of various samples from the animals to test for brucellosis,

Agri-food is among Ireland’s most important indigenous industries with over 600 firms exporting 85% of our food produce and seafood to more than 160 countries. And it wouldn’t take much to destroy its valuable reputation. Remember the pork dioxin crisis, horsemeat contamination, ‘mad cow’ disease and salmonella anyone?

Would you give your baby contaminated baby formula? Of course not, and Ireland is aiming for a third of that important global market. “If you get a bad name, it takes years to rectify. The reputation of our dairy industry is so important to the economy and it only takes a small scare to create a big one,” says Waterford-based dairy produce officer Peadar Kelly.

Peadar makes sure everything on the dairy farm – from milking to processing – is up to standard. And we’re not talking a quick look around the milking parlour. It’s a complex

“If you get a bad name, it takes years to rectify. The reputation of our dairy industry is so important

to the economy and it only takes a small scare to create a big one.”

Dairy produce officer, Peadar Kelly must check the butter is up to standard.

Like elsewhere, staff numbers have been cut dramatically in recent years. In 2003 there were over 1,200 technical staff in the service, today it’s just over 700. And they’ve taken on extra duties, saving huge sums for the taxpayer. And the lads are currently involved in a long Labour Relations Commission process to protect the unique and vital role of technical agriculture officers and indeed realise further savings to the exchequer.

But, as branch secretary Liam Kelly puts it, they are a resilient bunch of staff. “The work carried out by IMPACT members in agriculture is so important to the industry, the Irish economy and the quality of the food on your plate. We’ve learned that self-monitoring by the industry doesn’t work without oversight by our members,” he says

Interview by Martina O’Leary.

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Michael Rabbitte: It’s about protecting consumers.

farm

the presence of residues like antibiotics, and other things. These are tested by agriculture department laboratory staff in Kildare and Cork.

“You can’t beat a man on the ground to make sure everything is above question and stands up to scrutiny. And if your decision is ever contested you have the evidence to back it up – sometimes all the ways to the courts. It’s about protecting consumers and farm livelihoods, which depend on the quality of food and compliance with EU standards,” says Michael.

The lads can refer serious problems up the line to a supervisory agricultural officer or, if needs be, a veterinary inspector, all of whom can serve compliance notices and enforcements under legislation. There are severe penalties for non-compliance.


TWO: Embrace life-longlearning. You never stop learn-

ing in a career, so seek out thoseopportunities. Push yourself out of

your comfort zone to learn and practiceuseful career skills that are not currentlyyour strengths. If you have a high level oftechnical skill but not much experiencesupervising a team, seek out opportuni-ties to practice.

Your career

A JOB is something that you agree to do for payment. It allows you to pay bills and supportsyour lifestyle. If you’re lucky your job might give you a sense of satisfaction. Equally, it might besomething unfulfilling that you just do for the money because there’s no alternative.

A career, on the other hand, is more. It’s a series of interconnected jobs that have meaning andprovide satisfaction at a personal and professional level. Personal and professional growth iscentral to a career.

Having a career means focusing not simply on completing the task in hand but alsoon gaining experiences, skills and knowledge that will enhance your abilityto fulfil your current role and allow you take the next step along your ca-reer path.

In a career, each job has an impact on future employmentprospects. Experience, knowledge and skill developed inearlier jobs enable you to move into new ones with greaterresponsibility, higher pay or status, and greater chal-lenges.

Getting stuckPeople in careers feel they’re going somewhere, whilethose who just have a job can feel stuck. And it’s easyto get stuck. Maybe you took your current job simplyto earn money, not as a step on a career ladder, butyou now feel lost and dissatisfied and want morefrom work than simply money.

Maybe you’ve reached a glass ceiling and can’t seewhere to go next. Or you’re unsure how your skills,knowledge and experience can help you progressinto a different job with a more meaningful role.

Other aspects of your life, like travel-ling or raising a family, may have keptyou busy or diverted attention awayfrom your career. But now there’s agrowing sense that something’smissing. But how to go about re-booting your career?

ONE: Start with your current job,because that’s the best place tolaunch in a different direction. Striveto perform to the best of your abilityand take every opportunity to developand gain experience. Talk to your linemanager. Seek feedback on your per-formance and guidance on what youcan do to improve. Gain extra re-sponsibilities or even opportunitiesfor promotion. Clarify the importantaspects and priorities of the joband make sure that most of yourenergies are focused on these.

So you want a career not justa job?It’s not uncommon to hear people saythey want more than just a job. But whatdo they actually mean by this? ISOBELBUTLER unpicks the difference betweena job and a career.

THREE: Identify your career capital. Do a skills audit identi-fying your knowledge, skills and expertise that can be used tofurther your career and help get your next job.

FOUR: Know the field that you want to work in. What skillsand expertise are valued and important? Think of someonewho’s a role model or expert in that field. What do they do?What knowledge, skills and experience have they got?

Next jobFIVE: Identify your next job. Start thinking about what yourideal job is. Where do you see yourself in five or six years?What meaningful and satisfying job would allow you to use

the career capital you’ve identified? Develop a plan if youneed to develop skills and experience. Do you need to un-dertake training or retraining? Do you need another quali-fication? Do you need to take on more responsibility in yourcurrent job? Perhaps you need to search for an intermedi-ate job that will allow you to get the relevant experience be-fore applying for your dream job.

SIX: Reboot your CV. Redraft your CV to succinctly highlightyour suitability for the job you’ve identified. Review and up-date the CV as you gain new skills and expertise.

Network

SEVEN: Network. Talk to people who work in the field you’veidentified. Find out what’s happening in that area. What arethe key developments and trends? What opportunities arecoming down the line? Read information relevant to your fieldto keep up with trends.

EIGHT: Try and get a mentor. Someone in the field or job youwant can be a guide and help you to develop your plan andavoid pitfalls.

NINE: Look for the opportunities and apply for the jobs.

TEN: Seek professional help. A career counsellor can help youto formulate or fine-tune your plan.

These steps, and the plan you develop, will stop you from drift-ing and becoming defined by what you didn’t do. Insteadyou’ll be in control, navigating your own chosen career path-way l

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20 AUTUMN-WINTER 2014 21WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS

A career, on the other hand, is more.It’s a series of interconnected jobs

that have meaning and providesatisfaction at a personal and

professional level.

‰

Isobel Butler is an independent organisational psychologist who workswith people on a wide range of workplace issues including conflict

management, dealing with change and solving problems. If there arespecific issues you’d like her to tackle in these articles send them in via theeditor, Work & Life magazine, Nerney’s Court, Dublin 1 or [email protected]

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Once you’re in the public eye, your physical appearance is upfor scrutiny. And it’s not confined to politics either. Whether welike it or not, our appearance can help or hinder our careerprospects in many walks of life. And, while we’re not all onshow to the same extent as party leaders and TV presenters,a lot of careers involve interaction with the public, or more-or-less formal presentations to colleagues and clients. So, wehave to put our best foot forward.

Balancing actYou want to be taken seriously but avoid the worry of negativeattention. And never underestimate how your appearance cancommunicate messages of authority, power and confidence.

Your clothes shouldn’t be a distraction or the main focus ofcolleagues’ or clients’ attention. The challenge is to find thebalance between dressing so safely that you appear boringor – worse – invisible, and trying so hard it looks like you’reheading out on a date.

SkilfulChristine Lagarde, the first woman chief of the InternationalMonetary Fund (IMF), brilliantly masters the art ofimpeccable presentation but, skilfully, never lets herappearance distract from her message. Never garish or loudin her dress code, she’s always understated and elegant withwell-groomed hairstyle and classy accessories. Brightcoloured scarves teamed with suits in muted colours likeblack, grey or beige.

Some women feel the need to power dress to provethemselves and project a sense of importance. An alternativeapproach is to dress in a way that gives you confidence whileallowing your personality and individuality to emerge.

The colours red evokes confidence. Work it into yourensemble, but avoid overkill. A bag, scarf or lipstick gives adash of colour – a blouse or dress if you want more impact.

Some colours work harder for you on television and inphotographs. Others cause you to pale into insignificance.Get your colours analysed by the experts to see which shadesare best for your skin type. Then bring swatches whenshopping. The result should give you confidence in your ownskin and not leave you looking forced, inappropriate or tryingtoo hard.

ConfidenceIt doesn’t mean that everything needs to be designer or veryexpensive. Observers understand and appreciate the need towear the same clothes again and again. Make staples workharder.

If you lack a bit of confidence in your own choices, or aren’tsure how to put a total look together, personal stylists orimage consultants can help. Major department stores employdedicated personal shoppers who are highly experienced indressing customers for the corporate world. Remember theyknow their stock inside out and are trained to help.

These services can cost a little, but they can save you lots ofprecious time and money in the long run. Packages start ataround €180 for a colour or style consultation and rise toabout €950 for a full image consultation, half day personalshopping and a makeup lesson l


Politicians and TV personalities maywork in the frontline, but all of usworkers are judged on our appearance.TRISH O’MAHONY advises.

Looking good

WHAT’S THE worst aspect of a career in the public eye? To be judged by yourperformance, or to be judged by your physical appearance?

Work-related criticism combined with appearance-related sniping mustsometimes make our politicians and others in public life wonder if it’s worth it.Chances are it keeps some capable people – especially women – out of the publicglare of certain careers.

