Threat to public pay report after ruling

A FLOW of legal challenges to the public service pay benchmarking report could follow a significant court decision yesterday.

The news came as the Government, employers and union leaders continued efforts last night to find a formula for a new national wage agreement. The issue is closely linked to the benchmarking process, which reviewed public sector pay for 300,000 state employees.

A college lecturer was granted leave in the High Court to seek a judicial review of part of the report, which was published in June. Numerous public service unions unhappy with its pay increase recommendations are also considering similar and other legal actions.