Unions pledge to fight public sector allowance cuts
It has also emerged that schools, roads and other infrastructure could be affected by plans to cut €1bn from capital spending in the budget.
Ahead of talks between the Government and unions on Wednesday, SIPTU said it will treat any removals of allowances as a pay cut, while the Garda Representative Association (GRA) said it will takeaction, including protests, over any removal of allowances to its members.
The Government has told unions it needs toremove €1.3bn from the public pay bill, but the Taoiseach hinted over the weekend he is open to the possibility of seeking the reduction through reforms rather than salary cuts.
A SIPTU spokesperson said the move would affect about 25% of public service workers: “The vast majority do not get allowances, but, for some ambulance drivers, nurses, gardaí and other frontline workers, it is 20% of their pay and, for some workers, it’s a third of their pay.
“It sounds simple, just to scrap allowances, but the group it will affect are disproportionately dependent on those allowances.”
Damien McCarthy of the GRA said: “If there is any further attempt to disguise a pay cut by focusing in on allowances then it’s interpreted as a pay cut.”
Around 60% of gardaí joined the force in the past 10 years and unions argue their employers focused on their allowances whileoffering them low pay.
Labour Party finance spokeswoman Joan Burton said: “If we are all in this together, and this is war time, then those at the top need to show the most leadership and they have to take the bigger sacrifice to start the process of rebalancing the economy.”
Economist Jim O’Leary told RTÉ reform rather than cuts would not yield enough savings: “There is only two ways to cut the public sector pay bill. One is by cutting average pay and the other is by cutting the numbers employed. If by reform people mean that there’s some third way that will be painless and avoid either of the above, then it’s a non-runner.”