Exposure to public curiosity can be an occupational hazard. But a lot of thecriticism, or even ridicule, is harsh and personalised. You’d need a very thickskin not to take it to heart.

We need our politicians, TV presenters, entertainers, weather forecasters, sportspundits and the rest. Where would we be without Miriam O’Callaghan andSharon Ni Bheolain? But, be honest, have you never noticed – or commentedon – their appearance?

No pressureIn a recent radio interview Joan Burton, new Tánaiste and first female LabourParty leader, described the difficulties associated with politicians and theirappearance. Her friends’ advice was to always look her best. If her recentmakeover and flattering hairstyle are anything to go by, she’s certainlylistening. But which of us can always look our very best – and is thisrequirement putting women off politics?

It’s alright that, as Joan Burton observed, other women are interestedin your hair, make-up and what you’re wearing. But she rightlydescribes the personalised and withering criticism of appearancethat some politicians endure as “the nasty side of politics.” ‰


Yourpublicawaits

Main pic: Topshop. Model:Topshop. Gold sequin top:Miss Selfridge. Leather skirt:Next. Gold bag: Marks &Spencer. Red shoe: DorothyPerkins.

Invest in a sharp, edgy hairstyle. Joan Burton’s is getting

her noticed in a positive way.

Don’t scrimp on coats, suits, shoes or bags as good quality

will serve you better for longer. Buy during the sales.

Economise on blouses, shirts, scarves and ties.

Wear small amounts of strong colour close to your face

and neck.

Buy subtle colours for main items like coats and jackets.

Wear classic accessories rather than large, obtrusive ones.

Have a trial run, especially if cameras are involved.

Avoid stripes or checks if you’re going to be seen on

screen.

If your weight is bothering you, deal with it before it

becomes a bigger problem.

Glean ideas from books and articles – but make sure the

look works for you.

Never let your clothes distract from your message – or

your personality.

Model Cara Delevignewearing Topshop.

Osteoporosis, the silent disease, can hit you at any time of life. But you can take steps to prevent the most common bone disease around, and there’s help at hand, says MICHELE O’BRIEN.

24

Your health

ASK MOST people about osteoporosis and they’ll say it’s a bone problem that affects old people and menopausal women. Many people wrongly think it’s untreatable.

In fact, osteoporosis is the commonest bone disease in the world. It causes the insides of bones to become fragile and, therefore, to break easily. Another of the many misconceptions about the condition is that a healthy diet and exercise will stop you developing osteoporosis.

Here’s another fact. One-in-four men and half of women over 50 will break a bone because of osteoporosis. And it affects people of all ages including children. It can affect any of your bones, but the most at risk are wrists, hips and bones in the spine.

There are over 60 causes of osteoporosis and unless the causes are identified and addressed, your bones won’t improve. For most people, osteoporosis is preventable and treatable. But only 15% of sufferers are actually diagnosed. You might be one of the estimated 280,000 who haven’t been.

Signs and symptoms Osteoporosis is known as the silent disease because you don’t feel your bones getting weaker. But there are some signs and symptoms of undiagnosed osteoporosis:

• A broken bone caused by a trip or fall from a standing position or lower • Loss of height: It’s not normal to lose height as you get older • A hump developing on your upper back or your head protruding forward from your body • Upper, middle or low back pain.

Many things can increase your risk of developing the condition. Some are diseases themselves or treatments for other conditions. Others are secondary effects of diseases or lifestyle choices.

They include family history, eating disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, endocrine disorders, asthma, diabetes, MS, Parkinson’s disease, chemotherapy or radiation therapy, aromatase inhibitors for the treatment of breast or prostate cancer, corticosteroids (such as prednisolone, prednisone or cortisone), some anticonvulsants, post-organ transplant

AUTUMN-WINTER 2014

The therapy, many medications, excessive physiological or psych-ological stress, intolerance to dairy products, smoking, excess alcohol, and being wheelchair or bed bound.

Women who’ve gone through the menopause are at risk, as are men with testosterone deficiency – symptoms of this include loss of sex drive, loss of erections, depression and fatigue.

Getting helpMost broken bones occur in the early stages – called osteopenia – which can develop into osteoporosis unless prevention measures are put in place. The Irish Osteoporosis Society (contact details below) can help if you think you

might have the condition. The society recommends a simple and painless 15-minute scan of the spine and hips to establish if you have the condition. It does not recommend heel or Tibia scans.

You can help prevent osteoporosis by getting enough calcium, vitamin D3, protein, and through appropriate weight


bare bones

After cutbacks, the Irish Osteoporosis Society receives just €4,000 a year from

the HSE, despite being the only organisation to specifically deal with the condition. The society’s chief executive Michele O’Brien is doing a parachute jump in October to help raise awareness and much-needed funds. You can sponsor her, or make a donation, by contacting the Irish Osteoporosis Society, 114 Pembroke Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4. Or email [email protected]

YOU CAN HELP

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MICHELE O’BRIEN has some sobering facts about osteoporosis.

• Men over 50 are more likely to break a bone due to osteoporosis than to get prostate cancer.

• More women die from osteoporosis than from cancers of the ovaries, uterus and cervix combined.

• 90% of broken hips are due to osteoporosis.

• Men are more likely than women to die within a year of breaking a hip

• Men are also more likely to require long-term nursing care after breaking a hip.

• 20% of 60+ people who break their hip will die within 6-12 months.

• 50% of 60+ people who break their hip will be unable to wash, dress or walk without help.

• One broken hip costs €55,000. A DXA scan, to diagnose osteoporosis, costs about €100.

• There were about 3,000 broken hips in the Republic of Ireland last year.

Breaking bad

USUAL SUSPECTS? These people are not actors. They are real people who’ve proved that osteoporosis can be reversible in certain cases. The man on the far right is a multiple Olympic and World rifle shooting champion who has reversed his bones back to normal. The youngest person in the picture was diagnosed with osteoporosis at 19, when she had the bones of an 84-year-old. She’s reversed her bones back to normal. But the earlier osteoporosis is diagnosed, the better the results.

bearing exercise. And, of course, by avoiding lifestyle choices like smoking and access alcohol that can increase your risk of this and other diseases.

If you develop osteopenia or osteoporosis, you will need advice on the many treatments that are available, ranging from increased vitamin D3 and calcium intake, drug therapies to treat bone loss, and exercise for increased bone health.

Michele O’Brien is chief executive of the Irish Osteoporosis Society. If you think you might be at risk from osteoporosis, or want to know more, contact the Irish Osteoporosis Society at www.irishosteoporosis.ie or 114 Pembroke Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, Lo-call 1890-252751, or email [email protected].

THE WINDS of change are blowing through the kitchen thisweek, sweeping all before them. Darling daughter returnedfrom a trip to London, where her lovely hosts had introducedher to Middle Eastern food. She, in turn, is bringing it hometo her very own kitchen in sunny rural Ireland.

At first I drew a bit of a blank. In fact, I wasn’t exactly surewhere the Middle East is. Well, the short answer is that it’sfurther than Europe but not as far as China (because thatwould be the Far East, apparently).

It’s at the crossroads between Europe, Asia and Africa, with allthose different influences reflected in its cooking. Sharing abroadly common ‘Middle Eastern’ cuisine, are a clutch ofcountries united by appetite and divided by religion andpolitics.

Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Turkey, andUnited Arab Emirates are all Middle Eastern states.Both the Jewish and Muslim faiths, which dominatethe region, are very unfond of our friend the pig andban the eating of pork. Lamb is the primary meatused, with the occasional fool -hardy chicken crossing anynumber of remote and dustyroads to make an appearanceas dinner.

StaplesApart from that, it’s a cereal-basedcuisine. Bread is eaten in one form oranother at every meal – not surprising as this iswhere wheat was first cultivated – and wheat(burghul, couscous) and rice are the preferred staples.Back in 550-330 BC the Persians brought the rice, poultryand various fruits with them, while figs, dates and nuts werebrought by marauding Arabian warriors.

Spices came from China and India and tomatoes came fromthe New World, via the Moors of Spain. Add in cloves,peppercorns and allspice from the Spice Islands, and okrafrom Africa, and it certainly puts Irish stew in the blandcorner. (Though of course, when not writing articles, we loveIrish stew too. All letters of complaint direct to the Editorplease!).

What’s surprising is how some Middle Eastern foods havealready penetrated our culture so much so that we don’tnotice it all. Pitta breads are a lunchtime staple for kids andadults alike, couscous is as commonly used as rice, whilehummus is commonplace. And who hasn’t given TurkishDelight to an aged and toothless relative at Christmas?

In reality it’s accessible and very straightforward. And it offers fresh, spicyflavours, sometimes with citrus and herbs, and new tastes like Za’atar andSumac – Za'atar is a blend of thyme, mint and sesame seeds; Sumac is aspice made from crushed sour berries – both of which are available in Asianshops, health food shops and larger branches of Tesco. As is harissa, a kindof chilli paste that adds heat to dishes, without setting your mouth on fire.

This kind of cooking uses pulses like chickpeas and lentils and less familiaringredients like aubergines, chard and pomegranates. Lentils, yogurt, garlic,mint, cinnamon, cloves, cumin and coriander are common. The dishes, whilehearty and filling, lack that stick-to-your-ribs quality we associate with winter

MARGARET HANNIGAN says Middle Eastern cuisine willbring fresher flavours to your winter table.

27WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS26

Carrot, lentiland orangesoup

In the kitchen

AUTUMN-WINTER 2014

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food. They will blow awaythe cobwebs and bring

fresher flavours to your winterfood.

Try this soup as an introduction. Then checkout Sabrina Ghayour’s book Persiana, which iscurrently getting rave reviews from critics andcelebrities alike – just in case there’s anoccasion for gift-giving in the offing! l

PopularDespite the fact that it’s been around since before the biblewas a three-chapter outline, this kind of food is only nowgaining mainstream popularity. Sabrina Ghouray, author ofthe best-selling cookbook Persiana, thinks it may be becauseMiddle Eastern cookery “is often shrouded in mystery andperceived as exotic and unknown.”

l 1 tsp cumin seeds

l 2 tsp coriander seeds

l 1 onion chopped

l 225g carrots diced

l 75g red lentils

l 300ml orange juice

l 2 tbsp low-fat natural yogurt

l Fresh chopped coriander to garnish

l Pinch paprika to garnish

l 600ml vegetable stock

Buy ingredientsBuy the ingredients for this recipe now via:

l ocado

l MySupermarket

l Tesco

l Asda

MethodCrush the seeds in a pestle and mortar,then dry-fry for two minutes in a large panuntil lightly browned. Add the onion,carrots, lentils, orange juice, stock andseasoning. Then bring to the boil. Coverand simmer for 30 minutes until thelentils are soft.

Transfer to a food processor in batchesand process until smooth. Return to thepan then gently reheat, stirring occas -ionally. Adjust seasoning to taste. Ladleinto individual serving bowls, swirl theyogurt over and sprinkle with the choppedcoriander leaves and paprika. Serveimmediately.

“Sharing a broadly common ‘MiddleEastern’ cuisine, are a clutch ofcountries united by appetite anddivided by religion and politics.”

Green fingers

ITA PATTEN takes on some of those essential winter jobs.

AUTUMN-WINTER 2014

VISITORS TO the National Botanic Gardens often say “I’d LOVE your job”or “you must really enjoy your work.” Thing is, me and my work colleagues have noticed that people only seem to express these opinions in pleasant weather.

“Winter pruning invigorates trees and shrubs as it leaves the plants

with extra energy reserves to support new growth in the following spring.

Well-pruned plants will produce more fruit and flowers and pruning also

helps to ward off pests and disease.”

28

Mulches are loose coverings – usually organic material like well-rotted manure, leaf mould or garden compost – placed on the soil surface. Besides achieving a neater appearance to beds, mulching helps soil moisture retention. It also suppresses weeds, improves soil texture and encourages beneficial soil organisms.

BotanicsIn the Botanic Gardens we mostly use well-rotted manure (from Dublin Zoo) and our own leaf mould in late winter and early spring.

Mulches should be applied to wet soil because a dry soil will remain dry underneath it. They should not be used on snow or frost-covered soil. And, of course, the area needs to be weed-free before mulching.

To be effective, your covering of mulch should be at least five centimetres thick and whole beds can be covered, taking care not to smother low growing plants. There is no need to remove mulches to apply a fertiliser as these will be washed down to the roots by the rain.

Winter work

Pots of Heuchara.

I can’t recall anybody approaching me on a cold, frosty morning to express their envy of my career choice, while I rake large piles of fallen leaves or shovel enormous mounds of steaming manure! But, unappealing as they may appear, those winter jobs are very important in laying the ground work for the following gardening year.

And, yes, it’s time to get mulching, pruning and dividing again. Garden centres stock non-biodegradable materials,

which are ideal to use when making a new bed. Slits can be neatly cut into the fabric to plant through. These fabric

sheets will not boost soil fertility or structure, but they do suppress weeds and conserve moisture – a big advantage in the oncoming times of water charges.

The newly planted beds can then be camouflaged with gravel or bark.

PruningWinter is an opportune time to survey your deciduous trees and shrubs, as the bare stems quickly expose damage and disease and other things that need attention. As most woody plants are dormant in winter, this is the ideal time to prune them.

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Winter pruning invigorates trees and shrubs as it leaves the plants with extra energy reserves to support new growth in the following spring. Well-pruned plants will produce more fruit and flowers and pruning also helps to ward off pests and disease.

Remove dead or dying branches. Where two branches are crossing (and perhaps rubbing together) remove the weaker of the two. If growth has become very dense, thin out branches and stems to allow sunlight and air to circulate to the centre of the tree or shrub.

When removing a branch, cut close to the branch collar; the folds of bark where the branch and trunk meet. You need to be careful not to cut into the collar and also be sure to not leave a stub of a branch. Besides this being unsightly, it can also harbour pests and disease.

Never, ever attempt to prune out-of-reach branches or those which can’t be done with aerial pruners from the ground. Don’t go climbing ladders as my brother in law recently did. He very luckily escaped with just bruised ribs and a broken toe when he fell to the ground!

Lifting and dividing Most herbaceous perennials will benefit from division every three or four years, especially when they have formed large clumps and the centre of the plant has become bare. Perennials that can be divided include geraniums, hostas, asters, euphorbias and most ornamental grasses.

First, dig up the entire clump with a spade or fork and shake off any excess soil so that the roots are more visible. Some plants, such

as heucheras and epimediums, are quite

Ita Patton is a craft gardener in the National Botanic Gardens

to warm you up

easily pulled apart. Tougher ones like day lilies can be split apart using two garden forks. Place them back to back and insert into the centre, levering and loosening the roots to break it into smaller plants.

Then plant up the divisions as soon as possible and water them in well. Alternatively, pot up the individual small plants to build up size and vigour for planting the following spring. There will undoubtedly be some left over, so share them around.

These winter jobs will definitely help reduce the necessity for extra work next year. And, as well as improving the garden’s appearance, they’ll help keep the gardener warm!

Hostas

At the movies


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MORGAN O’BRIEN charts therise and rise of the horror genre.

HALLOWEEN IS the idealtime to dust off someclassic horror films toinfuse the season withthat extra frisson ofterror. The horror genrehas a lengthy and variedback catalogue from1920s German ex -pression ism, throughUniversal’s golden age of1930s classics, to thepsychological horror ofthe 1960s and 1970s.Then George A Romerosingle-handedly craftedthe zombie template,before the rise of slasher and exploitation flicks in the1970s and 1980s.

In the 1990s, Wes Craven, who had already made hismark with The Last House on the Left (1972), The HillsHave Eyes (1977) and A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)essayed a postmodern view of horror movies in 1997’sScream. The film both paid homage to – and pickedapart – the genre’s formulaic structures and standardarchetypes in ways similar to Joss Whedon’s more recentCabin in the Woods (2012).

The slew of remakes ushered onto our screens in the interimis indicative of the relative lack of invention in contemporaryhorror that Craven played on. Equally, others, after promisingstarts such as Saw, suffered from increasingly diminishingreturns as they spooled out as long running series.

DaringLooking back, films from the 1920s and 1930s are unlikely toterrify modern audiences. But the still daringly stylistic TheCabinet of Dr Caligari (1920) and the haunting shadows ofNosferatu (1922) carry an atmosphere of lingering suspense.

Equally, the Universal series of oft-replicated gothic horrorslike Dracula, Frankenstein, and Bride of Frankenstein remainthrillingly darkly textured stories, while Tod Browning’s nearcareer-ending Freaks (1932) still has the power to shock.

In the late 1950s, Britain’s Hammer studios followed theUniversal template with a series of classic horrors includingThe Curse of Frankenstein, Dracula, and The Mummy. The studiobriefly carved out a niche in producing commerciallysuccessful fare with director Terence Fisher and stars PeterCushing and Christopher Lee at its core.

Its success waned in the 1970s, but Hammer has been revivedin the last decade and was responsible for the atmosphericchiller The Woman in Black (2012).

From the 1960s, thehorror genre success -fully expanded, movingbeyond its rich gothictradition of monstersand ghouls with earlyslasher films likePeeping Tom and Psychoand psychological

horrors like The Shining,Don’t Look Now and TheExorcist. Roman Polanski’sRepulsion and Rosemary’sBaby were infused withmore tautly constructedterror and contemporaryeveryday backdrops.

CensorsThe loosening of censorship codes led to the growth ofincreasingly bloody horror with Herschell Gordon Lewis pavingthe way in the United States with low budget gorefests.Meanwhile in Italy the films of Mario Bava and Dario Argentowould have a significant impact on the development of theslasher genre and the increased visceral quality of horror fromthe 1970s onwards.

George A Romero’s Living Dead series ofzombie movies has made a significant mark increating recognisable tropes of the subgenreand using the horror film to tackle a range ofsocial issues. More recent offerings such as 24Days Later and Shaun of the Dead riff on thezombie format.

In the latter instance, comic horror has alsodeveloped as a significant element within theform from Mel Brooks’ knowing comedy YoungFrankenstein to the more blood-soaked slapstickof Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead series.


From dazzling styleto slash ‘n’ gore

Gone Girl (3rd October)The ever-reliable David Fincherdirects an adaptation of thesuccessful novel with Ben Affleckand Rosamund Pike starring.Given the popularity of the novelan altered structure has beenmooted.

