In the absence of vision, the goal is a return to pre-crash days

A return to pre-crash pay levels is the goal of public sector unions, but it remains unclear who or what is going to pay for that, writes Michael Clifford

We do things differently in this country. In other democracies which were whacked by recession and austerity, the citizens reacted with fury, either on the streets or at the ballot boxes.

Here, for the greater part, people sucked in up, some in quiet desperation, others with stoicism, and yet more just barely keeping their anger in check.

The only real manifestation of anger to hit the streets was during the water protests. That occurred at a time when the first green shoots of recovery began appearing yet no uplift was being felt by the vast majority.

There has been little change at the ballot box. Certainly, the grip enjoyed by the traditional parties of government has been loosened. The ranks of the independents has been expanded. But there has been no radical shift in politics. The two parties now effectively governing are Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, same as it ever was.

Instead, it would appear that there has been a delayed reaction, particularly among public sector workers. Gardaí, doctors, nurses, and teachers are all flexing their muscles, looking for that elusive thing, “pay restoration”.

Pay parity for teachers will cost €70m https://t.co/OX47PTWjO5 via @niallmurray1 (GM) pic.twitter.com/3pX3meJOMX

— Irish Examiner (@irishexaminer) November 2, 2016

There is absolutely no recognition of the fact that what is wanted is a restoration to a time when the whole economic model, including public sector pay, was based on fantasy economics. As far as these public sector workers are concerned, they took a hit in the national interest and now they want everything put back together again.

Blame for the manner in which industrial relations have descended in the public sector can be laid in the first instance at the door of the Government, and specifically Fine Gael.

The party’s silly election slogan “keep the recovery going” was a red rag to the bull of public sector unions. Somebody was enjoying the recovery, but most were not, and particularly not anybody who had bought at the height of the boom, or are renting while the recovery is being stoked.

The other problem for the Government is that it has gone along with the concept of “pay restoration” without question, and the only issue is timing. The notion of pay restoration assumes that the recession was a blip, that all was as it should have been with public pay before the economic collapse and we should all hurry back there.

There is no recognition that the levels of public spending, including pay, allied to a crazily low rate of personal taxation was largely funded by the property bubble and all that grew out of it.

Instead, the belief would appear to be that while we won’t get back to the level of tax receipts generated during those fantasy days, and we won’t have the low levels of taxation, the objective is to return to a similar rate of public spending. Who, or what, exactly is going to pay for that remains unclear.

Public pay, back in the days that some want restored, was based to a large extent on two benchmarking processes that were designed for the times we lived in.

The first benchmarking took no account of the pensions available in the public sector at a time when most who work in the private sector can only dream of such a retirement fund.

The second process in 2007 made light of any premium which should apply to job security.

“The security of tenure of state jobs may be seen as having less value at present than in previous periods of high unemployment,” the report stated.

In little over two years, over 300,000 people in the private sector had lost their jobs.

That was the world that both government and the public sector unions want restored. Who exactly is going to pay for it is unclear as of now.

Meanwhile, the recovery is keeping on keeping on but within the public sector, there is a feeling that it is passing by. One of the main reasons here is that the cost of living, and particularly the cost of housing, is eating up any extra cash that may be coming in.

While that situation persists, there will be no sign of any recovery for large swathes of the population.

As with elsewhere, the Government is playing catch-up in the housing sector. Already plans to ensure that nobody will be living in hotels by next summer appear to be falling behind.

While this persists, young people who have been hit hardest during the recession will continue to experience the disproportionate cost of renting.

Through it all, what is really lacking is any form of a vision as to where we are going from here. In such an environment, the instinct of so many to aim to return to the days before the economic crash is understandable.