Pay proposals inequitable, say higher civil servants

Higher civil and public servants have said they are disappointed with the proposed new Lansdowne Road agreement on pay restoration.

The Association of Higher Civil and Public Servants union said its members were treated in an “inequitable manner”.

Under the proposed deal, a planned €1,000 salary increase in 2017 will only apply to staff earning less than €65,000.

The Irish Times reported on Saturday that under 11th-hour revisions to the pay document put in place following talks between Ministers, original proposals to provide a €1,000 boost to those earning more than €65,000 in the public service in 2017 were shelved.

The association has 2,850 members - largely at assistant principal and principal officer level in the Civil Service.

The bulk of members would earn more than €65,000.

Members of the association will benefit from pay restoration provisions contained in the previous Haddington Road agreement on public service pay and productivity.

Consultation process

At a meeting on Tuesday, the association’s executive committee said it would engage in a consultation process with its members on the Lansdowne Road deal proposals which would conclude by Monday, June 22nd.

The association's general secretary Ciaran Rohan said that while the pay restoration already committed to under Haddington Road was welcome, the overall outcome of the Lansdowne Road talks was "disappointing".

The association, he said, had been treated in an inequitable manner in the broader context of the proposed agreement. As such, he maintained a broader consultation with association members was required.

“Following the consultation process, the executive committee of the Association of Higher Civil and Public Servants will then come to a decision as to whether or not to formally recommend the proposed public pay agreement,” he said.

“The matter will then be put to a ballot of the membership.”

Last week the Irish Medical Organisation - which also represents relatively high -paid staff in the public service - expressed disappointment and grave concern as to the outcome of the Lansdowne Road deal.