’71 (10th October)Well received at the Berlin Film Festival, Jack O’Connell stars in an historicaldrama about a British solider separated from his unit in Belfast during theTroubles.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (17th October)Michael Bay will no doubt bring to bear his own brand of unsubtle directionin this update of the classic comic book and cartoon adventurers.

Love, Rosie (24th October)Lilly Collins and Sam Claffin star in this adaptation of Cecilia Ahern’s novelWhere Rainbows End, which follows the relationship between childhoodfriends.

The Interview (31st October)Already the subject of ire in NorthKorea, Seth Rogen and James Francostar in this comedy about twojournalists tasked with assassinatingKim Jong-Un.

Interstellar (7th November)Director Christopher Nolan marshals an ensemble cast, featuring MatthewMcConaughey, Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain, in this drama abouta space expedition through a wormhole.

The Drop (14th November)Crime drama based on a novel by DenisLehane. Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace and the lateJames Gandolfini star in a film about a robberythat goes wrong.

Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I (21st November)Jennifer Lawrence returns as Katniss Everdeen in the hugely successfulfranchise. As ever with these things the final book in Suzanne Collins’ serieshas been split into two parts.

Monsters: Dark Continent(28th November)The success of 2010’s modestly budgetedMonsters led director Gareth Edwards to helmthis year’s Godzilla reboot. This sequel picks upwith the US army battling to contain themonsters, with, so far, broader plot detailsbeing kept largely secret.

Coming up

It’s often the films that carry the air of menaceand suspense that linger longest, rather thanthose relying on pure violence. For example,Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,while deceptively low on explicit gore, remainsterrifyingly nightmarish, while John Carpenter’sHalloween, equally less bloody by contemporarystandards, is creepily thrilling.

Such works, which established staple formulasin the genre, are often imitated but rarelybettered l

“Films that carry the air ofmenace and suspense

linger longest, rather thanthose relying on pureviolence. The TexasChainsaw Massacre,

while deceptively low onexplicit gore, remains

terrifyingly nightmarish,while Halloween, equally

less bloody bycontemporary standards,

is creepily thrilling.”

Nosferatu

Psycho

Halloween

The Shining

this is it. And it’s certainly sad to see Apple sell out to TheMan with this corporate cuddle-up.

But back to longevity itself. American artist Beatrice Wood saidshe owed hers to “chocolate and young men.” I don’t recallhaving seen Ms Wood at an IMPACT conference, where such acomment would certainly – and correctly – herald a ‘greenform’ incident.

Play it loud

33WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS32 AUTUMN-WINTER 2014

Autumn-Winter 2014 solutions (From page 46.)

Summer-Autumn 2014 Crossword Solutions See page 46 for the competition winners from Issue 26.

ACROSS: 1. Magic 5/9. Claus Santa 8. Hosanna 10. Usual 11. Renders 14. Yield 17. Essay 20. Mystery 21. Swap 22. Rope 23. Implosive 24. Blogs 27. Alarm 30. Unaided 32. Cuffs 33. Atoll 34. Avowing 35. Siren 36. Elegy DOWN: 1. Mushy 2/4. Gonne Maud 3. Chard 5. Cause6. Abuts 7. Sally 12. Nostalgia 13. Engrossed 15. Inkwell 16. Limping 18. Surreal 19. Adaptor24. Backs 25. Offer 26. Susan 27. Adage 28. Above 29. Molly 31. Iowa

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1 7 5 2 4 6 3 8 9

3 9 8 1 5 7 2 4 6

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Playing the long game

1. Ideal Worldby TheChristians(1987)“But foolsneverchange,” sowe’re off.

2. Radio Africaby Latin Quarter (1985)“We’re hearing only bad news,” so we’re off ‘n’ all.

3. Too Nice To Talk To by The Beat (1981)I didn’t realise they’d written a song about me.

4. The First Picture Of You by The Lotus Eaters (1983)Absolute classic. Alas the camera ran out of film.

5 Neighbourhood by Space (1996)“In 666 there lives a Mr Miller he’s a local vicar and a serialkiller.” Brilliant!

Should havehung up the boots1 My Oh My by Slade (1983)

Great band. Terrible song. Noddy was better off inThe Grimleys.

2 Get On Your Boots by U2 (2009)Hang up your boots. In the national interest.

3 In The ArmyNow by StatusQuo (1986)Take note.They retire at50.

4. Rough Justiceby The RollingStones (2005)Gimme shelter!

5. ChainReaction byDiana Ross(1985)From Motowngreat to bustedflush.

A RANDOM expert once told me over a pint of Guinness that“only the great die young,” a philosophy based on his un-healthy obsession with James Dean. I naturally challenged histheory with two words. Mandela and Nelson (though not nec-essarily in that order).

Luckily for both of us the conversation ground to a suddenhalt.

This column is (repeatedly – editor) on record as pronouncingThe Who as the greatest act of all time. This will continue re-gardless of the opposition. Longevity and The Who are curiousbedfellows given that 50% of the band has passed away. How-ever, in recognition of reaching a landmark 50 years on theroad, the remaining Messrs Daltry and Townshend are em-barking on one last tour.

One of the many aspects of Who greatness is that, despitetheir 50 year existence, they recognised that they wereclapped-out as a record-making force after the first 13. So,

an occasional get together to roll back the years in live per-formance is all good stuff with me.

Contrast with U2. I recall a 1982 interview with BP Fallon,where Bono (they deserve each other) boldly proclaimed

that they would never become “boring old farts.” For youngfeted rock stars this is an irresistible hostage to fortune and,what comes around goes around.

AtrociousU2’s new free Apple download album has been said to re-

capture old glories. It is indeed of a similaratrocious standard as their ancient

fare. If ever a supporting argu-ment was required for the factthat longevity doesn’t trans-

late to musical greatness,

Bono boldly proclaimed that U2 wouldnever become “boring old farts.” For

young feted rock stars this is anirresistible hostage to fortune.

In the rock world, it’s often the short-careered artists who, bypopular or journalistic acclaim, gain the stature of greatness.When The Smiths burst onto the scene, I couldn’t help butthink of a family a few doors down in my native Finglas. Likethe band, my neighbours were indeed way ahead of their time.

As a boy, Christmas was a time to enjoy the sight of new bi-cycles pounding up and down the street. Then, one particularyear the Smiths unveiled a horse in the front garden, long be-fore the humble nag became de rigueur as an alternativemeans of transport in Dublin 11.

SainthoodAs for their cousins Morrissey and Marr, only four (admittedlyrather good) studio albums were enough to achieve sonic saint-hood. Morrissey once said of a mooted Smiths reunion that “Iwould rather eat my own testicles.” Heartfelt no doubt, but anexcruciating dilemma for such an ardent vegetarian.

The glossaries of ‘great bands with short lifespan’ generallyreach similar conclusions. Typically Joy Division gets a plug.I’m not convinced, but IMPACT’s communications cadre seemsto like them so, in the interests of continuing my highly re-warded contribution to this column, I will take the integrity-hit.

But I refuse to take a single backward step on the subject ofNirvana or The Stone Roses, both of whom could supplementThe Oxford English dictionary definition of over-rated.

And what of poor old Frankie Goes to Hollywood? A ruthless as-sault of the pop charts from 1983 to 1985 saw Frankie flushout three of the highest selling pop songs of all time. Yet no-body talks about them today. Plenty of time to Relax!

Middle age is the time when you finally get your head togetheronly to see your body falling apart. That probably explains whyTownsend and Daltry consume PG Tips and Earl Grey on stagethese days.

It’s great that we still get a chance to see these genuine leg-ends. It’s even better that they have the discretion to spare usfrom any new albums. Now that’s what I call growing old grace-fully l

If only they’dstayed a bit longer

RAYMOND CONNOLLYwonders why some gainclassic status whileothers just fade away.

The Christians

Diana Ross

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The Dostoyevsky House is really a place ofpilgrimage rather than a museum. Itdisappointed, comparing badly with, say,Dublin’s James Joyce Centre. But I wasamazed to find a young woman cryingbitterly at the great man’s grave in Tikhvincemetery next to the lovely AlexanderNevsky monastery just outside the citycentre.

She may just have split up with herboyfriend or seen her puppy put down,but Molly assured me that hundreds ofpeople gather at the national poetPushkin’s statue on his birthday with“about 20% of them in tears.”

Brilliant balletThe small and beautiful cemetery

has many famous graves. Amongothers, we’d gone to payhomage to Tchaikovsky inadvance of the centrepiece of thetrip – Swan Lake at the historicMariinsky theatre. This is one ofthe world’s premier venues foropera and ballet and, with itsmagnificent stage, royal box andceiling, you almost expect to seeAnna Karenina and Captain Vronskyin the box opposite.

The performance – part of the WhiteNights Festival – really was excep -tional. The downside is that, likeeverything here, it’s far more expensivefor tourists than locals. The ticket priceon the official website was prohibitivebut, because Molly was living in town,we were able to get reasonably pricedtickets locally. Apparently you can berefused entrance with these if you’renot a local, which made for a fewnervous moments as we enteredthe theatre.

A general warning is in order; thisisn’t a cheap destination. The lackof direct flights from Irelandmakes travel expensive and theprice and palaver of getting avisa (set aside plenty of timeand patience, and read thedirections carefully) is, frankly,

off-putting.

