This article is from page 6 of the 2012-02-14 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
LOCAL authorities in Clare have less than three months to sign up to the Croke Park Agreement under which public service workers are obliged to increase their working hours.
This follows on from a survey of local authority working hours around the country which has shown that the average working week of public service working in Clare local government is one of the lowest in the country.
Staff in Clare local authorities are working just 33 hours a week, in comparison with staff in the private sector who work a 39-hour week.
This figure is shared by Meath County Council and Galway City Council. At Galway County Council, the figure is even lower with staff working 32.92 hours a week.
When contacted by The Clare People , Clare County Council that the deadline for local authority workers to fall into line with workers in the private sector is two months away.
“This is a national issue that remains outside of Clare County Council’s control as reform has been delayed due to an ongoing national dispute with unions,” said Eddie Power, Senior Executive Officer, Clare County Council.
“This point has already been made publicly by the Office for Local Authority Management (OLAM). The implementation date for the standardisation of working arrangements across the local government sector is April,” he added.
The increase in working hours that is expected to come into effect in April comes in the wake of staffing levels at Clare County Council hav- ing been reduced to just over 800 over the past six years.
In 2006 there were 1,002 people working in Clare County Council with the reduction over the past six years amounting to a 20 per cent, while payroll costs have been pared back from € 44.8m to € 36.8m in that time.
It is expected that there will be further reductions in staffing levels in 2012, while Taoiseach Enda Kenny has warned that local authority workers in all counties will have to sign up to the terms of the Croke Park Agreement.