Nurses and midwives will be asked to vote in favour of the 6.5 per cent pay increase agreed by public sector unions with the Government this week.
A spokeswoman for the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), which was part of the public sector delegation that negotiated the deal, said on Friday that its executive council had met on Thursday evening to consider it.
They “decided last night to recommend that members accept the deal that was brokered between the public sector unions and representatives from the Department of Public Expenditure”.
Balloting of INMO members was due to begin on September 12th, the union said, and close on October 5th. There is a key meeting of the public services committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions on October 7th to examine the outcome of balloting in public sector unions.
The executive of Fórsa, the largest public sector union, is also recommending the deal to its members after it voted “overwhelmingly” in favour of the pay package.
The national executive of Siptu will meet on Monday to decide whether to recommend the deal for acceptance or rejection, with balloting again beginning on September 12th, a spokesman for the union said.
The executive of another major public sector union, the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO), will be meeting late on Monday evening, with no firm date set for balloting of its members yet, but general secretary John Boyle said it would be concluded before October 7th, likely within the three-four week period following the executive meeting on Monday.
Talks at the Workplace Relations Commission on the new public sector pay deal concluded on Tuesday morning with a Government offer of pay increases for workers totalling 6.5 per cent over two years.
This is a 1.5 per cent increase over the 5 per cent offer made in June which was rejected by the unions at the time.
Public sector unions have said they will take five weeks to consider the Government’s pay offer before taking a collective decision on October 7th on whether to accept the package.
They have warned that a failure to bring in additional cost-of-living measures in the September budget would impact on how workers voted in ballots on the deal.
The Cabinet signed off on the proposed €1.6 billion public sector pay deal at its meeting on Wednesday, clearing the way for it to be implemented if it is ratified by unions next month.
Minister for Public Expenditure Michael McGrath welcomed the Government approval of the planned public pay deal, which will extend the existing agreement, Building Momentum, to the end of 2023.
He said he believed the proposals “strike the right balance between providing a deal that is fair to public servants in the midst of cost-of-living challenges and one that is sustainable and affordable for the taxpayer”.
