Public Service work to rule?

becky said:
The non answering of phones is a form of industrial action which is short of strike action. The employer has been informed of the action according to the industrial relations act. The employer can decide to reduce pay for non performance of certain duties by say 10%.
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Could the HSE decide not to reduce the pay as above and issue formal warnings instead? Just asking out of curiosity.
 
Maybe the Government should do its own work to rule and refuse to collect union subscriptions at source for a start.
 
VOR said:
Could the HSE decide not to reduce the pay as above and issue formal warnings instead? Just asking out of curiosity.
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Yes they could do that and it actually has been mentioned. However, they could only do it for tasks/jobs which are listed as part of the industrial action. For example if the union state that there will be a work stoppage from 9 am - 1pm, the the employer can't discipline the staff member for not answering phones during this period. However, if staff continue not to answer the phone from 2 - 5 then the employer can take disciplinary action.
 
Henny Penny said:
I tried today to get through to revenue - no luck - phone message on answering service said due to industrial action 1890 number is not being answered.
Spoke to receptionist in dept of health today ... she said wtr was in operation but would try to put me through to a prinicipal officer whose union was not wtr ... after several attempts she informed me that they must all be sympathizing and that I should try tomorrow ... it'll probably be over by then!
Just one question ... why didn't someone in the government write 'responding to telephone queries' into the job description of civil servants?
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The not answering telephone calls is not part of the work to rule. It is part of an additional industrial action whereby certain tasks which would form part of our role profile eg preparing responses to Parliamentary Questions are not to be undertaken.
 
This work to rule - not answering phones / covering for other people - has nothing to do with enacting change. It's about making the union members FEEL as if they are doing something to enact change.

The Unions have been rendered impotent by their failure to maintain strike funds and their members failure to withstand a period - or even a day - without pay.

My company does a lot of work with the Public Sector and our experience with regards to the taking of phone calls has not been all that different to before this action. A number of my colleagues would be on site within the PS and confusion and mixed messages abound. But if it wasn't this it'd be something else. The overall level of productivity, from our perspective, is unchanged. However the members feel like they're doing something, and that's the main thing.
 
Heard someone on Morning Ireland complaining that the Passport Office is not answering their phones today and saying people going away this weekend will not be able to get their passport on tome. Do people really wait until the day before they are going away to look for a passport? Are they mad? Even if you have no intention of going away a passport as a means of identification is very handy to have and you never know when the chance of a holiday might come along.
 
So far, and you can correct me if I am wrong, we have:
- Not answering phones
- Delay in the reply to emails
- Not training new recruits
- Not issuing passports
- Working to the minimum expected under service levels
- Not attending to Dail questions.

Is that the list so far? I wonder what is next?
 
Howitzer
This work to rule - not answering phones / covering for other people - has nothing to do with enacting change. It's about making the union members FEEL as if they are doing something to enact change.

I agree unions have to be seen to be doing something because a strong messgae went back to the unions that srtike action wasn't a runner.

The Unions have been rendered impotent by their failure to maintain strike funds and their members failure to withstand a period - or even a day - without pay.

I agree. However, strike funds have always very little so a strike fund would have been of little use to me. My pay has been cut by €100 a week since this time last year and while I could manage a day here, not a hope on an ongoing basis.

My company does a lot of work with the Public Sector and our experience with regards to the taking of phone calls has not been all that different to before this action. A number of my colleagues would be on site within the PS and confusion and mixed messages abound. But if it wasn't this it'd be something else. The overall level of productivity, from our perspective, is unchanged. However the members feel like they're doing something, and that's the main thing.

It's hard to generalise here. There has been no change to output in my section. However, from next week we are not dealing with any FOI for example. Now I get maybe 4 a year so there will be no significant change here but other sections would have 3 or 4 a week.
 
Not fast tracking anything at a Minister's request (eg a passport needed in a hurry).
 
liaconn said:
Not fast tracking anything at a Minister's request (eg a passport needed in a hurry).
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If that's the way Ireland runs it's riduculous. What kind of a way is it to run a country whereby a minister has to get your passport.
 
He doesn't have to get your passport. He/She will sometimes request that one be processed extra quickly because a constituent needs one in a hurry.
 
liaconn said:
Not fast tracking anything at a Minister's request (eg a passport needed in a hurry).
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See, the thing is, is this something that is really required? Arguably in any work environment it's good practice to occaisionally just stop doing certain tasks and see what happens.

If anyone was so inclined this would be a fantastic opportunity to rationalise the workload within their office. Stop doing busy work. Focus on the real world.
 
liaconn said:
Not fast tracking anything at a Minister's request (eg a passport needed in a hurry).
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I am with the unions on that one. Jaysus, I feel weird now after saying that. Absolute joke that a leader of a government department would still have his/her hands on the parish pump.
 
Howitzer said:
See, the thing is, is this something that is really required? Arguably in any work environment it's good practice to occaisionally just stop doing certain tasks and see what happens.

If anyone was so inclined this would be a fantastic opportunity to rationalise the workload within their office. Stop doing busy work. Focus on the real world.
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Like not answering parliamentary questions?
 
In normal circumstances if an individual staff member decided not to answer phones would that be acceptable within the public sector? Would it not lead eventually to disciplinary action.

Disciplinary action should lead to a strike, and since the workers seemingly won't strike the whole thing would collapse in days. So in theory the government can call the unions bluff by finding a reason to suspend a few workers.

But perhaps the government and unions are colluding into allowing the action go on long enough so that the initial purpose of reversing paycuts can be changed into stopping future paycuts and re-entering some sort of "partnership" negotiations. Much like the quick fizzling out of resistance to the pension levy. Dressed up as victory for the unions and a show of conciliation from the government.

I seem to remember unions blustering about massive industrial action back in Decemeber, whatever this is it's not massive - scarcely any worse than before is the common judgement.




(There is a beneficial side to WTRs as they give an insight into normal work practices e.g. why does Cork even have a passport office, does any other city outside the capital have one, is it not just a proxy via post/courier for Dublin anyway - can this office be justified.

Then ASTI's threat of a WTR on standing in for retired middle management helped highlight that in 50 teacher school, around 10 will be assistant principals in addition to the principal and deputy principal. A somewhat high ratio of mgmt to staff that to the cynics seems designed as a pension boosting arrangement)
 
Where do people see this going? The government obviously doesn't have the money and if anything further cuts could be on the cards. What do the unions honestly expect to achieve (apart from disruption)?
 
Well, for a start, a warning to the Government that they cannot just keep coming back to public servants, like a handy piggy bank, everytime they need to make cuts. Some people have already cut back to the bone and really can't cut back anymore unless it's on food bills/mortgage/electricity.

Also, the fact that some very senior Civil Servants did not get the same paycut as everyone else, due to their bonus being counted as core wage. has not helped the mood. 'Animal Farm' as someone called it.
 
He doesn't have to get your passport. He/She will sometimes request that one be processed extra quickly because a constituent needs one in a hurry.
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That's an absolute disgrace!
So normal people have to wait that little but longer then? while the local TD exerts their power.
We may now have better TVs and mobile phones, but other than that, Ireland is still firmly in the 1950s.

'Visit Ireland for the 50's experience' should be the tourism board's slogan.


(Actually, at least in the 1950s we still had some rail infrastructure left)
 
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