The museum also has a couple of fantastic portraitsof Saint Petersburg poet Anna Akhmoatova, mostfamous for Requiem, her powerful work on the Stalinistterror. It’s arguably the written word that we mostassociate with the famous Slavic soul. Pushkin,

Dostoyevsky, Gogol, you name them – thecity has statues and museums to beat theband.

IN SOVIET times Kazan cathedral was turned into a museumof atheism. These days there are more pilgrims than touristswithin the Saint Petersburg landmark’s subdued butimpressive interior.

As the sun shines from under the dome onto massive pinkgranite columns, the cathedral’s faithful queue patiently tokiss the supposedly miraculous icon of Our Lady of Kazan.The choir sings beautifully in response to the priest. It’s amuseum to the futility of ‘banning’ faith.

I was back for a second visit as a four-day trip to my Russian-studying daughter Molly drew to a close. The cathedral onNevsky Prospect, downtown Saint Petersburg’s main drag,seemed to reveal something about what makes this taciturncity tick.

Founded by Peter the Great in the early eighteenth century,and modelled on Amsterdam’s canal grid (which makes foreasy navigation) today’s Petrograd is, on the face of it, amodern European city like many others. Indeed, the one self-


Travel and trips

Stuck around Saint PetersburgBERNARD HARBOR kept thefaith – sacred and secular – inRussia’s second city.

and the impressionists. The must-see Matisse’shad been moved to the adjacent andarchitecturally-impressive General Staff Building,which meant paying extra. But well worth it forDance alone.

Look out for four works by Kees Van Dongen,including the magnificent Lucy and her DancingPartner. You must see Leonardo’s Madonna Litta andRembrandt’s Abraham’s Sacrifice. And try not tomiss Rueben’s Bacchus or Michelangelo’s CrouchingBoy. I did.

Slavic soulThere are virtually no Russian paintings in theHermitage and art lovers must also devote a largehalf-day (at least) to the Russian Museum, whereyou’ll find out far more about the country you’revisiting. Again, the modern works triumph.Kandinsky, Chagall and Malevich are the mostfamous, but I also loved Natalia Goncharova.Check out Winter and Cyclist.

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consciously Russian landmark, the superbly-named Cathedralon the Spilled Blood, looks slightly out of place in this largelybaroque and neo-classical town.

EerieBut there’s something in the blood that sets it apart,particularly during June and July’s slightly eerie ‘white nights,’when the sun never really sets.

On day one I headed straight for the world-famous Hermitagemuseum, which boasts one of the largest and mostmagnificent art collections on the planet. You enter the WinterPalace, the core of the complex, through Palace Square. It’sthe same route the Bolsheviks took when they stormed theplace during the August 1917 coup, which ousted theprovisional government that had been running the countryafter the Czar ceded power earlier that year.

The Romanovs certainly knew how to live and therevolutionaries must have been awed by the magnificence ofthe Jordan staircase, the Pavilion hall and a host of opulentsplendours. These days people come for the pictures. But bewarned. It’s said that you’d need 11 years to view them all.

I concentrated on the 19th-20th century European collection,which includes top notch works by Cezanne, Gauguin, Picasso

contined on page 36


Tomb of Dostoyevsky

Kazan Cathedral

Cathedral of the Spilled Blood

Swan Lake

A young woman cried bitterly atDostoyevsky’s grave. She may

have split up with her boyfriend orseen her puppy put down. But

hundreds of people gather at thenational poet Pushkin’ statue on

his birthday, 20% of them in tears.

While Russians aren’t anoutwardly friendly bunch, Saint

Petersburg was far morerelaxed than the Moscow I

visited 12 years ago.

‰

International

SIOBHÁN CURRAN says tradeunions need to be more vocal onhuman rights in the Arab world.

TWO YEARS ago I was among the 700 delegates at IMPACT’sbiennial conference where we first heard motions calling forsolidarity with the beleaguered people of Syria. What beganin March 2011 as peaceful protests against the SyrianGovernment quickly escalated into what the UN today callsthe biggest humanitarian emergency of our era.

Syria has suffered. Some 200,000 dead, three millionrefugees scattered around many countries, and another threemillion displaced within its borders. The instability of theentire Arab world is becoming more and more serious.

The summer was dominated by news from Ukraine and Gazaand Irish trade unions have rightly been very vocal on thePalestinian issue. It was great to see so many members takingto the streets to condemn the Israeli attacks on Gaza.

But in the meantime, a serious, long-term threat is developingwith the emergence of what is now called Islamic State (IS)in Iraq and Syria. Fundamentalist and sectarian in nature, ithas no tolerance for difference or rights, be it trade unionrights, human rights, the rights of women or religious rights.

Despite this, the group would not be able to function if it wasnot receiving support. The International Trade UnionConfederation (ITUC) recently condemned Gulf statemonarchies for providing IS with logistical and financialsupport. They are also receiving support from somecommunities in Iraq as well as transient foreign jihadists.

Terrifying Following unwarranted military, economic and politicalintervention by international powers, the region hasdescended into chaos and fundamentalism is filling thespaces created. Workers are severely at risk in such asituation.

ITUC general secretary Sharan Burrow says that, whileworkers in Iraq have tried to build genuine trade unions sincethe toppling of Saddam Hussein, they have been hampered byrepression and restrictive legislation. “They are now facing aterrifying situation of an upsurge in extremely violent conflict.The international trade union community is urging a peacefulpolitical approach in order to protect Iraqi workers and theirfamilies from sectarianism, discrimination and terror,” shesays.

As well as the possibility of extreme violence and intimidation,the young people of the Arab world also face a future wherelabour standards are shamefully low, economic activity isdepressed and unemployment is extremely high. The promiseof the Arab spring has not been realised, and many Arabpeoples lie between the reality of authoritarian dictatorshipand fundamentalist religious oppression.

MissingIn late August, two human rights investigators went missingin Qatar. As Work & Life has documented before, the Gulf stateis shamefully using a system of modern slavery to build thestadiums it needs to host the 2022 soccer world cup. Withmigrant workers in Iraq being kidnapped (along withjournalists and aid workers) by IS, the safety of workers andtheir families continues to be compromised.

Trade unions need to be more vocal against IS and similargroups, as well as the foreign interventions that have helpedcreate the conditions where these groups flourish. Theembattled trade unions of the region are non-sectarian andbest placed to uphold the rights of the communities that theyrepresent. They need our practical support.

Last year IMPACT’s developing world fund gave €100,000 tosupport Concern’s work with Syrian refugees l

Photo: gettyim

ages.ie

Arab workers need solidarity

A Syrian woman holding a child weeps as Syriansfleeing from clashes between the Islamic State of

Iraq and Levant (ISIL) militants

37WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERSAUTUMN-WINTER 201436

Once you’re there, food, drink and shoppingare at the higher end of the city-break pricerange. Accommodation isn’t much better,though entrance to museums and sites is notso bad. Don’t travel any distance by cabwithout agreeing a price first – we got seriouslystung coming in from the airport.

On the plus side, it’s a relatively easy-goingplace. You can just about get by in English(though, happily, I was being minded by aRussian speaker) and there are lots of goodrestaurants. I’d recommend the hip Jack & Chan(7 Inzhenernaya Ulitsa), the more-expensiveMamaliga at the back of Kazan cathedral forexcellent Georgian food, or the relaxed Zoom(cafezoom.ru) for Russian-style specialities atreasonable prices.

Some of the tourist advice is laced with direwarnings, but I found it no more or less tourist-hazardous than most cities. Sensible pre -cautions will keep you and your belongings safeand, while Russians aren’t an outwardlyfriendly bunch, Saint Petersburg was far morerelaxed than the Moscow I visited 12 yearsago.

Soviet pastThe city has a seemingly sensible relation -ship with an often painful past. The 900-day wartime siege and subsequent victory overNazi forces are marked with period socialist-realist land -

marks, while some impressive metrostations testify to the notion of ‘art for thepeople.’ The train that brought Lenin fromFinland to lead the Bolsheviks and thegunship Aurora, which fired the (blank)starting gun for the 1917 revolution,remain in place as genuine and unfussyhistorical artefacts.

The museum of political history, in thefantastic Art Nouveau Kshesinskayamansion – worth a visit in its ownright – turned out be a surprisinghighlight of the trip. Lenin’s officeand the balcony from which hefamously fired up the comrades are

the big draws. But the politicalexhibition, which takes you from pre-revolutionary to post-Communisttimes, is steadily balanced and factual.For the English speaker, it’s also thebest curated place we visited.

Needless to say, its people-centredstories from the Gulag and the ideo -logically-precipitated famines of the1930s and 1940s are harrowing. But, likethe Orthodox Church, the Bolshevikrevolution and its aftermath are part ofwhat makes Russia what it is. Let’s begrateful that the Kshesinskaya mansionwasn’t turned into a Museum of Anti-Bolshevism l

The Aurora

Cyclist by Natalia Goncharova

Travel and trips

decaying and slightly menacing place, but Eve is determinedto make this new life work.

Teaming up with an interfering lodger and a group of localmums, she sets about making the playground the heart ofthe community. The novel takes a dark turn when a terribleaccident is blamed on her. Eve must forge her independence,and realise that the playground is not a place to hide fromadulthood.

