Fórsa and other public service unions affiliated to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) will this afternoon (Friday) meet senior officials from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) in what is expected to be the first of a series of engagements to address pay equity for public service ‘new entrants’.
Fórsa, which is Ireland’s largest union in the sector, last week called on the Government to allocate funds in October’s Budget to begin shortening pay scales for new entrants next year. This would be earlier than originally envisaged in the current public sector pay deal, the Public Service Stability Agreement (PSSA).
The union today said this could be done by agreement between the two sides, and pointed out that other recent public service agreements – including the Croke Park agreement, the Haddington Road agreement and the Lansdowne Road agreement – had been amended or replaced earlier than envisaged, by agreement and in response to changing fiscal conditions or other factors.
Fórsa, which is Ireland’s largest union in the sector, last week called on the Government to allocate funds in October’s Budget to begin shortening pay scales for new entrants next year.
Today’s meeting was scheduled following the publication in mid-March of DPER’s Examination of remaining salary scale issues in respect of post-January 2011 recruits at entry grades, The PSSA committed DPER to publish this within 12 months of the commencement of the agreement in January 2018, but it was published significantly earlier.
Today’s meeting would likely be the first of a series of engagements dealing with the practicalities of equalising the length of pay scales.
The term ‘new entrants’ refers to those employed in the civil and public service since January 2011. Their pay scales are currently two points longer than those of other staff, which means it takes them two years longer to get to the top of their pay scale.
Negotiators must confront the technical challenges presented by the fact that the length of pay scales varies widely across the civil and public service. Unions also want to ensure that any solution is fair to all new entrants, regardless of how long they have been employed.
No money is budgeted to deal with the issue in 2018, and the Government has not yet conceded Fórsa’s call for some money to change hands next year. But Fórsa spokesperson Bernard Harbor said: “This is an equity issue and, while no money has been allocated to resolve it in 2018, Fórsa believes that Ireland’s strengthening economic and exchequer recovery means it should be possible to start funding it next year, rather than delaying until 2020 or beyond. That would require funds to be allocated in October’s Budget.
Negotiators must confront the technical challenges presented by the fact that the length of pay scales varies widely across the civil and public service. Unions also want to ensure that any solution is fair to all new entrants, regardless of how long they have been employed.
“Pay equity is a priority for all trade unions, and every bit of progress in addressing this injustice has been achieved by unions collectively, through national pay negotiations and public service pay agreements.”
The DPER report, Examination of remaining salary scale issues in respect of post-January 2011 recruits at entry grades, identified 60,513 new entrants, who make up 19% of public service workers. It said fully equalising the pay scales would cost approximately €199 million. It did not explore the issue of allowances withheld from new entrants.