Balancing the books - Overtime dilemma

The decision by Bus Éireann to press ahead with cost saving measures, including reducing overtime bills, may provoke a strike but it is an indication of what we can expect when everyone involved in state and semi-state enterprises realises we can only borrow so much to pay housekeeping bills.

Figures detailing overtime earnings for some nurses published today also highlight the lunacy of paying incumbents multiples of basic packages while denying newly qualified nurses the opportunity to begin a career in the country that educated them.

At the moment, because the issues are so very pressing, the focus is on pay but it does seem that overtime bills of this nature are wrong and unsustainable in a country with 440,000 people out of work.