THE FOLLOWING IS AN AMALAGAM OF THE COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVED FROM MEMBERS OF THE GARDA REPRESENTATIVE ASSOCIATION OVER THE PAST WEEK ON THE REALITIES OF THE PROPOSED PUBLIC SERVICE PENSION LEVY. THE GRA’S CENTRAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEEE MEET TOMORROW (11/02/09) TO CONSIDER THE UNFAIRNESS AND INEQUITY OF THIS PROPOSAL.

The vast bulk of Gardai, (and the Public Service), earn €30,000 to €60,000 gross per annum. For Gardai, this is after working nights whilst most sleep, weekends whilst most others enjoy time off with their families and whatever small overtime is available; being spat at, assaulted and abused – in all kinds of weather. The bulk of Gardai are 30 to 45 years old. The average gross weekly income is €800 to €1,000 per week.

Once deductions are taken for Income Tax, PRSI, Pension Contribution (6.5%), Health Cover & smaller payments the average Garda has net pay of €600 to €700 a week. After paying a mortgage of average €350 to €400, other smaller loans and childcare, this leaves €100 to €150 a week to pay household bills, buy food, run a car and all those myriad of bills you can never budget for.

The average house (circa €320,000) was bought when prices were soaring – through fear - fear that the next “phase” would be €50,000 more and that it would be unreachable – fear driven by developers, supported by greedy banks & their greedy political associates.

There was some relief in the last 3 months with a fall of €20 average a week in the mortgage rate & a fall in petrol prices. It meant that rather than having to go to the Credit Union again just to pay weekly bills, that it was almost possible to get by.

And then “IT” started. 12 weeks of a sustained campaign led by the media, fuelled by Government & IBEC, of a sustained attack on the Public Service. Of a sustained campaign to drive a wedge between us and the Private Sector. The Private Sector – our friends, brothers, sisters, neighbours. An unrelenting campaign driven by Radio Presenters, Politicians, Journalists, Economists – names we grew to hate, names we will never forget & names that provoke a seething anger. The intent was to “soften up the Public Sector” They knew what they were doing – we knew what they were doing – to soften up the Public Sector and to prime everyone else. The message was Guards, Nurses, Teachers, Civil Servants – they are leeches – they are costing us too much – they are dragging down the economy – we can ‘cure’ the economy – if only we can get these leeches off our backs – cut the public pay bill, cut it drastically & we will go on from there to solve the recession. And God forbid that at the end of their service that they should have a pension – a small pension even for the lowly paid. Is the corollary that after years of loyal service that they should be in abject poverty??

There were two important messages in this
1. Soften up the soft target
2. Switch the blame for this mess we are in, this recession, from where it rightly lies – away from the arrogant out of touch politicians, their builder and banker buddies who ALL profited hand-over-fist for the last ten years – helicopters / government jets / bank commissions on loans to developers. Switch the blame to the soft touch “Aaah it was the Public Servants fault all along AND we will make them pay”.

Well here is a message to RTE, to the newspapers, IBEC (the Employer’s Representatives - not the Private Sector reps), the Government & their supporters in the Opposition who peddle this line along – WE WERE NOT TO BLAME AND FURTHERMORE, WE CAN NOT PAY.

There was a very simple reason why Government walked away last week and unilaterally introduced (net) cuts of €50, €60, €70 a week on our pay, without spreading the burden equally across all those who CAN pay – and that is:-  the intent is to take this from the ‘soft touch’ now - the Public Sector, and come back again in Autumn & hit everyone with Tax Increases (including the Public Sector) and then increase other tax-takes (College fees - €2,500) and on & on. Talk of “broadening the tax-base” should be explained for what it is. It does not mean “the wealthy will contribute more” it means that “us the workers, the low-paid, the bulk of earners will pay more and more. House rates, College fees, higher tax – in addition to this Levy”. Our members are already discussing cancelling medical insurance to make ends meet, a move that will throw the burden of cost for any illness onto the State. 

