This is your union, your voice

MANDATE”S Biennial Delegate Conference (BDC) took place on April 27 and 28 in the INEC in Killarney, Co. Kerry. The conference was attended by 300 delegates from across the country representing 45,000 Mandate members.

The BDC is the democratic arm of the union and shapes Mandate’s policies in respect of industrial relations and social issues.

Yet again, Mandate delegates demonstrated that our members are a vibrant, socially conscious and passionate membership with a wide range of progressive motions discussed and endorsed.

Mandate members endorsed plans to develop closer working arrangements between unions in order to make the most out of our resources.

Conference endorsed strategic lobbying campaigns ahead of the National Budget in order to represent the membership of Mandate.

The Conference recognised the need for decent work and decent pay and called for a continued campaign in relation to these issues. The conference highlighted the use of zero hour contracts and low hour contracts and called for resistance to them – instead, ensuring that retail workers have contracts that guarantee them a living wage.

The BDC endorsed the integration of industrial relations with organising and recruitment emphasising that every non-union member is an attack on our members’ terms and conditions of employment and job security.

The conference condemned employers like Dunnes Stores who are increasingly employing staff on temporary contracts while reducing existing staff hours. Mandate members are demanding the creation of real jobs with secure hours of employment.

Criticism was made of the impact changes to the Illness Benefit Payment Scheme would have on vulnerable workers who have no contractual entitlement to sick pay. With no benefit being paid for the first six days of illness, as opposed to the previous three days, many workers will lose out if they become ill. Conference called for the measure to be reversed.

Mandate delegates condemned the JobBridge Programme which is being used to fill legitimate vacancies and to provide cheap labour to opportunistic employers. The BDC called for resistance to the scheme in the retail sector.

Conference criticised inaction from successive governments who have failed to properly implement the EU Employers’ Insolvency Directive. This means that employees cannot recover debts owed to them by an insolvent company unless that company has been wound up by the High Court and a liquidator appointed. Since the conference, another group of workers in the Paris Bakery have been subjected to an unnecessary sit-in in order to get what is owed to them. Conference called for legislation to be enacted as a matter of urgency.

Successive Irish governments have failed to address the pension crisis in the private sector. This has resulted in the closure of thousands of defined benefit schemes resulting in workers losing all or significant portions of their retirement savings. Conference called for legislation to protect workers’ pensions and secure a decent retirement income.

Conference also called on Government to address the mismatch between contractual pension age (normally 65) and the age at which the State pension becomes available.

Conference called for the removal of the “unjust” water charges and property tax which places “unreasonable burdens on those struggling to survive.”

Mandate delegates backed a motion condemning the inequalities contained in the Adoption Act 2010 where a biological parent who has a new partner seeking to adopt their child, must go through the same process of adoption as the new partner. This means the biological parent ceases to be legally recognised as the biological parent if the application is successful. Conference also supported equal rights in respect of adoption for same-sex couples.

Mandate delegates condemned the cuts to unemployed benefits for under-25s in Budget 2013 citing that they are not considered “equal citizens by this government.” Mandate delegates called for a reversal to the cut and for the Government to “treat all citizens equally regardless of their age.”

The recent abolition of the death grant was criticised by Mandate members who believe it was a mean and needless cut that could easily be avoided if the Government chose to tackle more obvious tax breaks and ensured our wealthiest citizens paid their fair share in taxes. The death grant is only €850 and benefits many low-earning families who need it most at those difficult times.

Conference called on the Government to rescind changes in the last budget that removes tax credit for children from parents who are separated (usually fathers). This creates hardship on parents trying to provide a second home for their children at times when they have custody of them.

The conference called for the establishment of the “Madiba Solidarity Award” in recognition of the great Nelson Mandela which will be awarded at the Mandate BDC from now on.

Mandate supports the “social wage” and the necessity to fund it through a progressive tax regime. “Hundreds of lower to middle-income families rely on the social wage to provide income supports, decent education, health provision housing and services.” Mandate is critical of calls from “vested interests” for tax cuts which undermine the ability of the State to provide for its own citizens and further polarise Ireland making it a more unequal society.

These are just some of the motions passed at the Mandate BDC. For a full list, contact your local official.