Benchmarking increases could cost €1 billion

THE Public Service Benchmarking Body has begun hearing claims on pay increases from unions in an exercise which could hike the annual public service wage bill by up to €1 billion by 2010.

Since its appointment by Finance Minister Brian Cowen in January, the group chaired by senior counsel Dan O’Keeffe has received written submissions from unions representing up to 70 grades of public servants.

Oral hearings began yesterday for the first groups and will continue until late November.

The benchmarking body’s job is to compare the pay of public servants to similar workers in the private sector. They are expected to report to Government late next year with recommendations on pay hikes for major public service groups, including clerical staff, gardaí, teachers, health professionals and the Defence Forces.

The Irish Nurses Organisation (INO) is not taking part as it has made a separate pay claim which is being considered by the Labour Court.

The average award arising from the first benchmarking exercise in June 2002 was almost 9%. The increases, which were implemented on a staggered basis up to mid-2005, have added around €1 billion a year to the cost of public services to taxpayers.

However, unions representing the 275,000 workers likely to benefit are not expecting increases of the same level this time around, partly due to slower rises in private sector pay since 2002.

The rises will come on top of a 10% rise over 27 months already guaranteed to public servants under the Towards 2016 social partnership deal ratified this month.

The three main teacher unions, whose members secured an above-average 13% pay hike first time round, have made a joint submission seeking a 10% increase for primary and second-level teachers.

Garda Representative Association (GRA) general secretary PJ Stone said the union hopes to win a higher increase than the disappointing 5% awarded four years ago, though it has not set out a specific figure in its written submission.