The big question on pay is: Can we afford it?

I couldn’t care less what public sector workers are paid as long as the country can afford it, says Jim Power

This week saw the publication of the Public Service Pay Commission report. This report will form the basis for the imminent negotiations between the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the public-sector unions aimed at engineering an extension to the Lansdowne Road Agreement and setting the basis for future public sector pay determination.

A key part of this will revolve around the reversal of the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (FEMPI) legislation that was introduced early in the financial crisis to address pay and pension elements of public expenditure. The most controversial elements of this legislation involved a public-sector pension levy that averaged around 5%, cuts to pay; and bringing in new recruits — such as teachers — on lower pay and inferior conditions. The latter was an outrageous measure, but the unions signed up to it to protect their existing members.