Civil Service keeping their "privilege days": reform will have to be forced

For once I'm in full agreement with IBEC.

Back when civil servants were thinking hard on behalf of the British Empire of wonderfully counter-revolutionary plans to defeat the Land League, Fenians and any other Irish who had a bit of spirit the British monarch gave them two extra days as a reward for their loyalty: one to honour himself (the modesty!) and one to honour his British Empire.

It being 2011 and in the midst of a recession, the government wants to get rid of them, saying it will save us - the taxpayers of this republic who are paying for these royalist days off - €5 million per year:

'The Department of Finance had told a Civil Service Arbitration Board hearing last month that the measures proposed would generate productivity savings of €4.6 million per year and lead to greater administrative efficiencies.

It said that privilege days were out-moded, represented an obstacle to the achievement of efficiency and had attracted an amount of adverse public comment.'

'Privilege day' abolition rejected

The following from the Civil Service Arbitration Board, in particular, is baffling:

'It also pointed out that converting privilege days into annual leave entitlements could widen the gap between the civil service and the rest of the public service, and create a barrier to an integrated public service.'

Proposal to reduce privilege days rejected

Does the above mean that the Arbitration Board is agreeing that the civil servants don't need another two days holidays and that to convert the two 'privilege days' into official holidays would not look well so let's continue to hide the extra two days holidays under the guise of "privilege days"?

The Civil Service Arbitration Board today amazingly agreed with the unions and said that they had a right to their extra two days holidays.

If these people in the civil service union are refusing to give up two days, what hope is there for making the serious reform which the Irish civil service, and public sector generally, needs to undergo?

Do you agree with the government that these civil service 'privilege days' should be abolished?