Key to public service pay deal lies in bilateral agreements

With just 24 hours to go before Labour Relations Commission chief Kieran Mulvey is required to report back to Cabinet on the potential for a new public service pay deal, it appears increasingly likely any solution will have to come from a collection of agreements hammered out with individual unions.

The latest large union to meet with Mr Mulvey, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, reiterated to him that, while nurses were prepared to engage in a reform programme yielding payroll savings, “this must protect all existing pay arrangements and conditions of employment”.

The LRC told the union that the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform remained intent on accruing savings, was still considering primary legislation to allow for that, and was also considering circular letters from government to each department to action this payroll saving.