North's civil servants offered £150m pay deal

A deal worth around £150m (€166m) was today offered to the North's civil servants to settle a long-running dispute over pay.

Up to 13,000 low-paid, mainly female staff would benefit from the back pay, plus an annual increase in the civil service salary bill of between £20m (€22.2m) and £25m (€28m).

Leaders of public service union NIPSA are expected to meet today to discuss the deal before putting it to a ballot of members.

A resolution of the long-running issue would pre-empt more than 5,000 pay claims pending with industrial tribunals.

A spokesman for the Department of Finance and Personnel confirmed a written offer had been passed to Nipsa today.

In a statement Nipsa general Secretary John Corey said: “NIPSA has now received Management Side’s proposal for potential settlement of the equal pay claims.

“These proposals are the product of extensive negotiations with Management Side in recent months and after many years campaigning for equal pay issues to be addressed in the NI Civil Service.

“Management Side is also circulating the proposals directly to all staff in the affected grades.

“However, as NIPSA made clear from the outset, whether or not these proposals provide a basis for settlement of the equal pay claims will be a matter to be decided by NIPSA members in the grades affected.”

He added: “NIPSA’s Civil Service Group Executive Committee is meeting today to consider the proposals and the recommendations to be made to members.”

It is understood the offer includes a one-off settlement payment worth £125-£140m (€139m-€155m) to deal with the issue of back-pay.

The proposal also allows for an annual increase of £26m (€29m) to the Civil Service paybill with effect from February 2009.