LOWER-PAID civil servants are expected to be offered an additional two days of annual leave in return for the loss of privilege days at Christmas and Easter.
However, the lower-paid clerical staff, represented by the CPSU, are likely to lose their controversial “bank time” from January.
Civil servants recruited before 2003 are entitled to 30 minutes off every week or fortnight – depending on how frequently they are paid – to facilitate the cashing of cheques, yet the vast bulk are paid by electronic cash transfer.
The Department of Finance has sought to remove both bank time and privilege days as part of reforms under the Croke Park agreement. The department is to bring new proposals to Civil Service trade unions at a meeting today. However, it is unclear whether it will set out a timetable today for when more senior grades will lose their privilege days.
Several weeks ago, the Department of Finance proposed that the 30-minute bank time for staff should be abolished from November and privilege days would be addressed next spring. However, the CPSU objected to this timetable. In a circular to members last month, it said it had opposed the separation of these two issues by the Department of Finance.
The CPSU said that other unions representing staff in the Civil Service had objected to the Department of Finance setting out its position on privilege days before April of next year.
The union said the original Department of Finance plan would mean its members would lose bank time immediately, but higher-grade staff could avail of privilege days at Christmas.
CPSU general secretary Blair Horan said his members only had about 20 days’ annual leave – the basic EU minimum – while other grades had up to 31 days’ leave.