THE TRADE union representing lower-paid civil servants says a proposed 11-month pay pause would not be acceptable to its members.
The general secretary of the Civil Public and Services Union (CPSU) Blair Horan said yesterday that in the national pay talks, which are to restart today, it would be looking to scale back the proposed 11-month pay pause for the public service which was put forward by the Government in the failed negotiations in July.
He said he would not have been able to sell such an 11-month pay pause to the executive of his union, let alone any possibility of this period being lengthened.
Mr Horan said the CPSU would be seeking flat-rate rather than percentage increases for lower paid staff in the public service as part of the new talks.
Meanwhile, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said yesterday that there had to be a pay freeze in the public sector but that staff in lower-paid grades should be exempt.
In an interview on RTÉ radio's This Week he also criticised the Government for failing to secure greater public sector reform as part of the benchmarking process.
"It is five years since I pointed out that to pay a €1,000 million extra a year to the public service without asking for any increased performance or greater efficiency was absolutely scandalous behaviour by the Government and we're now paying the price," he said.
The new talks process involving employers, trade unions and Government representatives aimed at securing a pay deal has been set a one-week deadline.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen indicated to the parties last Friday that while he wanted and would facilitate a new agreement, it could not be at any price.
When the process starts today the Government's position on a number of issues such as public sector pay, employment levels, inflation, new legislation on collective bargaining rights, as well as possible measures to assist the low paid, will be eagerly awaited.
Significant differences still remain between employers and unions and both sides have warned that concluding a deal will not be easy.
The talks in July collapsed when unions rejected proposals for increases of 5 per cent phased over 21 months.
These proposals would also have involved a pay pause of six months for most workers.
However, for those in the public sector and in construction this would have run for 11 months and 12 months respectively.
Unions are seeking increases of more than 5 per cent to apply over a shorter duration - possibly 18 months.
They also want specific cash increases for the lower paid and reforms in the non-pay areas, including collective bargaining rights in non-union companies.
They have also argued that a 12-month pay pause in the construction sector would not be accepted by workers.
Employers have proposed low single-digit increases in the private sector following a pay pause. They have rejected special increases for the low paid on the basis that this could affect competitiveness in some sectors and lead to job losses.
They are also opposed to changes in collective bargaining rights.
The Construction Industry Federation said on Friday that it still wanted a 12-month pay pause.