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Deputy General Secretary of the union John Kelleher Photocall Ireland

Another union votes in favour of Haddington Road deal

The Association of Higher and Civil Public Servants has voted 64 to 36 per cent to back the agreement.

Updated at 15.30

THE ASSOCIATION OF Higher Civil and Public Servants has voted to back Government proposals aimed at reducing the public pay bill by €1 billion between now and 2015.

A spokesperson for the union confirmed to TheJournal.ie that members had voted to accept the Haddington Road deal by a margin of 64 to 36 per cent. There was a 76 per cent turn-out.

The AHCPS were among a group of unions who rejected the Croke Park 2 deal earlier this year, before revised proposals were hammered out at the Labour Relations Commission.

The organisation represents just over 3,000 senior civil servants and managers in the commercial and non-commercial state sectors.

General Secretary of the AHCPS Dave Thomas said the new agreement was “a modest improvement” on the earlier deal, and went some way towards addressing “the manifest inequalities” of Croke Park 2. He continued:

…we are concerned at recent signals from Government suggesting cuts in income tax, while simultaneously continuing to cut public sector pay. It is precisely this type of approach that served to drive Ireland’s economic collapse.

We would suggest to those in Government that it would be wise not to repeat the mistakes of the past.

Two other major unions came on board yesterday, with the Irish Medical Organisation – representing the country’s doctors – and the Civil and Public Service Union, which represents lower-paid public workers, both accepting the deal.

UNITE remains the only union to have rejected the proposals after a ballot, following a recommendation from its top officials.

Both of the secondary teachers’ unions, the ASTI and the TUI – which originally rejected the plans without ballots – have arranged to ballot their members in light of the outcomes of other votes.

The Haddington Road measures are due to come into effect from next Monday, and the agreement is set to run for three years.

Read: Gardaí, nurses and midwives sign up to new Haddington Road pay deal

More: TUI, ASTI recommend ballot of members on Haddington Road pay deal

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24 Comments
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    Mute gingerman
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    Jun 28th 2013, 2:49 PM

    Anyone over 65k should give up their membership of the Union. What are they giving them around €500 a year for? Sweet FA. I gave mine up when the union said I should take my third cut in 4 years. Now down 30%. Oh and they also asked me to think like a moron and expect the latest cut to be reversed in 5 years time! I have clawed back 15 % of the latest cut by stopping my payment to these useless spineless union toe rags

    72
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    Mute Robbie Redmond
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    Jun 28th 2013, 3:20 PM

    I will just repeat this, the present unions leadership has become too comfortable and needs to go they are spineless

    51
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    Mute Anton
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    Jun 28th 2013, 3:02 PM

    “…the agreement is set to run for three years.”

    Unless it doesn’t suit the government any more, in which case all bets are off. Croke Park 1 still has another year to run…

    €300 million disappears from the economy in the latter half of this year, €1 billion next year – and oh, look, there’s a story about Ireland entering recession again. Funny, that.

    58
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    Mute Ray Carney
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    Jun 28th 2013, 2:46 PM

    Another union sells-out to government bully tactics, still looking in the wrong places for savings and inefficiencies. Is there no end to these clueless idiots in government?

    48
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    Mute Realiity Offends
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    Jun 28th 2013, 2:20 PM

    And let that be it, a bit of stability needed lads.

    42
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    Mute Niall
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    Jun 28th 2013, 2:34 PM

    How can you say that on the same week these Anglo tapes are released????
    You wouldn’t mind taking a cut if it was going towards healthcare, roads, crime, education etc but it is going straight into loans on top of loans created by those banksters?
    stupid irish

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    Mute Realiity Offends
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    Jun 28th 2013, 2:43 PM

    I agree. Cutting money that drives the economy to pay for toxic debt… Would make you sad.

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    Mute Martin Jones
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    Jun 28th 2013, 2:49 PM

    I think you will find Niall that its going to paying back the disaster that was public sector benchmarking and any banking bailout was mainly the fault of incompetent regulation,again the public sectors fault. Count yourself lucky that you only got small cuts and your previous increments will more than make up for any loss you will suffer.

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    Mute Paul
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    Jun 28th 2013, 2:52 PM

    Benchmarking has already been paid back. Ask any public or civil servant how many cuts they have endured.

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    Mute Gary.
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    Jun 28th 2013, 3:01 PM

    Lol Martin every dog on the street knows its the fault of our greedy inept private sector and you know that only too well. You are only trying to get an argument going. ;)

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    Mute Anton
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    Jun 28th 2013, 3:06 PM

    Martin, benchmarking increases averaged 7%. Much more than that has already been clawed back between pay freezes, followed by pay cuts, followed by the pension levy, followed by more pay cuts.

