IRELAND
The Irish Government is expected to end the controversial two-tier pay system in the Public Service under which workers hired since 2011 work for less than those employed before that date.
The move will result in pay rises averaging €3,300 ($A5,340) a year for up to 60,000 teachers, nurses, police and other public sector workers.
Under the terms of the deal, State employees hired over the past seven years would jump one point on their incremental pay scale next year and a further point in 2020.
The Government has previously estimated that the cost of ending the two-tier pay system across the public sector would be about €200 million ($A324 million), though this would be phased in over a two-year period.
Unions and Government representatives are expected to announce the new deal in the next few days.
Once the details of a final deal are circulated, unions will begin to organise executive meetings. It is likely that ballots of union members will be held within a month or so of the meetings.
It is unclear, however, whether the move towards pay restoration will end the two-tier pay gap in all cases.
Teacher unions, for example, argue that allowances for degrees — worth up to €1,500 ($A2,420) a year — should also be restored, while some unions also argue that those hired since 2011 should be entitled to back-pay.
The teaching profession is most affected by the two-tier pay issue due to the large-scale recruitment that took place over recent years to cope with Ireland’s growing population.
All three teacher unions have warned of potential strike action if a pathway to end the two-tier pay gap is not agreed by this northern autumn, and have demanded money be set aside in the forthcoming Budget.
The two-tier system was introduced as an austerity measure as Ireland struggled to cope with the after-effects of the global financial crisis of 2008.
Dublin, 24 September, 2018
