Public sector pay increases related to local bargaining clauses in the current national pay deal are to be processed within weeks, the Taoiseach has said, with the Government “up for” talks getting under way on a new deal before the end of June.
Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan said it was not certain a new deal could be agreed. He said that if there was no immediate replacement “we’ll be into a different era, and inevitably, I think there will be more conflict. But we’re ready for that.”
The outstanding local bargaining increases, which fund side deals for specific sectors, have become a focus of anger for a number of unions, with several suggesting they would not participate in talks on a new deal until they were addressed.
Speaking at the Fórsa biennial delegate conference in Killarney on Thursday, however, Micheál Martin said the Government was conscious of the issue and determined to resolve it.
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“I made it clear to all Ministers, and I discussed this very recently with the Minister for Public Expenditure, that I want, and I expect, rapid progress in the coming weeks to resolve outstanding aspects of applying the local bargaining clause.”
The local bargaining clause is worth 1 per cent of pay in the current deal and earmarked to account for 2 per cent during the next deal, with unions allowed to propose ways in which issues in particular areas can be resolved.
The Irish National Teachers Organisation is seeking to use the money to restore a range of allowances, including for those working on islands or in Gaeltacht areas, while the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has sought to improve pay for new entrants and those with the longest service, which its says are key areas for retention.
Because of this targeting, some of the resulting increases can be worth more than 1 per cent of pay to those who benefit.
With a separate 1 per cent due to all public sector workers under the current deal, which will expire on June 30th, the Taoiseach said he would like talks on a successor deal to begin in the coming weeks.
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Martin said he was in favour of suggestions that any new deal should include mechanisms for unions to input into wider economic issues affecting their members – such as housing, healthcare provision and transport policy. He added that the process was already under way through the establishment of various sub groups to the Labour Employer Economic Forum (Leef), which includes representatives from employers, unions and the Government.
Callinan acknowledged this but said: “I withdrew from the Leef process more than two years ago because I felt consultation isn’t enough. Of course, the meetings were polite, but I think for members to feel that their voice is being heard, that needs to be converted into specific actions, and that’s really what we need to get to over the coming weeks, if we’re going to have a new deal.”
Martin said there will be measures in this year’s budget to support workers and families, but he said these will need to be “sustainable” and referenced the current economic uncertainty.
The Taoiseach said he was conscious that many people were struggling with the cost of living and “we’ve got to work very, very hard to try and alleviate that in a proper, sensible way”.
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Callinan, meanwhile, said the union would support school secretaries and caretakers in taking renewed strike action if the current process at the Labour Court does not produce a satisfactory deal on pensions.
He received the loudest ovation of the morning when he expressed the union’s continued support for the passing of the Occupied Territories Bill.
