Ireland’s main Public Service union says there should be no reason why a “realistic and acceptable” approach to a new pay agreement should rule out pay rises for the State’s 340,000 public employees.
However, General Secretary of Fórsa, Kevin Callinan (pictured) warned that if no deal on pay was reached, the union would look at other ways to prosecute its claims.
Addressing Fórsa’s annual conference online, Mr Callinan told delegates he had hoped to have news of substantial progress in the exploratory talks that were taking place on a successor to the Public Service Stability Agreement (PSSA), which expires at the end of December.
However, as things stood it was not possible to put a PSSA successor to a ballot of members.
“History has taught us that the absence of a Public Service agreement means uncertainty at best, and chaos at worst,” Mr Callinan said.
“Fórsa doesn’t want to focus on difficulties and disputes,” he said.
“Instead, we want to continue to step up to the challenges in front of the Public Service in these extraordinary times.”
Outlining issues currently blocking an agreement, Mr Callinan made specific reference to addressing outstanding austerity measures, including the additional unpaid hours imposed under the 2013 Haddington Road Agreement, which unions want abolished.
“Some observers think we’re not serious about that. I want to make it crystal clear that it will be an essential element of any new agreement involving this union,” he said.
“I accept that any successor agreement would have to be realistic in the context of an extremely challenging economic and fiscal situation, but this does not mean ruling out pay improvements over the lifetime of a deal,” Mr Callinan said.
Dublin, 22 November 2020
