Contract staff to get same pay as full-time workers

CONTRACT workers employed by the state must get the same salaries and pension schemes as their counterparts in full-time employment, the European Court of Justice has ruled.

More than 90 professionals with fixed-term contracts — some for as long as 10 years — were on lower salaries, less beneficial pension schemes, fewer holidays and did not receive the normal pay rises.

This was despite the Government negotiating and agreeing at EU level that all Irish employers must treat fixed-term contract workers exactly the same as those in full-time employment.

The Government delayed implementing the legislation for more than two years and during that time continued to offer people contracts at lower rates of pay than their colleagues.

In one instance, the Department of Agriculture tried to sack two people on such contracts rather than give them their legal entitlements.

So far the case has cost the state more than €213,000 and is set to cost considerably more when it will have to make up back payments to salaries and pension schemes.

IMPACT, the main civil service trade union, took the case of 92 such people to the Rights Commissioner, who found that six government departments were discriminating against fixed-term staff doing the same work as permanent staff.

Commissioner Janet Hughes awarded them compensation totalling €217,500 in 2005, but so far this has not been paid out because the Government appealed the decision to the Labour Court.

IMPACT national secretary Louise O’Donnell called on the Department of Finance to drop its appeal.

“These workers have waited more than three years for justice. Some were threatened with the sack by government departments that were trying to avoid their legal responsibilities. All were denied benefits that permanent colleagues enjoyed including pay increases, contributory pensions and access to sick pay, training and annual leave. They deserve a speedy end to this injustice,” she said.

The department also argued that IMPACT should have taken the case to the law courts — a much more lengthy and expensive process for the workers, but the European Court ruled this was not necessary.

The court that sits in Luxembourg also ruled that Irish public servants can take cases concerning EU directives even if the Government has not brought them into Irish law within the agreed time limits.

The Government implemented the EU directive on fixed-term work in 2001, two years late. As well as saying that people with a fixed-term contract should have the same conditions as permanent staff, after four years continuous employment, they are considered to be permanent. The Government argued the fixed-term contract was being used to get over the cap on recruiting new staff and said those employed on such contracts were to meet temporary needs of departments and in posts where permanent funding could not be guaranteed.

Ms O’Donnell said the Government could employ people for specific projects if the need arises.

The case now returns to the Labour Court for a final ruling.