Officials of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) have met senior officers of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform for exploratory talks on a Public Service pay rise.
The meeting was organised when Minister for Public Expenditure, Michael McGrath asked his officials to engage with the ICTU’s Public Service Committee after it triggered a review clause in the current Building Momentum agreement.
Chair of the Committee, Kevin Callinan, who is also General Secretary of the Fórsa union, said Departmental officials acknowledged there had been a change in the underlying economic assumptions that informed Building Momentum.
“They accepted there was an expectation that an adjustment in the pay terms of Building Momentum in 2022 would be discussed as part of this engagement, although this exploratory meeting did not go into detail about what this might amount to,” Mr Callinan (pictured) said.
“Against the background of uncertainty caused by the international situation and other factors, Department of Public Expenditure and Reform officials also said that, in advance of its October 2022 Budget announcement, the Government was keen to establish some certainty on Public Service pay movement in 2023.”
He said the Government was ready to engage with unions on this matter over the coming weeks.
“We inquired whether, in such a scenario, the Government side would seek to revisit and/or add to the change and modernisation commitments in Building Momentum, and the officials said that they would reflect and consult on this question,” Mr Callinan said.
Dublin, 13 May 2022
