Madam, - The recent Labour Court ruling on decentralisation has exposed the Government's lie about the supposedly "voluntary" nature of this programme.
As a private sector employee married to a civil servant, I have always taken exception to the arbitrary nature of the programme, which was further compounded by the fact that my spouse may only successfully apply for promotion if we will agree to decentralise.
I strongly disagree with the Labour Court's contention that the involuntary nature of the decentralisation programme will not affect civil servants as much as FÁS employees because they have more transfer options available to them within Government Departments. This would be true only if civil servants who wish to remain in Dublin were allowed to register their preferences for transfer to other Government Departments and offices.
Following Charlie McCreevy's announcement in 2003, the Central Applications Facility (CAF) was set up to allow civil servants willing to decentralise to register their preferences. Those who wished to remain in Dublin were told that a Dublin Central Applications Facility would be set up to facilitate them. However, a Dublin CAF, or "Decaff" as it is ironically called by Dublin refuseniks, has never been set up. I would suggest that this is because there are more civil servants who wish to remain in Dublin, for one good reason or another, than there are posts to accommodate them.
Many Dublin-based civil servants, particularly those represented by the Public Service Executive Union (PSEU), are thankful for Siptu's advocacy of the concerns of its FÁS members, which has finally led to official recognition of the unjust nature of decentralisation. The unwillingness of the PSEU similarly to represent the concerns of its members must leave many civil servants pondering the value of their union membership.
- Yours, etc,
MIRIAM O'KEEFFE, Strandville Avenue, Dublin 3.