Working hours of public service staff to be restored to those before austerity measures

The Government has accepted a recommendation that the working time of public service employees be restored to the levels they were at before austerity measures were introduced from 2013.

An independent body chaired by Kieran Mulvey recommended the restoration, which was accepted by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Michael McGrath.

It will mean public service employees in certain grades will no longer have to work the extra hours which were stipulated by the Haddington Road Agreement, introduced during a period of austerity.

The Fórsa union welcomed the announcement, which was made on Thursday. Its general secretary, Kevin Callinan, said the recommendation would be implemented from July 1st, and would remove a “long-standing and debilitating drain on public service morale and productivity”.

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Mr Callinan said: “The additional hours introduced under the 2013 Haddington Road Agreement (HRA) fell hardest on women with caring responsibilities, and have been increasingly counterproductive in terms of service delivery, morale and productivity.

“Fórsa has worked tirelessly to put this issue on the agenda and get it resolved, often in the face of scepticism about the prospect of success. The independent body’s recommendation, which is now accepted by the Government, will remove a deep grievance among many, mostly lower-paid, workers.”

Working week

The additional working hours were introduced in 2013 when the standard working time of civil and public servants increased to 39 hours per week for those who previously worked between 37 and 39 hours, and to 37 hours for those who previously worked 35 hours or less. The hours of those working 39 hours or more were unchanged.

The recommendation will see a return to the pre-July 2013 hours, albeit with a minimum working week of 35 hours. This will unwind the final element of the HRA’s austerity measures.

The independent body said it had taken account of the nine-year period in which the additional hours have been worked, the strain on the staff working the hours, and the “truly committed efforts of staff during the last two years in meeting patient, healthcare, population vaccine, security needs and the requirements of delivery for existing and new social welfare and pandemic payment measures”.

It said the additional hours had “undoubtedly contributed significantly to the national effort to recover from the global crisis of the last decade”.

Complex

Mr McGrath said: “This was an important and complex piece of work as it was a key provision of Building Momentum.”

He said the Minister for Health would arrange for immediate engagement with health sector unions to ensure safe implementation of the changes in the health sector.

“The past few years have been, and continue to be, a challenging time for all of us across the economy and society. The HRA hours have been in place for almost nine years now, and the Government is appreciative of the contributions made by all public servants throughout this time.

“This contribution has been, and still is, crucial to getting us through this difficult time, and the commitment shown by our healthcare workers and those on the frontline cannot be overstated.”