Thousands of local authority workers are to become employees of Irish Water

A once-off incentive payment of €3,000 will be made to each local authority staff member who becomes an Irish Water employee before the end of 2026, under the terms of the agreed framework.

Thousands of local authority workers are to become employees of Irish Water by 2026 after a significant agreement was reached to secure their status.

Under the terms of the deal, council workers currently providing water services in their areas are to become full and direct employees of Irish Water, and can if they chose become eligible for performance-related bonuses.

A once-off incentive payment of €3,000 will be made to each local authority staff member who becomes an Irish Water employee before the end of 2026, under the terms of the agreed framework.

This is an additional incentive to those staff that volunteer to become Irish Water employees, made in recognition of their change of employer and agreement to join what will become a fully integrated national water services authority, the deal says.

The framework, announced by Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien on Friday, commits that  workers will be guaranteed security of tenure, that their existing service will be pensionable, they will be allowed be members of a trade union and will be offered what the framework says is “an attractive pay model".

Two pay models

Irish Water will offer two pay model options for local authority staff who transfer to become Irish Water employees.

The first type — Type A — will see staff will move with the same rate of pay and allowances as they currently have with their local authority. Pay progression will be negotiated in the established way with the Irish Water Group of Unions.

Under this model, staff will benefit from annual performance-related awards, with performance targets being set on individualised performance targets and collective measures for working as part of a team.

These performance bonuses are not pensionable.

The second type — Type B — will see employees come in on a “mirrored” rate of pay but under the local authority model. Staff would benefit from the once-off incentive related payment but not from the performance-related awards.

All negotiated allowances currently held by water services staff who choose to transfer to Irish Water will remain unchanged on transfer to Irish Water, the framework says.

Pensions

In terms of pensions, Irish Water says it recognises and is prepared to fund any “wraparound” element needed to preserve existing benefits.

Irish Water will immediately start direct recruitment to fill current and future envisaged vacancies.

Initial recruitment will be managed in co-operation with local authorities to ensure operational continuity.

In effect, Irish Water will be accountable for the delivery of public water services, and employees of Irish Water and employees of local authorities will work side by side, under the direct management and oversight of Irish Water to deliver public water services.

All persons working in water services, including local authority employees, will report to Irish Water management structures, the framework says.

The Government’s stated ambition is that local authorities will no longer have staff working in water services beyond the end of 2026.

Irish Water will begin to assume direct management of all water services staff from January 1, 2023.

This will be done in co-operation with each individual local authority to transfer responsibilities in an agreed manner.

New agreement

A new Irish Water-local authority agreement will replace the existing Service Level Agreement arrangements, to ensure Irish Water has direct management and oversight of all water services staff, including those who choose to remain employed by their local authority during the period of transition up to December 31, 2026.

Welcoming the deal, Mr O’Brien said: “We now have a suitable framework in place to facilitate the enormous transformations that are needed in our water sector and in our local government system in the next few years. 

"The Government will continue to work closely with all parties to ensure that the framework is implemented in a fair and balanced manner that respects the key concerns of all parties, not least the workers. 

“I will continue to work with the County and City Management Association to ensure local authorities are not left with un-supported financial liabilities as a result of the transformation programme,” he added.