    Oddly, the economy seems to be shrinking… I wonder why?

    As for increments – there is nothing unfair about them. And private sector employees get them, too…

    54
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    Mute Niall
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    Jun 28th 2013, 3:49 PM

    Martin,
    Please refer back to my comment again….., focus primarily on the part ‘stupid Irish’

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    Mute WanderArch
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    Jun 28th 2013, 4:08 PM

    The boyfriend just finished working a 29 hour shift in an Irish hospital.
    Knowing that, and knowing what conversations “bankers” have occurred, I can say with all of the gusto of a hurricane that you can take your comments and shove them where the figures came from, because this deal is now going to ensure that the poor conditions Irish doctors put up with on a daily basis in Irish hospitals is going to get worse. Doctors are *already* leaving, without making their conditions worse.
    I hope this agreement comes back and bites everyone in the figure plucking area when Ireland is trying to get nurses and doctors to live here, never mind work here.

    55
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    Mute Maria Dardis
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    Jun 28th 2013, 7:51 PM

    @Martin Jones bank disaster was private sector greed…

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    Mute richardmccarthy
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    Jun 29th 2013, 12:46 AM

    No it wasnt,it was bankers greed along with the public sector regulator failing to do his job.

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    Mute Taxi Bill
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    Jun 28th 2013, 4:42 PM

    Only commen:::- job for life (cant be sacked, even when asleep at wheel instead of protecting the taxpayer from the prats on the tapes!! ) and a nice big juicy pension.

    21
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    Mute Gary.
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    Jun 28th 2013, 5:04 PM

    Taxi Bill I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again “please learn how to spell you illiterate clown” :)

    18
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    Mute Taxi Bill
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    Jun 28th 2013, 6:27 PM

    My spelling may not be up to scratch ( using a mobile phone dont help) but my comment is true, even if you dont like it, I know it touches a raw nerve for an under performing public sector a high proportion who wouldnt last a week in most private companies ( you would have to work , and not throw a sickie at the drop of a hat!)

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    Mute Gary.
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    Jun 28th 2013, 7:18 PM

    “But my comment is true” that made me laugh, cheers. Where have you been hiding for the past few days? Did you not hear the Anglo tapes? Were they public sector employees? People like them caused this whole fiasco and yes Taxi Bill they were private sector workers. :)

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    Mute Elisabeth Butler
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    Jun 28th 2013, 6:06 PM

    It’s sad that all bar a handfull of unions let themselves be bullied into accepting this complete joke.
    Watch in 3 years time when stats come out about how little it actually saved the government and how much damage it caused to the economy.
    Stupid Irish is right, we’ve learnt nothing!

    14
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    Mute Taxi Bill
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    Jun 28th 2013, 7:57 PM

    Well you are right, they were not public sector, thats ehay we pay public sector prople to make sure tossers like the Anglo guys, get away with the crap they pulled. But thr PS people were asleep or stupid, both or didnt give a s***t because no matter what went down, they were not going to lose their jobs and pension. Where was the regulator, Central Bank, Dept of Finance, Government, If even a handful were doing what they were being paid to do, the Anglo and the rest would not be pulling figures out of their arses. It was no wonder the taped guys were taking the piss. Most people (except Enda et al!) with an ounce of cop- are not surprised by the content of the tapes, we are just surprised WE got to hear them.

    5
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    Mute Gary.
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    Jun 28th 2013, 8:24 PM

    Taxi Bill I’m still laughing at your last comment. So now you are saying “yes they were private sector employees and yes they caused a massive financial burden for our grandchildren BUT it was part of the public sectors fault for not keeping an eye on them” lololololololololololololololololololololololol cheers again for that laugh. :) they call that “passing the buck”
    I twisted my ankle last week playing rugby. I blame the private sector employee who a) made the boots b) planted the pitch I was playing on c) blah blah blah.

    3
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    Mute Taxi Bill
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    Jun 28th 2013, 10:38 PM

    You would soon complain if you fell on a great big rock or broke your leg on a hole that he should have been covered in.

    As the advert says ” ANGLO/AIB/BOI ETC, are (NOT) REGULATED by the finincial REGULATOR. they are sound asleep !ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ! sure tis fine we cant fired, we will get a nice big lumpsum and our golden pensions from the smuchs.ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

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    Mute Brian Tracey
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    Jun 28th 2013, 8:21 PM

    Splitters

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