Irish public sector unions have formally ratified acceptance of a new pay deal that is to see Government workers receive a 6.5 per cent pay increase over two years.
The almost 400,000 public sector workers, including bureaucrats, nurses and teachers, are to receive a three per cent pay rise backdated to the start of February.
They will then receive a further increase of two per cent at the start of March 2023 and a 1.5 per cent or €750 ($A1,161) rise, whichever is larger, at the start of next October.
The deal, technically an extension of the Building Momentum agreement that had been due to run out at the end of this year, will formally end at the end of December 2023.
General Secretary of the country’s largest public sector union, Fórsa, Kevin Callinan said members of the many unions involved had weighed up the offer and decided it was worth backing in the circumstances.
However, he pointed out that like the original agreement, it contained a review clause and unions would be monitoring the cost-of-living situation closely with a review to triggering that next year if the situation required it.
Mr Callinan (pictured) also said he expected talks on a new, longer-term pay deal for the sector to get under way in 2023.
“Since the deal was struck on 30 August there have been a couple of worrying announcements,” Mr Callinan said.
“For instance, the Minister for Finance in his Budget speech indicated a change in the Department’s projection for inflation next year, up from three per cent to 7.1 per cent.”
He said there was going to be a lot of pressure on wage bargaining, not just in the public sector but right across the economy next year.
“I think people are looking to trade unions to ensure that they get good wage increases and that employers step up where they can, to do their bit to deal with the cost of living crisis,” Mr Callinan said.
Dublin, 9 October 2022
