Ictu chief: New pay deal must address staffing issues

The country’s leading trade union leader has said the new public sector pay deal must address the haemorrhaging of skills and staff, which has reached a “crisis” point in some professions.

Irish Congress of Trade Unions general secretary Patricia King says gaps in the numbers in health or teaching will only be bridged by reducing childcare and housing costs.

Ms King told the Irish Examiner she wanted formal talks on a new pay deal for public sector workers to begin by April.