Julia says she’s uncomfortable talking about what the book isabout. “I spoke to my brother [musician Nick Kelly] about thisand his theory – though he would relate it to music – is thatother people will tell you what the book is about. It will beyears later that you realise what it is you were trying to say. Ihave a sense of what I was trying to say, but it’s hard, ormaybe too early, to define itexactly,” she says.

FictionalHer starting point was when shesubmitted a manuscript about ateacher who goes to California.“But I was writing about a placeI didn’t know terribly well anddeep down I just knew it wasn’tworking. While I was coming toterms with all that I began tothink about the playground nearwhere I live, and the people I metthere, because I spent a lot oftime there.”

So while the setting andcharacters are inspired by herimmediate environment, theevents of the book are entirelyfictional.

Does she worry that people could identify themselves in herwriting? “Sometimes I wish I wrote science fiction orsomething like that because the last thing I want to do isupset anyone if they thought I wrote about them in aparticular way. A couple of close friends live in NorthernIreland and delight in telling stories and I find I’m drawn incompletely. Not by the actual stories but in the tiny littledetails of how they relate to each other, their body language,things like that. All the characters are fictional but I wantto get all of the little details absolutely right and asaccurate as possible, so I do draw upon those littledetails,” she explains.

The only person in the novel who’s completely basedon a real person is based on Kelly’s mother, whopassed away in 2012. “I suppose I wanted to be ableto say goodbye to her and pay tribute to her toobecause she was such a brilliant character,” shesays.

BroadenedDoes she feel that the borders of her fictional worldhave broadened with two novels under her belt? “Atthe time of my first novel I was reluctant to think ofit as autobiographical, but then I suppose most firstnovels are and I can see that now.

“I remember being very nervous about writingdialogue but I feel much more at home with that now

“I’M SHY by nature, so the part where you have to go out andmeet people and talk about the book is the bit I findterrifying,” says Julie Kelly. She had a breakthrough successwith her first novel, With My Lazy Eye, which won a clutch ofawards and glowing reviews on its publication in 2008.

I caught up with her a couple of weeks before the launch ofher second book, The Playground, and she confessed to beingnervous and a little apprehensive about publicising the work.

The novel’s about a woman called Eve who’s putting her lifeback together again. Her partner has walked out on her. She’smoved into a tiny flat with her baby daughter on the outskirtsof Dublin. She has no job. A local playground is a tired,


From the authorand I quite enjoy it. So my confidence has grown and I feelmuch more able to trust my own instincts. I’m still very self-critical but this novel feels much more me, just trusting whatworks and what doesn’t.”

She believes that you have to have a passion for what you’rewriting about. “You have to be preoccupied by it, to becompletely immersed. It becomes kind of obsessive.” AndKelly says the characters took up residency in her head whilethe book was being written.

“I love the idea of writing about what goes on behind closeddoors. This book is set around a square, all these people livefacing one another. You have that outward stillness of aresidential neighbourhood, but I’m intrigued by the hive ofactivity beyond that and those bursts of activity as they all

interact. It’s also quite dark.Somebody told me they felt asthough a lot of it takes place atnight”.

The book does evoke the gloaminglight of late autumn and the senseof decay that hangs around theedges of an old seaside town.Kelly’s gift as a novelist is to evoketime and place and location with alevel of intimate detail that bringsthe story alive.

She was also influenced by theexperience of becoming a mother.“People are constantly offeringunsolicited advice about raisingchildren. The advice is oftenconflicting and mothers of youngchildren are so sensitive tocriticism. At the same time youwant to protect your child from

everything, and part of the experience of being a parent isrealising you can’t do that.

That’s what the book is partly about; a woman who comesthrough that after a trauma in her life, who grows and learnsto trust her own instincts.” As if confirming the trust she hasfound in her instincts as a writer, on the night the book islaunched, Julia receives the good news that The Playground isalready due for its second print run.

Interview by Niall Shanahan l

Trust your instincts

JULIA KELLY was the firstwriter profiled in Work &Life when her first novel waspublished in 2008. Werecently caught up with herto talk about her latest book.

Kelly’s gift is to evoke timeand place and location with a

level of intimate detail thatbrings the story alive. The book evokes the

gloaming light of late autumnand the sense of decay thathangs around the edges of

an old seaside town.


Quercus Publishing has given us two copiesof The Playground to give away. To be inwith a chance of winning, send the answerto this question to: Book competition, Work& Life magazine, IMPACT, Nerney’s Court, Dublin1. Make sure it reaches us before Friday 28th November 2014.

What was Julia Kelly’s first novel called?

Only one entry per person. Multiple entries will not be considered.

Win acopy

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last summer to underpin temporary pay reductions under the Haddington Road agreement.

“Next year we certainly will have to engage with the unions on the orderly winding down of FEMPI, who should benefit first, and how that should be done over time. It is not going to be a big bang, because that would undo all the good work we have done over three years. There has to be an orderly wind-down as opposed to a sudden ending,” Mr Howlin said.

IMPACT had already indicated that it would seek talks on pay restoration once the Government met its 3% deficit target. This is expected to happen next year. There has been no formal approach to IMPACT or other unions at this stage. Unions are expected to consult with each other over negotiating priorities over the coming weeks.

IMPACT said the minister’s comments were encouraging and said pay must move as the economy comes out of recession. The union’s general secretary Shay Cody said wage recovery was essential to improve reduced living standards and encourage domestic spending, which would create more jobs.

PUBLIC EXPENDITURE minister Brendan Howlin has said there will be negotiations next year on the start of public service pay and pension restoration. But he warned that the pay cuts of recent years would not be restored all at once.

IMPACT welcomed Howlin’s statement, which came two months after the union outlined its priorities for pay restoration in the public, private and community sectors at its delegate conference last May. The minister said he wanted talks with unions on the “unravelling” of pay cuts introduced under emergency legislation since 2009.

The ‘FEMPI’ (Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest) legislation was introduced by the last Government, which imposed the so-called ‘pension levy’ in 2009 plus cuts to pay rates in 2010 and cuts to pensions in 2011. FEMPI was also used

Union business

PUBLIC PAY RECOVERY MOOTED

IMPACT MEMBERS working in the Limerick group hospitals are maintaining industrial action in protest at the chief operations manager’s €250,000 salary, which is being paid through a management consultancy firm.

The union has been corresponding with the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which has questioned HSE bosses about the scandal. The matter was also the subject of a Labour Relations Commission hearing over the summer.

Staff are refusing to report to, or cooperate with, the manager in an action supported in a ballot by 90% of the IMPACT members in Ennis general hospital, Limerick regional hospital, Limerick maternity hospital, Croom orthopaedic hospital and Nenagh general hospital.

IMPACT assistant general secretary Andy Pike said the action was designed to highlight the opposition of hospital staff to the excessive and unwarranted salary payments being made through a management consultancy.

“The HSE director general has said the mid-west hospital group needs additional

Shay Cody

The Workplace Relations Bill, which was finally published at the end of July, will give statutory force to Government plans to reform the state’s official industrial relations structures. The move, which has been largely welcomed by trade unions, will see just two bodies – a new Workplace Relations Commission and a strengthened Labour Court – replace five existing authorities.

The bodies set to be merged into the new structure are the Labour Relations Commission, the National Employment Rights Authority, the Equality Tribunal, the Employment Appeals Tribunal and the Labour Court.

The new arrangements are designed to reduce delays and simplify the system, while making it easier to use and understand. Complaints and appeals currently being dealt with by employment appeals tribunals will remain in the EAT process.

IR bodies in shake-up


Overpaid consultants dispute rolls on

administration staff to provide vital services to patients. The money spent employing just one management consultant would cover the costs of at least five clerical staff to help the hospitals cope with increasing demands.

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IN BRIEF

Tax warningTHE IRISH Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) has warned that any tax cuts in the forthcoming budget would be funded by reduced public spending or increased taxes elsewhere. Its pre-budget submission said tax reform should instead come in the form of refundable tax credits, which would create jobs and make the tax system fairer. ICTU also called for a wealth tax, increased employers’ PRSI on high incomes, reform of capital acquisitions tax, and higher duties on tobacco, sugar, salt, saturated fat and online betting.

Action overIMPACT MEMBERS at South Dublin County Council have ended their industrial action after the union accepted proposals to resolve the dispute over management’s unilateral withdrawal of acting payments. IMPACT national secretary Peter Nolan said the union’s objectives had been met. “We sought the restoration of the payments cut from staff in April, as well as an independent review of the council’s staffing structure,” he said.

Enable staff winSTAFF IN Enable Ireland are to get the protections of the Haddington Road agreement (HRA) after IMPACT successfully took a case to the Labour Relations Commission. The outcome is significant because Enable Ireland is a ‘section 39’ agency that receives HSE funding, but whose staff are not directly employed as public servants. The union took the case after management tried to impose HRA pay cuts and increased hours, without the deal’s protections on compulsory redundancies, redeployment and other issues.

Sickness soarsOCCUPATIONAL ILLNESS has soared since 2008 according to new Health and Safety Authority (HSA) figures. Over 50,200 people were absent from work for one or more days due to work-related illness in 2012, a 20% increase over 2008. The number of absences for four or more days increased by a massive 60% in the same period. The agency also reported 47 work-related fatalities and 6,598 accidents last year, both slightly below the rolling five-year average of 48 and 6,988 respectively.


