Unions 'overwhelmingly' endorse new public service pay deal

Kevin Callinan, general secretary of Forsa, Ireland's largest public service union.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions has “overwhelmingly” voted to endorse the new public service pay agreement.

The agreement, known as Building Momentum, was agreed in something of a stopgap fashion last December after the Covid-19 pandemic greatly curtailed the negotiating process.

The new agreement will come into force with immediate effect and will run until the end of next year. Some 13 out of the 17 public service unions involved voted to ratify the new deal, with the notable exception of the Irish Medical Organisation, which voted overwhelmingly against it last Friday.

The deal will see “modest pay increases skewed towards those on lower incomes”, ICTU said, while a new sectoral bargaining arrangement has been introduced for the first time in order to alleviate pressure from certain professions less content with the blanket nature of the pay provisions.

Kevin Callinan, general secretary of Forsa, Ireland's largest public service union, said that the ICTU-affiliated unions are “fully committed” to the implementation of the agreement which would “bring tangible benefits to those who use and provide public services”.

“The pay terms represent a realistic and acceptable approach to incomes, and they are substantially skewed towards lower earners in a very challenging context of limited resources,” he said.

The main terms of the new deal are: a general wage increase worth 1% of gross pay or €500 per year, whichever is greater; a second such increase for the same percentage or €500 on October 1 2022; and a 1% increase in basic salaries through a ‘sectoral bargaining fund’ on February 1 2022.

SIPTU deputy general secretary John King said that the shorter agreement “can deliver on these objectives while providing security in times of great uncertainty for all workers across public service”.

ICTU said that discussions are now underway with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform with regard to the implementation of the deal.

The new agreement will also see the establishment of an independent body before the end of next month aimed at bringing about the return to pre-Haddington Road Agreement working hours, and to resolve issues surrounding pay for entrant teachers which would see their opening pay jump two points on the profession’s salary scale.