Sir, – We are told by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) that the public service pay negotiations are at a standstill and the gap between the Government and the unions is too great.
This charade will continue in order to create the impression we have two opposing sides in these negotiations, whereas what we actually have is public servants in the Department of Public Expenditure negotiating with public servants in the unions, all of whom will benefit from the deal that is eventually agreed.
In addition, the WRC leaders are also public servants. Minister Jack Chambers claims any deal “must be affordable to taxpayers”, but no details are provided. Everyone around the table knows that the Government has a big surplus, which makes a deal highly likely.
In 2026 the public service pay and pensions bill will be €29-€30 billion and the Government surplus is €6 billion, so, in theory, the 10 per cent increase (€3 billion) that the unions have targeted is “affordable to taxpayers”.
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A double-digit percentage is a bad headline for the Government, so expect an increase about 6-8 per cent. The really worrying part is that our surplus is provided by taxes from US multinationals which are not guaranteed to go on forever, but that’s for another day. – Yours, etc,
MARK HURLEY,
Douglas,
Cork.