THE GOVERNMENT should introduce rent controls as an emergency measure to deal with a growing housing and homelessness crisis, according to IMPACT.

Speaking at a conference hosted by the union’s Boards and Voluntary Agencies branch in September, IMPACT deputy general secretary Kevin Callinan said rapid rent increases were making housing unaffordable. Rents in Dublin have soared by over 10% in the last year.

“There is an urgent need for the Government to intervene in the housing market. In the short-term that must include greater security for private tenants, with rent increases linked to the consumer price index. In the medium and long-term it requires a massive investment in sustainable social housing,” said Kevin.

Father Peter McVerry said increased rents were now the main cause of homelessness. “The rent supplement, at least in urban areas where most homeless people are to be found, is totally inadequate,” he said.

He said the homelessness crisis will worsen because rising house prices will trigger repossessions of tens of thousands of homes in mortgage arrears. Already, the shortage of social housing in Dublin meant private rented housing is “virtually closed as an exit from homelessness,” he said.

Tánaiste Joan Burton told the meeting that the Government would publish a new housing strategy with the October budget. This is expected to make commitments to build more social housing and reactivate existing stock. “We are setting in train a construction programme to triple the number of houses built to 25,000 by 2020,” she said.

LOCAL TALKS over annual service plans for water provision are taking place between unions and management. Each local authority must produce an annual service plan under its Irish Water service level agreement, which guarantees that staff in local authorities will continue to provide water services. As part of a wider set of commitments over the establishment of Irish Water, IMPACT won agreement that unions would be involved in the service plan process, which will determine staffing levels. IMPACT national secretary Eamonn Donnelly said the unions and management had agreed at national level that 2014 staffing levels would be the starting point for discussions on annual service plans. “We do not intend to allow local management or the department to move off that position,” he said.

Water talks

Rent controls

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Liz Clarke from Dublin Simon Communities spoke.

HSE admin staff levels


AS FEW as 2% of all health service staff work in non-frontline clerical, administrative and management roles, accordingto a briefing paper published by IMPACT over the summer.

The report, Health service clerical, administrative andmanagement staffing levels, shows that clerical, administrativeand management staff make up just 15.5% of total healthservice personnel – down from 16% in July2009.

But only 13% of staff in the category workin corporate and shared services, while wellover 85% of them provide direct support tothose performing ‘front-line’ roles.

The IMPACT paper, which draws on officialHSE personnel census figures, shows thatby far the largest number of health serviceclerical, administrative and managementstaff work in acute hospital services (over47% of the total) and non-acute hospitalservices (over 33% of the total).

Numbers downThe figures also show that, between March2009 and July 2013, clerical, adminis -trative and management staff numbers fell by more than anyother category of health staff except ‘general support.’ Whileoverall health staffing is down almost 10%, clerical and adminnumbers have fallen by over 13%.

The biggest reductions were at the lowest-paid level of clericalofficer and the highest levels of management. The number of

grade IIIs fell by over 22% and the next biggest fall was amongthe top grade of directors, down over 19%.

IMPACT national secretary Louise O’Donnell has presentedthe paper to the union’s Health and Welfare council, whichincludes reps from all the union’s health service branches.

“Most admin staff are working at the so-called front line, andthose who don’t are providing vital back-up inIT, finance, HR and other important supportfunctions. Clerical and admin staffing has beencut to the bone in most areas, yet we still keephearing politicians and commentators say thereare too many administrators. IMPACT is goingto use these figures to continue to debunk thatmyth,” she said.

Top heavy?The report also blasts the myths that the adminstream swelled during the economic boom, andthat admin staffing is ‘top heavy’ or largelymade up of well-paid senior managers. Almost70% of the category are grade III or grade IVworkers – 40% are grade IIIs.

Conversely, the number of senior managers hasnever exceeded 1.2% of total health service staffing and iscurrently slightly lower at 1.1%. Taken together, the numberof senior and middle managers has never exceeded 4.6% oftotal health service staffing.

The figures include staff in the HSE, major hospitals andsome voluntary agencies l

Health bureaucratmyth busted

A new IMPACT report finds that as few as 2% ofhealth workers are in non-front line clerical, admin

and management roles. BERNARD HARBOR reports.

“The report blaststhe myths that the

admin stream swelledduring the economic

boom, and that adminstaffing is ‘top heavy’or largely made up of

well-paid seniormanagers.”

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UHI plans in doubt

Jobs growth safety risk

The future of Government plans to introduce universal health insurance (UHI) have been thrown into doubt after two senior ministers expressed concerns over the proposals championed by former health minister James Reilly.

Incoming health minister Leo Varadkar has said the planned date for the introduction of UHI was “too ambitious,” while incoming Tánaiste Joan Burton has also urged caution over the proposal. She said the Dutch system, on which Doctor Reilly’s plans were modelled, took years to put in place and was more expensive than expected.

Mr Varadkar said the proposed timetable for rolling out UHI would not now be met and refused to give a firm deadline for its introduction.

IMPACT has been spearheading a campaign against the current UHI proposals, which the union says will create more inequality in access to health services while costing hard-pressed families far too much.

Earlier in the summer, IMPACT warned UHI could cost a family of four as much as €3,600 a year. Speaking at the MacGill summer school in Donegal, the union’s national secretary Louise O’Donnell said the biggest UHI burden would fall on families that currently have no health insurance and no medical card.

“It’s safe to assume that most people in this category, which could be said to typify the so-called ‘squeezed middle,’ simply cannot afford private health insurance,” she said.

The union has dismissed a health department consultation on the proposal as a “sham” because it did not allow consideration of any approach except the ‘competing insurers’ model favoured by former minister Reilly. The union wants the Government to look at models from France, Germany and the Nordic countries where there is equality of access to high quality, well-funded and efficient health services.

IMPACT and other health unions have commissioned research into UHI and the alternatives, which will inform the next stage of its campaign.

Union business

IN BRIEF

Ag group formed A WORKING group has been established by the Labour Relations Commission to determine the duties that can be allocated to agriculture department technical staff. IMPACT sees the establishment of the group, whose findings will be binding on both sides, as a significant step in formalising agricultural technician roles. The union nominated its former general secretary Peter McLoone to the group, which is to report by October.

Employer snubs court THE ALZHEIMER Society of Ireland has refused to implement a Labour Court recommendation that four of its regional managers should get decent redundancy packages. IMPACT official Ashley Connolly said a claim on behalf of the workers, and attempts to engage in a Labour Relations Commission conciliation process, had also been snubbed. She said the staff had been let go after being forced to re-apply for positions within the organisation, despite being told that redeployment options would be made available. “The terms recommended by the Court are not onerous and the society’s accounts show they are able to pay,” she said.

Rights law in 2014NEW BUSINESS and employment minister Ged Nash says he wants new legislation on collective bargaining rights “enacted by the end of this year.” He said a bill was currently being prepared to “significantly strengthen the rights of workers in companies that refuse to engage in collective bargaining, while strengthening statutory protection to guard against the victimisation of workers in such companies.” See interview on page 10.

Tulsa admin reviewA REVIEW of clerical and administrative structures in Tusla, the child and family agency, is now underway. IMPACT has pushed hard for the exercise, which is expected to examine staffing levels, including shortfalls and disparities between different areas. It will also look at the roles and responsibilities of clerical and admin staff. A small number of pilot exercises are being carried out and IMPACT has organised information meetings in pilot areas.


IMPACT HAS criticised the continuing fall in the number of health and safety inspections after the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) said less than 12,250 took place last year. This compares to over 13,000 in 2012 and over 16,000 five years ago.

The union says the decline in safety inspections, which is due to falling staff numbers in the agency, could put lives at risk as the number of people at work – particularly in harzardous sectors like construction – continues to grow.

IMPACT official Geraldine O’Brien said three front-line inspectors have been redeployed from the HSA over the last 12 months, which could result in over 900 fewer inspections. “What’s more, a further five front-line inspection posts have been earmarked for future redeployment to meet official staffing reduction targets. Meanwhile, the number of people working in often hazardous workplaces continues to grow,” she said.

In their introduction to the HSA’s annual report, its chair Michael Horgan and chief executive Martin O’Halloran echoed the union’s concerns saying welcome employment growth “may be accompanied by an unwelcome rise in the rate of people being killed and injured in workplace accidents.”

The HSA’s budget fell 27% between 2009 and 2014. Last year saw both the president of the National Irish Safety Organisation Pauric Corrigan and HSA chairman Michael Horgan warn that continuing staff losses could lead to a reduction in standards and an increase in workplace injuries and costs.

Wonder


Sport

Whether it’s rugby, soccer, GAA or camogie, women’s sport is going from strength to strength. KEVIN NOLAN looks at the women blazing up the pitch, the track, the boxing ring and the sponsors’ chequebooks.

They dedicated their lives to sport, capturing medals – with not a whole lot more than friends and family really clued in – before retiring without much fanfare or farewell.

Every now and then people at home would sit up and take notice when someone like Sonia O’Sullivan or Catherina McKiernan would make waves internationally. But for most, watching women’s sport was only a flight of fancy.