The sense of utter unfairness, anger and helplessness with this policy is threefold.
1.Taking the real-life position above of the income of the average Garda – we do not have €50 / €60 / €70 a week to pay from our disposable income. If this proposal is to go ahead – we cannot then pay our mortgage whilst paying every thing else. We cannot sell our houses – houses that are now worth €100,000 + less than what we paid for them. We will be in a similar place to the unemployed – insofar as we will not be able to pay what we owe.
2. This is not equitable. Yes there are many people out of work & losing jobs – our spouses and partners; our family members; our neighbours. But there are many many more people at work – a million and a half at work that can be called on equally to pay a contribution to rectifying the economy. And let those who can contribute more, contribute more.
Lame Government spins that 6.5% of taxpayers contribute 50% of all tax are a lame smokescreen. Yes they do – because that 6.5% or 150,000 people are the wealthy – they are the people who, even with low tax rates, are earning so much annually that they already pay so much. Millionaires, who can well afford to pay 20% more, 30% more, without ever having to worry about their last few euros. Don’t tell us about ‘sharing the burden’ when people with €100 a week to make ends meet are taxed and those ‘buddies’ with hundreds of thousands contribute nothing extra.
3. Whilst this level of pain is inflicted on Public Servants to raise roughly €1 billion; €7 billion is to be given to the Banks – to write off bad debts of their developer friends, keep the failed bank leaders in place – and to pay Bank employees their 3.5% national wage agreements. Again – we have no problems with Bank employees, our colleagues, being paid their increases – but not by “Us”. At a time when our wages are frozen for the next two years? ?
4. We bought into the boom, had to buy our houses in the midst of it & not alone did we not profit from it, we lost. Whilst everyone in the Private Sector laughed at our small earnings, we paid for the Boom & now you want us to pay for the Recession???
 

We, the members of An Garda Síochána, we the Garda Representative Association have a message for Government.
1. We have no problem with paying our fair share – and take a look at the figures above – it is a percentage of what you propose – because that is all we can afford.
We will only pay our fair share when it is quite clear that everyone else is paying theirs. When those who are at work both Public & Private Sector, especially the wealthy AND YOU – those earning over €100,000 or €150,000 are making a realistic contribution, in that they feel a similar pain to ours.
2. Reduce this Levy / Pay Cut / tax – whatever you want to call it to an amount that we can pay & introduce an additional tax rate of 48% NOW on all earnings over €100,000
3. Level with us. Do not for one minute think that you can isolate the Public Sector now & tax us unilaterally now – and then in nine months time come back and heap more & more taxes on all workers – including us. We do not have it – take a look at the reality.
4. Do not expect us to pay for the Banks, the Developers, the cronies – it is not alone that we won’t – we can’t. Those who caused this problem must pay for it.
5. Stop talking about Pensions as if they are something dirty, wrong, or illegitimate. Pensions are a way of giving small recompense at the end of their days to people who have given a lifetime of loyal service (and in our case, often our lives) for their employer.
6. Rescind this levy now and enter talks DIRECTLY with us on a fair and equal contribution. This must be altered NOW before the sense of alienation goes any further. You have removed in one swoop all the combined increases paid to us since 2006, whilst in that three years we borrowed on the strength of our earnings – and you propose to stop pay increases until 2011 – a 5 year Pay Freeze.

We as a workforce will not take any knee-jerk reaction but we will take long co-ordinated action.

It is wrong to hate, but there is a seething resentment, a cynicism, a feeling of betrayal by you our employer – a resentment to even hearing your names mentioned, that will take a long time to subside. We will be united – within the Garda Representative Association, within the Public Service & wider Society. You will not divide us from the Private Sector – who are our friends, family and neighbours. We will take whatever action collectively, united, that we can legally take.

WE ARE ANGRY, DISILLUSIONED AND FEEL BETRAYED!