Madam, – After Jack O’Connor’s expression of disquiet about the prospect of Fine Gael in government on social partnership and public sector employment, I had a look at the impact of this “social partnership” over the period June 1st, 1995 to January 1st, 2010, during which average industrial earnings and civil service pay rates are conveniently published in my IPA annual diary. I found that the earnings of the top officer, secretary general, as a multiple of the earnings of the lowest paid services officer/clerical assistant, stubbornly sat at nine times, and reduced by a mere 2 per cent over the interval. So much for social partnership reducing the span in pay levels in the interests of social cohesion.
Average industrial earnings are the best indicator we have of pay in the economy which competes for its very survival, particularly with foreign suppliers. In the same 14½ year interval, these earnings increased by a modest 85 per cent, whereas the secretary general’s and service assistant’s pay doubled. For principal officers (higher level), the crème de la crème of the civil service, earnings increased by 140 per cent. A principal officer’s pay increased by 30 per cent more than average industrial earnings did in this interval. At the same time, the probability of an industrial worker being unemployed has nearly tripled, whereas the civil servant enjoys certainty of tenure into a comfortable and enviable “pensionhood”. Logic would have the civil servant’s pay discounted to take account of both of these factors.
Trade union leaders’ pay is linked to civil service pay scales. In the world of competition, earnings and job survival are determined by the competition and by productivity. There has been a yawning gap in public sector and private sector pay at senior levels since the first, notorious benchmarking agreement for which there has been no justification. It is clear that the social partnership model needs reform.
As a former consumers’ advocate, I am aware that neither consumers’ interest nor independent taxpayers are part of the social partners. Personally I would be more at ease if the Dáil governed and reduced the sub-contracting out of semi-legislative functions.
And in the present circumstances pay cuts make more sense than redundancies in the public service, the HSE apart: the HSE now employs one administrator for every 92 citizens. Pay cuts should be accompanied by mandatory extensions to long-term domestic mortgages. – Yours, etc,
