Only a year after the Lansdowne Road Agreement, pay for civil and public servants is back on the agenda. Bernard Harbor looks at the issues involved.

A century ago, many ladies could hardly breath, what with those terrible tight corsets, writes Kyran Fitzgerald.

Almost half of employers (49%) say salaries are the most important "people issue" facing their company.

A SURGE in the number of people making claims under the Payment of Wages Act has prompted the Rights Commissioners to dedicate four commissioners to dealing with the workload.

IN spite of the controversy in a number of industry sectors over the binding agreements which set pay and conditions, negotiations are almost complete on the introduction of a new agreement for 4,000 plumbers, fitters and welders.

THE Labour Relations Commission has published its proposals on how to operate the new “career-average” pension scheme for future entrants to the public service.

THE number of notified redundancies tripled between 2007 and 2009 – but employers on the whole are resisting the urge to reduce redundancy payments in the current climate.

A FORMER director of Fás, now director general of IBEC, has claimed the state training agency’s “brand has been damaged” by the recent overspending debacle and admitted there had been failures in the organisation.

AMID the ever-rising numbers of people joining the dole queues, a study has exposed discrepancies in the amounts companies are willing to pay in redundancy when letting their staff go.

THE Irish Aviation Authority has failed in its attempts to avoid paying the terms of a transitional wage agreement and now faces a bill for a wage increase of €4.5 million.

UP to 100 staff have written to RTÉ opposing the introduction of pay cuts of up to 12.5% as part of an effort to recoup a predicted €68m in losses this year.

A NUMBER of private sector companies have already signed up to the first phase of the new national wage agreement, even though the future of the deal still hangs in the balance.

A PENSION and sick pay deal covering 400 workers at Liebherr Container Cranes ended industrial unrest after management promised to inject €3 million into a company pension scheme.

CORK-based pharmaceutical company, Novartis has been instructed by the Labour Court to increase worker pay scales up to a maximum of €49,350.

BULMERS workers in Clonmel mandated their unions to ballot for strike action if the company continues to operate a four-cycle shift.

TDs will have received an 84% wage hike over five years by 2005, with their pay rising €42,000 over that period.