The predictable preliminaries to negotiations on a new public sector pay deal are well underway. Senior ministers are warning that there is a limit to what can be afforded. And trade unions are consulting members and may ballot for industrial action to give them more leverage in the talks.
The unions say that initial meetings with senior public servants held recently did not provide a basis for serious negotiations. It is not clear what the officials said, nor what the public service unions are looking for. But with the previous agreement having run out at the end of last month, it is time for both sides to get on with it. Everyone knows that there are, at some stage, going to be negotiations and there is little point in delaying this engagement.
The backdrop to the talks is mixed. A rise in the inflation rate – on top of existing high prices – has put pressure on many household budgets, among them those of more modestly paid public servants. The State has a significant budget surplus, though much of it is based on potentially volatile corporate tax receipts. Meanwhile, the concessions after the fuel protests have put pressure on other groups, including the trade unions, to get extra resources for the people they represent.
The Coalition, as ever in public sector pay talks, finds itself wearing two hats – as employer and Government. Warnings from budget ministers Simon Harris and Jack Chambers that it cannot do a deal at any price are little more than statements of the obvious. Trade union calls for an agreement beating inflation do not tell us much either.
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There should be scope to do a deal which protects the livings standards of public servants. But the State, as employer, is also entitled to look for additional productivity and flexibility and cooperation with policies aimed at delivering better services to the public. Tax concessions in the budget may be part of the equation, too.
It seems reasonable that lower paid public servants should get higher increases than their more highly-paid colleagues. However, while many households have been affected by the rising cost of living, public servants in general have not been particularly disadvantaged over the past few years, in comparison to the private sector.
Other issues may also enter the negotiating mix, including union objections to outsourcing in some areas and wider State supports in areas like health, childcare and education ,which also benefit the wider population.
In times of wider economic instability, a deal would offer welcome certainty to the exchequer as well as to public servants. It should also be negotiated in the context of improved services to the wider public. Threats of strike action need to be put on the backburner and the Government needs to show a willingness to engage. A deal is there to be done.
