Extra Bank Holiday and other compensation for Covid

And that's all it is but when have you ever known the public sector not put there hand out.

What about what the NHS just did. 500 quid bonus, surely that gets done for about 50m.

I guess you definitely deserve some sort of reward..

This is a post which typifies the chip on the shoulder about nurses and doctors and anybody earning a decent wage for their work and qualifications.

Of course all those other essential workers should be recognised for their work throughout this . I have said so from the start . Nobody who had to go to their regular place of work and was facing the public through Covid should be forgotten in this .

But to praise this work and discount all that frontline healthcare workers have done , which was way above their contracted or even expected duties, is just trolling from you and that other poster( who talks about how quiet private hospitals were and other ignorant ramblings . )

@Economics101 of course that number you quote would include ALL frontline healthcare workers .

It palls in significance to PUP payments and Wage Subsidy Sceme payments, which were all deemed right and proper as well .

I think they should only give bonus to those who worked directly in covid wards . Otherwise it's a free for all and impossible to draw the line. Although you're probably going to have porters who transferred patients to ICU claiming they worked directly with covid patients so the line isn that clear this way either :-/

I know some who were amazing , and others who were no help at all .

It's going to be so divisive tbh , not worth it . Just look at the shvtty comments on this thread already .

There were many on all sides going beyond what they should be doing but in the end of the day you will always get the same groups looking for whatever anyone else gets regardless of whether they were on the true frontline or not . Who is going to draw that line without ructions being caused, so it will end up for all or for noone .

An extra bank holiday for all is probably what will happen in the end .

No clapping or lighting candles if they have any cop on . 🙄

Most physios and other therapy grades were reassigned to swabbing clinics.

"The true frontline".

The "frontline" was always manipulative bullshit, I see we are now getting to the cherry on top.

Yeah heard similar from my HSE contacts, some really stepped up, some just behaved as they normally would, which was to be as little help as possible.

i think the first monday in february would be the perfect time for an extra bank holiday, it would have a great benefit to economy after january and kickstart things again in pubs/nightclubs/hotels, kind of an offical end to a dry january. 6 nations matches start that weekend as well as intercounty GAA leagues, it would actually have a very good affect on peoples well being and on the economy

Christmas Eve would be pretty nice too.

any day bar monday is a disaster for a bank holiday, a day off in middle of working week is absolutely useless, friday not great either has to be a bank holiday on a monday, i would also propose at this time is perfect for changing the paddys day holiday to the nearest sunday and having the monday as bank holiday, let all parades take place on the sunday or monday

Between Christmas and New Year will be awful. Most medical grades will have to work anyway, as you can't have too many days next to each other without full patient care. Even when Xmas and Stephens Day are Saturday and Sunday.... for instance this year. You get 25, 26, 27, 28 off. At the very least you have to work the 28th, some places the 27th, because you can't just be on skeleton staff for more than two days.. patient care suffers.

How dare RTE mention Nurses, doctors, emergency staff and public transport workers last week without acknowledging the most important workforce of all!!:

Teachers look to be part of pandemic bonus talks

Teacher unions have said that they expect to be involved in any discussions around the acknowledgement of workers' contributions during the pandemic.

In a joint statement the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland, Teachers' Union of Ireland and the Irish National Teachers' Organisation said that "teachers' extraordinary efforts both face-to-face with their pupils in crowded classrooms and in the online learning space have allowed schools to continue to prioritise teaching and learning while meeting children/ young people's needs".

The statement follows calls from health sector unions, the National Bus and Rail Union and the Association of Garda Sergeants & Inspectors for some form of special recognition of their efforts during the pandemic.

Every worker in the country will end up getting it.

It's dressed up as recognition but really is about business for the hospitality sector. My money says mid November or mid February.

If they gave the bonus to people who had exemption letters from their employer it would benefit the majority of people who couldn't work from home during the lockdowns. But instead it'll end up going to all the admin staff who sat at home not answering their phones or emails.

Can this government decide anything without flying so many bloody kites first? Show some leadership. They should just ask NPHET, they delegated to them ages ago.

If ever a secnario highlights the public sector sense of entitlement and collective bargaining culture it is this. Lets remember something covid happened to us all. Some where told they cannot work and had there wage cut to 350 a week and we were all asked to stay in doors. Everyone suffered and had to work through this one way or the other.

The 3 groups mentioned here out of the public sector (HSE, Garda and teachers) all looking for a reward. A reward for what doing their job?

All PS employees were already rewarded with OT or/and an annual increment. So hows about this we reward all the public sector with a guarantee of their job being safe, guarantee of a pension and a guarantee of an annual increment - oh wait they get that reward already even if they decide to blow in breathalyzers and fabricate work they clearly did not do or if they make an a$$ of a load of cervical checks which actually lead to people dying. As for teachers they literally phoned it in during the pandemic. They had work for kids on a Monday and there was no contact till the Friday when they were correcting the seasaw work. The parent effectively did the teachers work for them, where is there reward. AS for those pointing at some private sector companies like Tesco or Aldi giving bonuses. Look at how profitable these companies where? they had record profits. Now the public sector needs to look at their employer, this year alone we need to borrow 17billion not to mention the debt sprialling above the 250Billion mark. The public sector are already well rewarded for the work they have done and if they feel they are not happy with their lot feel free to join Aldi or Tesco I also hear Dunnes are recruiting.

As a matter of interest, are there other countries doing the same thing as Ireland?

I know that the nurses at the NHS got a 2% pay increase which was not well received.

There are ways to reward people that shouldn't cost a lot of money, but in Ireland, we are always straight out with the hand and few bob in the back pocket.