Public pay deal receives a boost
Siptu said its public service members had voted 78.5% in favour of the agreement hammered out between the Government and unions last May which restores approximately €2,000 to most of the State’s employees between 2016 and 2017, while at the same time extending the terms of the Haddington Road agreement to 2018.
The wage restoration will be achieved through a combination of adjustments to the public service pension levy and a partial reversal of the 2010 public service pay cuts.
Siptu vice president, Gene Mealy, said: “The result [of the union ballot] is comprehensive and the clear feedback that was received from meetings to discuss the ballot across the country was that members see this agreement as progress.
“However, it is also clear that there is still a long way to go in terms of the restoration and improvement of pay and conditions in the public service.”
Two other large public service unions, Impact and the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) have already balloted in favour of the terms. The Irish Medical Organisation has rejected the deal. The Teachers Union of Ireland and Association of Secondary teachers Ireland have recommended rejection to their members.
In order to be passed by the trade union movement in its entirety, the agreement is subject to ratification by an aggregate ballot of the Public Services Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. That ballot, which is expected to take place in the early autumn once all of the public service unions complete their individual ballots, sees votes apportioned according to the size of each of the unions.
With Siptu, Impact and the INTO all backing the terms, their large share of the votes in the ICTU ballot will almost certainly mean it will be passed.
Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin has said the deal will mean an additional cost of €566m to the exchequer over a three-year period.
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