Public service calls for reform of benchmarking
The Irish Congress of Trade Unions Public Services Committee met in Dublin yesterday to discuss last month’s benchmarking pay review, which gave nothing to most public sector employees. Less than 11,000 of the country’s 300,000 public sector workers received increases from the benchmarking body.
The committee reached the conclusion that public sector unions will engage with the national talks process when it commences at the end of March or beginning of April.
However, at those talks, the unions will be raising their concerns regarding the benchmarking exercise and leaving the Government in no doubt as to the reaction and response of public sector workers to the report.
“We will be conveying to the Government that we don’t think it can repeat the benchmarking process because it is a damaged product,” said Peter McLoone, chairman of the ICTU public services committee. “There is a need to look at how we are going to handle the issue of determination of public service pay into the future. There is also a need to engage with government on how we are going to deal with the ongoing modernisation and change agenda, which is part and parcel of what we have to do in the various reforms that are mooted.”
The public service is in the midst of health service reforms and can expect similar demands when the OECD publishes its recommendations for the Irish public sector shortly.
The basic premise of the benchmarking process is that the implementation of those changes should be taken on by public servants on the basis they will be suitably recompensed by the benchmarking pay recommendations.
“The benchmarking exercise recommended zero for the vast bulk of grades and the people who are looking at how their living standards are going to be protected are looking at the national negotiations as the only medium in the short term that is going to be available,” said Mr McLoone.
“If the Government view is all change is going to be compensated by what you get in the cost of living increases then I can’t see public sector workers accepting that. If there is going to be big change and reform then the pay determination process has to be able to deal with that,” he said.
“Clearly the benchmarking report just been published did not and we now have a certainty that more reform is needed. Certainly that is what is mooted in the health sector immediately but presumably also in the OECD exercise. We have to say to government if this is going to happen with full co-operation and participation then we need a pay determination system that allows people to argue that their pay reflects their contribution. That is why the pay system is going to have to be totally revamped as a consequence of this report.”
