Scrap public sector pay increments, says Ibec

As talks on Croke Park II enter a crucial phase, private sector employers’ group Ibec has called for increments in the public sector to be scrapped and pension entitlements to be scaled back.

Brendan McGinty, Ibec’s director of industrial relations and human resources, was quoted by RTÉ as saying the State’s future pension liability would be reduced by €20bn if entitlements up to the present were retained but future service was accrued on a career-averaging basis.

He also called for increments to be stopped for the remainder of the Croke Park Agreement, and said sick leave entitlement reforms should be brought in immediately.

Meanwhile, the president of the Garda Representative Association has said members will not be wearing their uniforms when they attend a rally against the proposed cuts to premium payments proposed by the Government under Croke Park II.

John Parker said the GRA members would gather at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght under the banner of the 24/7 Frontline Alliance.

Today is the second of a two-day meeting of the GRA’s national executive to discuss how members will respond if the cuts are introduced without agreement as well as operational matters.