2 EDITOR’S NOTE A full programme for the IEC


In this special edition we focus on the outcome of BDC 2019 and on developments in RTÉ, against the backdrop of major concerns for the future of public broadcasting in Ireland. The BDC in November approved a range of


motions under the theme, “Defending Journalism in a Time of Crisis”. The 10 motions Conference considered were published in the Winter 2019 issue of The Irish Journalist, which is available at the NUJ website at https://www.nuj.org.uk/documents/ the-irish-journalist-winter-2019/. Conference adopted most of all 10 motions with one exception: By a vote of 5-4, they defeated a sub-section of a motion that called for a cost-benefit analysis of the continued publication of The Journalist and a feasibility study on replacing it with a daily online publication.


Among the issues addressed by adopted motions were the need to recover pay and


Pensions gap, a crisis


for all ages Continued from page 1 For the NUJ the debate takes place against the


backdrop of a significant victory by union member Anne Roper in her equality case against RTÉ arising from her enforced retirement at 65. While RTÉ is appealing the outcome of the


Workplace Relations Commission case to the Labour Court Anne Roper’s case serves to underline the plight of many workers forced to retire on a poor occupational pension and debarred from claiming the State pension for 12 months. (See related story, p11) The two options the Department of Employment


Affairs and Social Protection have put forward for these workers are to claim Jobseeker’s Benefit, at €45 per week lower than the pension rate, or to look for alternative employment. Retired workers are required to apply for the Job


Seekers allowance and must submit themselves to a process of interview with Department staff who are required to engage in the charade of searching for retraining and employment opportunities for those who in many cases wish to retire and cannot afford to do so or to remain in their chosen career. The ICTU has long voiced concern for workers unfit or financially compelled to continue working beyond 65 years as a result of the abolished State Pension


pension ground lost in the financial collapse of 2007-2008; calling on the IEC to seek ICTU backing for a campaign to highlight the practice of management refusing to recognise unions, including naming and shaming; addressing precarious and low-income jobs in online publishing, social media and similar sectors; establishing and promoting a charitable fund to commemorate Lyra McKee’s life and work; a strategic campaign in third- level journalism as part of a long-term strategy to recruit new members; and organising training for NUJ members around personal safety in conflict zones, public order situations and other scenarios where they might be at risk, as well as specialist support. The Irish Journalist will report progress on


these motions and other IEC work over the coming term.


Carolyn Farrar, editor


(transition) from 2014 and the planned increases to the State pension qualifying age to 67 years from next January and to 68 years in 2028. Through General Secretary Patricia King, Congress has been highlighting the need to address the issue of pension poverty and to simultaneously develop coherent policies which allow for extended working lives while preserving opportunities for career development of younger workers. As Dr. Laura Bambrick, Social Policy Officer ICTU


told The Irish Times: “This is the biggest ever cut to the social safety net for working people, which will push many into poverty in retirement.” “Claims that the age increase is being done, and


cannot be undone, out of concern for the future sustainability of the State pension ring hollow considering that this Government failed to deliver on their promised review of PRSI contribution rates by the end of 2018. Their focus is wholly on what is coming out of the Social Insurance Fund while ignoring what is being put in and from whom,” Dr Bambrick added. The collapse of the much-criticised social partnership model destroyed the architecture of engagement on social and economic issues. The Anne Roper case is a cause for celebration but it is also a reminder that government, employers and unions need to develop a national policy which deals with every aspect of pensions and retirement. In the meantime, the plan to increase the pension age must be scrapped and forced retirement at 65 must end.


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