RMA News March 2023
As I informed you in the last issue of TUI News the major issue of concern to the RMA over the past year has been the dismal failure of our former ETB employers to implement ‘Building Momentum’ in a timely fashion. At that time most of our former VEC/ETB retirees were still awaiting payment of the initial 1% due from October 1st 2021 and many post-2012 retirees were still awaiting pension increases from October 2020. The treatment of these members had been deplorable, but I am delighted to say that some pensioners received payment of the increases due October 2021 over the past few pension payments and all should receive these increases by March 2023.
The extension to Building Momentum was accepted in autumn 2022 and will see the following pay increases:
3% backdated to 2nd February 2022
2% from 1st March 2023 and 1.5% from 1st October 2023.
A 1% increase is also payable from 1st October 2022 under the original Building Momentum Agreement.
All these increases will be passed on to retired teachers as the link between retired persons and their serving officer within the public service has been maintained till the end of 2023.
The February 2022 increases are to be updated by May 2023 and October 2022 increases to be updated for July 2023. The plan is for March 2023 increases to be confirmed expeditiously.
The link between pay and pension is only guaranteed until the end of 2023. Any change to this link will impact negatively on the future value of public service pensions. To effectively defend and promote our interests we need as many retired colleagues in our membership as possible.
RMA AGM and Spring Break
The AGM of the RMA will be held on Tuesday May 9th in the Shamrock Lodge Hotel, Athlone.
This year the Spring Break will be combined with the AGM, but will not interfere with it.
The AGM will follow the usual format: Registration 10.30 - 11.30, followed by the AGM, with a light lunch available-at your own expense - and finishing at 4.30 pm. Dinner will follow at 7.00 pm. Branches are reminded that motions for the AGM and Amendments to the RMA constitution must be with the RMA secretary rmasec@tuimail.ie before March 1st 2023
The Spring Break arrangements are:
€85.00 pps, €105 Single per night DBB. Tours will be organised - probably including Athlone Castle and Museum, Clonmacnoise, a Shannon Cruise -possibly on a Viking boat -, a Distillery visit (Kilbeggan or Tullamore DEW).
The Shamrock Lodge is not a ‘big’ hotel – just 40 rooms and some apartments which will be available to us. The apartments have two twin/double bedrooms, two bathrooms and a sitting room. They have convenient parking and a covered walkway to the hotel, and occupants will have their breakfasts in the hotel with everyone else.
The hotel asks that participants book with them at least 8 weeks before the event - ie. March 14th. This in important as it is a longer lead in than usual, but understandable given that rooms may be in short supply. The hotel will only allow a maximum of 20 single rooms at the €105.00 nightly rate. The normal single DBB rate is €120.00 per night.
In late January we were shocked to receive the sad news of the sudden death of our former secretary Christy Conville RIP. Christy was a respected former colleague who contributed a lot to our association. He later became secretary of the Public Service Alliance, the body which represented all public service retirees. The alliance made representations to government on matters of concern to retirees, principally on the maintenance of the link between the salary of serving staff and pensioners. The link has to date been maintained thanks to the efforts of Christy and others. I would like on behalf of the RMA to express our condolences to Christy’s family and friends. He will be missed.
Dan Keane
RMA Secretary