A deal has been hammered out in the Irish Republic under which thousands of council workers who currently provide water services will be encouraged to become employees of Irish Water.
Currently, some water staff are employed direct by local authorities and some by Irish Water – a legacy of the time before the publicly-owned utility was established when local authorities were responsible for both supply and wastewater provision.
Irish Water and the government have wanted to change the position where around 3,000 water workers were employed by councils while the water company had around 800 employees. Under the new arrangements council water workers have been offered a €3,000 transfer bonus to persuade them to move to Irish Water.
This step is seen as a key move for the company as it assumes full and direct control of the public water service.
The Irish Water-local authority agreement will replace the existing council service level agreement arrangements, and 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 the end of 2026.
The framework, just announced by housing and local government minister, Darragh O’Brien, who is responsible for water policy issues, states that workers will be guaranteed security of tenure; that their existing service will be pensionable; that they will be allowed be members of a trade union; and will be offered what the framework calls “an attractive pay model".
Irish Water will begin to assume direct management of all water services staff from 1 January 2023.
The utility insisted: “This framework represents a significant step forward in how water services are delivered, recognising the importance of a single, national strategic approach supported by strong government funding commitments and proven technical systems and expertise.”
Council staff have been suspicious of the changes and there had been threats of strikes.
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