But times have changed and women’s sport in Ireland has come a long way, especially in recent years. The term ‘Irish sporting hero’ is no longer reserved for the men. Ireland’s women sports stars take centre stage and are celebrated as they should be. The likes of Fiona Coughlan, Katie Taylor and Derval O’Rourke are heroes to many. And they are not the only ones.

HISTORY WAS made as the final whistle sounded in the Ireland women’s rugby world cup game against New Zealand. With one complete performance these players did what their male counterparts have never done - they beat the mighty Black Ferns.

Although they were six nations grand slam champions in 2013, their victory over New Zealand – the Kiwis’ first defeat in a world cup game in 23 years – catapulted the Irish team onto the front and back pages, and focused the country on their world cup campaign.

They went on to beat Kazakhstan in their final pool game, topped the group and secured a semi-final spot against England. Although they lost to the eventual champions, they were still lauded for what was universally viewed as a very successful tournament.

In the days leading up to the semi-final, women’s rugby led sports news bulletins and graced the news and sport pages of the national press. The level of coverage was unprecedented.

Of course, there have been plenty of female Irish sports stars over the years. Footballers who’ve won ten all-Ireland medals (An Corcaigh abú!), soccer players with European medals (think of that dynamic Arsenal duo, Emma Byrne and Yvonne Tracy) and athletes whose national records still stand.

Outstanding Almost all of them achieved outstanding feats and did remarkable things without garnering too much attention.

Every sport, big and small, has a female role model and star. Someone for the next generation to look up to. Sailing has Annalise Murphy, triathlon has Aileen Reid, swimming has Grainne Murphy, and there are many more too. Each one is an elite athlete in their field. They feature in the media, are sponsored athletes and are top performers. They lead by example.

TrailblazersAs does the Ladies Gaelic Football Association. They are trailblazers who have introduced rule changes that have had a positive effect on their game including the sin bin, the hooter and the clock.

The LGFA has even been brave enough to put a camera on the referee. They have over 150,000 registered members and the numbers are rising year-on-year.

Under the stewardship of Eamonn Ryan, the Cork ladies team has dominated the championship for the past decade.

Cork women’s GAA squad Emma Byrne, Ireland

Katie Taylor

women


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Unlike in the past, playing in Croke Park or Páirc Uí Chaoimh isn’t an honour the women have to fight for anymore, with many of the games now shown live on TG4.

The same goes for the women’s rugby and soccer teams. During Ireland’s last six nations campaign they played England at Twickenham and Italy at Lansdowne Road after the men’s games. Their world cup games were shown on TG4 and Sky Sports. All very significant steps on the ladder.

A recent FAI deal with Setanta to show all Ireland’s friendlies included the women’s games. Undoubtedly the recent success of the Irish women’s under-19 soccer team at the UEFA European championships made this an attractive proposition for the sports channel. The side beat Spain, England and Sweden to top their group before losing out to the Netherlands at the semi-final stage.

As well as being boosted by having their live games broadcast, Continental Tyres has become the main sponsor of the Irish

women’s national soccer team and title sponsor of the women’s national league competition. Attracting this high profile sponsor demonstrates the growing popularity of the game as well as its potential to grow an audience.

These new developments will help raise the profile of the game in Ireland. As did Raheny United’s exploits in the champions league, and the presence of Irish players at English clubs like Arsenal’s Emma Byrne and, until recently, Ciara Grant and Yvonne Tracy.

In England women’s sports are going from strength to strength. The English RFU’s announcement of a new strategy to increase the number of women playing – by 10,000 to 25,000 within three years – is testament to this.

Their world cup win, along with the coverage their games received, has dramatically raised the profile of the women’s game. Twenty players have been placed on central contracts, allowing them to train full-time. A move that will be watched with much interest – and envy – in Ireland.

While women’s sport is lagging behind on the professional front here at home, the participation numbers are very impressive. As it stands 40% of women in Ireland currently participate in sport, while a staggering 170,000 volunteer every year. It’s worth noting that half of Athletics Ireland’s members are women too

Yvonne Tracy, Ireland

Lynne Cantwell, Ireland, is tackled by Rachael Burford, left, and Emily Scarratt, England. 2014 Women’s Rugby World Cup semi-final.

46

Just answer five easyquestions and you could win €50.YOU COULD add €50 to your wallet orpurse by answering five easy questionsand sending your entry, name andaddress to Roisin Nolan, Work & Lifeprize quiz, IMPACT, Nerney’s Court,Dublin 1. Get your entry in by Friday 28thNovember 2014. We’ll send €50 to thefirst completed entry pulled from thehat.* You’ll find the answers in this issueof Work & Life.

Who or what is Sumac? A Manchester United’s new centre half.B A spice made from crushed sour

berries.C A marketing abbreviation of

Supermacs.

How many US office and administrativepositions disappeared between 2004and 2009? A 300,000.B Three million.C 30,000.

What was Julia Kelly’s first novel called? A With My Lazy EyeB With My Wilful Ways.C With My Dodgy Back.

Super junior minister Ged Nash wants toget collective bargaining laws into place:A This year? B Next year?C Never?

The Protected Disclosures Act gives newprotections to:A Bullying victims?B Union representatives? C Workplace whistleblowers?

The small print*You must be a paid-up IMPACT member to win. Only one entry per person (multiple entries will notbe considered). Entries must reach us by Friday 28thNovember 2014. The editor’s decision is final. That’s it!

Win Win Win

Prize quiz

Winners! The winners from competitions in the summer-autumn issue were:

Crossword: Antoinette Carney, Sligo. Survey: Billy Roberts, Wicklow. Quiz: Niall Cotter, South Tipperary.

Lots more competitions to enter in this issue!

Win €50 by completing the crossword and sending your entry, name and address to Roisin Nolan, Work & Life crossword, IMPACT, Nerney’s Court, Dublin 1, by Friday 28th November 2014.

We’ll send €50 to the first correct entry pulled from a hat.

ACROSS2. A place full of danger,

naturally (6)5. Usually unseen but at tea I

see this place (5)8. Agitation in favour of exam

(7)10. The patient man gets this

task (3)11. One nothing can result in X

(3)14. I leave America and shoot

with this (6)16. Tom needs this for a lift (5)18. 3, 3. Part of a Christmas

gift (1,4,4)20. Mixed result for this rugby

team (6)21. Conservative Island (4)22. Religious leader invites you

and you to tea (4)24. A star but no a star (3)25. He will see nothing but hear

twice (4)27/7D A gent is a goose vendor

(5,4)29. Expensive type of address

(4)30. This time we are returning

(3)31. X (4)32. A crime by Clare in New

York initially (7)

DOWN1. See you Garda (6)3. Do. Do. Do. (3)4. It’s high time in this film (4)

win€50


The survey1. What did you think of the articles in the autumn-

winter 2014 issue of Work & Life?

Excellent o

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Awful o

Comments ________________________________________

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

2. What did you think of the layout, style and pictures inthe autumn-winter 2014 issue of Work & Life?

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Comments ________________________________________

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3. What were your favourite three articles?

1 __________________________________________________

2 __________________________________________________

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4. What were your least favourite articles?

1 __________________________________________________

2 __________________________________________________

3 __________________________________________________

5. What subjects would you like to see in future issuesof Work & Life?

1 __________________________________________________

2 __________________________________________________

3 __________________________________________________

6. What did you think of the balance between unionnews and other articles?

The balance is about right o

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7. Any other comments? ______________________________

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__________________________________________________

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Name ________________________________________________

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How do you likeWork & Life?WE HOPE you enjoyed this issue of Work & Life, the

magazine for IMPACT members. We want to hear yourviews, and we’re offering a €100 prize to one lucky

winner who completes this questionnaire.

Simply complete this short survey and send it to Roisin Nolan,Work & Life survey, IMPACT, Nerney’s Court, Dublin 1. You can also

send your views by email to [email protected].

We’ll send €100 to the first completed entry pulled from a hat.*

win€100

Your view

The small print*You must be a paid-up IMPACT member to win. Only one entry per person (multiple entries will not be considered).

Entries must reach us by Friday 28th November 2014. The editor’s decision is final. That’s it!


6. Let Abe eat here periodically (5)

7. See 27 Across

9. At best I’m a ten I reckon (8)

12. Lads that is, or maybe not! (6)

14. You see a bee in this country (4)

15. Room on the calendar (5)

17. TI could be 35, 40 or 45 (4,4)

18. It’s clear these are items (8)

19. Round and round, by this device you will be

found (5)

24. National condition (5)

26. Shapely cricket ground (4)

28. Using only one would be a bit of a risk (3)

Crossw

ord composed by

Seamus H

alpenny

PRIZE CROSSWORD

win€50

HOW TO PLAY: Fill in the grid so that every row, columnand 3x3 box contains the digits 1–9.There is no maths involved. You solve itwith reasoning and logic.

S U DO K U

Easy

Difficult

4 6 1

1 7

9 2 4 6

5 2 8 7

8 1 3 5 9 2

3 7 1 8

8 3 2 6

9 7

9 1 3

3 6 8 9

5 8 6

1 3

6 2 4

2 4 5 8

5 9 2

8 3

5 7 1

6 4 8 7

1 2 3 4 5 6

7

8 9 10

11 12

13 14 15

16 17

18 19

20

21

22 23 24

25 26

27 28 29

30

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policy of impact tradeunion

impact membersthe super

new rights