The popular RTE ‘Fair City’ soap has been dealt a dose of hard reality with pay cuts for the cast of popular actors whose  complicated lives of bed-hopping and brawls  entertains the nations most evenings.

Wage reductions of between 4.5% and  7% have been agreed with the cast members as part of RTE’s six-month drive to reduce its labour costs. But the impact on the cast will not be reflected in the episodes with pints still flowing freely around McCoys Pub and orders flying in the restaurant and coffee shop.

Most of the 50 actors are represented by SIPTU which earlier last summer, along with the  state broadcaster’s group of unions, agreed to salary reductions and cuts in basic rates. these ranged from around 2.5% for lower earners but with pay exceeding €500 a week.

Higher earners at RTE had 12.5% cut from the top of the salary scale while there is a general freeze on annual increments for 2009-10. Some of those on individual contracts  agreed to initial reductions but baulked at a second trance been taken from their pay packages.

Originally the ‘Fair City’ cast were  asked to accept cuts of  up to nearly 9% but this was scaled back in negotiations late last year.

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The escalating dispute between Irish Aviation Authority employees and the semi-state agency may set the tone for public sector employment relations over the coming months.

Impact, the largest public service trade union, responded swiftly to moves to suspend 15 members who refused to operate a newer system to monitor and control air traffic in Irish airspace.

Discussions last week at the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) failed to secure a compromise and the issue has been referred to the Labour Court.

Management contends that the new procedures are part of  normal air-traffic control work but there is a  backdrop of a union claim for a 6% pay rise based on the national ‘partnership’ agreement which has been either repudiated or abandoned  in recent weeks by its main participants.

It will be interesting to see how much management autonomy is allowed in this dispute by the Minister for Transport if industrial action is expanded from tomorrow’s (Wednesday, Jan 20th) planned four-hour ’stoppage’ for Impact consultations meetings.

Its 300 members at the IAA, who rank among the highest-paid public sector employees in the state (along with staff at ESB and Bord Gais) have not been affected by the public service pension levy or the cuts in standard pay rates imposed in Budget 2010 for the 315,000 public service employees.

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Disagreements over redundancy terms or selection processes for involuntary job cuts have been key to most employment disputes over the past three months.

The occupation of premises by staff at Thomas Cook Travel in Dublin and by staff at 4Homes retail outlet in Mitchelstown, Co Cork, centred on disputes over both redundancy payments and very short notice given to employees. Both attracted extensive media coverage and impacted on the reputation of the travel company and on  the Dairygold group which has an interest in the 4Homes  retail network in Munster.

Many similar disputes have arisen in the construction and related sectors of builders suppliers this year. It highlights the need for clear management decision-making and communication in advance with employees when job cuts are on the horizon.

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