Public sector pay talks to intensify in next 48 hours

After two weeks of negotiation with little progress, talks between the Government and trade unions on a new public sector pay deal will intensify hugely over the next 48 hours.

Unusually for pay talks, the Workplace Relations Commission gave the sides the bank holiday weekend off, perhaps to allow participants to process the position of the other side, to be clear on what they want, and to ensure they come back this morning ready to get down to renewed efforts.

The process has to speed up now — it should have been completed last Friday and the clock is ticking. A deal that includes pay adjustments in 2018 has to be factored into the October 2017 budget announcement.