Issued by SIPTU Grassroots, 28th May 2013

[A bit excitable towards the end – DD] 

NO MEANS NO : VOTE NO TO CROKE PARK 3
There is nothing in the latest Croke Park deal for public sector workers. All of us – Gardai, teachers nurses, hospital staff, local authority workers, firemen – will still be robbed by €1 billion, just like the last time. If any group think they gain – it will only be because another group have lost.

EXTRA HOURS
• Everyone’s hours of work are being increased. Those under 35 hours go to 37. Those over 35, go to 39. Management can deploy these extra hours any way they want and can ‘aggregate’ them on a daily, weekly or annual basis. The extra hours at management discretion could be Christmas, new year and bank holiday weekends and every time they want you to cover summer holidays etc. So, really, your boss owns you.

PAY FREEZE UNTIL 2016
• If these proposals go through, workers will not get a pay rise for eight years, from 2008-2016 – even though we have to put up with property taxes, Universal Social Charge, water charges.

NEW ROSTERS TO CUT OUT OVERTIME PAYMENTS
• The increased hours will be used as an excuse for new rosters which will eliminate overtime payments, including Sunday working. Workers will have to co-operate on these changes.

FREE OVERTIME
• Those who work 39 hours will give away an hour’s free overtime a week until March 2014.

CUTS IN INCREMENTS AND OVERTIME RATES
• Those who earn over €35,000 – and that includes allowances – will see their overtime rates cut to time and a quarter. This ‘new norm’ will later be extended to everyone else. Other workers will have to give an extra six days work for free. Increments will also be cut.

MORE RE-DEPLOYMENT BEYOND 45 KILOMETRES AND MANAGEMENT BY STRESS
• There will be more re-deployment because managements will get ‘enhanced flexibility’. The 45 kilometres away norm can also be breached. Workers will also be subject to more individual ‘targets’ and where these are not met, there will be disciplinary measures and ‘exit mechanisms’.

The union leaders, who are pushing a Yes vote are trying to help their friends in the Labour Party. They are letting them tear up the existing agreement that runs to 2014 to take more from workers. They are also collaborating with a government to bring in laws that give the government power to change our hours and wages at the stroke of a pen.

We need to vote No – and drive the Labour Party hacks who dominate our unions out of office. If we vote No a second time, they will have to resign. Once that happens, our unions can democratically decide how to defend ourselves against a government that grabs everything from workers – and gives tax breaks to the rich.

DON’T FALL FOR SCARE TACTICS – ENOUGH IS ENOUGH – VOTE NO

Issued by SIPTU Grassroots. Phone 087 2839964 Facebook: SIPTU GRASSROOTS AGAINST CROKE PARK 2