Public service union members want future pay deal to match inflation - survey

A survey of more than 20,000 members of the main trade union representing public servants shows strong support for any future pay deal negotiated with Government to include pay increases matching the rate of inflation.

The survey of Fórsa members found 80 per cent of respondents felt it was “very important” the next public sector pay deal included pay increases that kept pace with inflation, which is currently running at seven per cent.

Nine out of ten younger Fórsa union members supported the proposal that pay increases kept pace with inflation.

A majority of respondents to the survey said they would support the union balloting for industrial action, such as strikes, if a future pay deal with Government did not include pay increases at the rate of inflation.

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The trade union said only five per cent of those who took the survey opposed balloting for industrial action in that event, while the remaining cohort said they would reserve judgment until they saw the details of any future deal.

The survey was drawn from responses of more than 20,000 union members and conducted by Amárach research in the second half of April. Fórsa, the largest public service trade union, has more than 80,000 members in total.

Over 90 per cent of survey respondents said any future pay talks should negotiate increases in pay and conditions to offset the end of cost of living supports from the Government, such as energy credits.

Last August trade unions negotiated an extension of the Building Momentum public sector pay agreement, with workers receiving a 6.5 per cent pay increase over two years.

The agreement expires at the end of 2023, with talks between unions and Government on a successor deal likely to begin in the coming months.

Kevin Callinan, Fórsa general secretary, said the results of the survey showed there was “no doubt” the cost of living would be the main issue for unions in the future pay negotiations.

“As and when public service talks get under way, unions will concentrate on a number of key cost-of-living issues, including the need to make good the shortfall in pay against inflation during the remaining term of the current pay agreement, which expires in December,” he said.

The senior union leader said inflation in the cost of essentials like food remained “stubbornly high”. The current public sector pay deal did not “fully compensate for the rate of inflation”, he said.

Any move by the Government to end current cost of living supports would be factored in to upcoming negotiations, he said.

“We’ve already made it clear to Government and employers, if these supports are withdrawn and if prices remain elevated - as they surely will - the shortfall will have to be made good in wage bargaining across the economy,” he said.