Dear Minister O'Rourke

 Mary, a chara

It's not often that we rush out to congratulate a Dublin Government minister but your decision to intervene in this week's Bus Eireann dispute and pull an overzealous management back from the brink is to be commended.

You have done what neither of your predecessors managed to do, which is to show some common sense when dealing with developing the public transport services.

For over a year now management at CIE who are appointed by government have deliberately locked themselves into a conflict situation with their workers over the introduction of cost savings plans.
     
Public sector workers should no longer be scapegoats for management failures and government inaction

The fact that unions agreed three successive such plans since 1986 was quickly forgotten and CIE management were allowed by their government masters to trot out the tired line about workers needing to accept change and face up to the rigours of competitive markets.

Bus Eireann drivers have a basic wage rate of only £181. By how much can such a wage be cut? You have taken the first step towards bringing sense into discussions over the future of the state's public transports system.

However even though you have shown competence way above your predecessors there is still much more to be done. You can create the environment where CIE workers can negotiate fairly with management and lay down a marker that public sector workers should no longer be scapegoats for management failures and government inaction. Now that would really be an achievement.

Is mise,
Neil Forde

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Low wage dilemma

The problem of low wages and exploited workers will always be highlighted in An Phoblacht. It is one of the fundamental principles of socialist republicanism that ``the right of every citizen to an adequate share of the produce of the Nation's labour'' is fully recognised. This year's Sinn Féin discussion document on economic development Putting People First asserts: ``Everyone should be able to gain meaningful, well-paid, long-term employment in jobs that provide genuine security and fair conditions.''

Armed with such principles how should you view the case of South West Water, one of the recently privatised British water companies. South West Water are having problems finding a new chief executive. Nobody wants to work for the paltry £172,000 per annum that the previous chief executive Keith Court earned.

South West don't want to make an improved offer because an increase on £172,000 would be seen to ``pay a fat cat salary''. For the record £172,000 breaks down to payments of over £3,300 a week and a hourly wage for a 40 hour week of over £82.

To put this in perspective, the minimum wage commission set up by Tony Blair is wrestling on whether a minimum hourly wage of £3.50 should be set in Britain. It just makes you wonder what a fat cat salary really is.

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SIPTU set standard

Following on the subject of fat cat salaries, SIPTU is to cut the salaries paid to the union's president, vice president and general secretary.

Current incumbents Jimmy Somers and Bill Attley will continue to receive £75,830 annually, but future holders of the posts will only be paid £59,812. The salaries, while high compared to that of most workers, are low compared to what some Irish corporate executives earn. However even at £59,812 the SIPTU top salary is over four times the average industrial wage.

The next logical step then is for SIPTU to use the wage cuts at the top end of its salary range to improve the lot of those at the bottom end. SIPTU say that the cuts are part of their Strategic Development Initiative. It remains to be seen will it include wage equality as well as wage cuts.