Fórsa has said formal negotiations on a successor public service agreement cannot proceed without clarity on pay and living standards at the outset of any process. 

The union position was set out by Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan in an update to branches issued yesterday (Thursday). It follows exploratory talks last week between officers of the ICTU Public Services Committee and officials from the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform. After two meetings, the union side advised Government officials that it did not believe there was a viable basis for opening formal negotiations. 

Referring to comments by Minister Jack Chambers, Kevin said: “The Minister has said that ‘everything is on the table’ and has characterised the union side’s position as setting preconditions. That does not reflect our experience of the exploratory talks. 

“We remain open to a multi-annual agreement, but a different approach is required if talks are to have a realistic prospect of success. In particular, we are seeking certainty, or as much certainty as possible, on pay before entering a wider process covering other issues,” he said. 

Kevin said previous negotiations involved lengthy discussions at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) on text covering a range of issues before pay was addressed. When pay was eventually discussed, Government offers fell well short of inflation projections. He said that experience underlined the need to deal with pay at the beginning of the process. 

The union side has argued that a pay increase is required to cover the period from July to December this year. While no specific claim has been tabled, Kevin noted that inflation was running at 3.6% in May, more than wiping out the benefit of 1% increases paid in February and June. 

He said public service pay has fallen significantly behind prices over recent years. Pay increases under Building Momentum and the first two years of the Public Service Agreement 2024-26 amounted to 15.75%, or 16.89% cumulatively, while average annual inflation over the same period totalled 20.8%, or 22.44% cumulatively. Taken together, this means pay has lagged behind rising prices. 

Kevin acknowledged that lower-paid workers had done better under recent agreements, an approach championed by unions during the Building Momentum talks. But he said the gains had been overstated by the Minister and departmental officials, particularly when compared with the increase in the National Minimum Wage over the same period. 

Kevin added: “Central Bank projections have recently been revised upwards, and the possibility of a more severe inflation scenario remains. In that context, any multi-annual agreement would need a formula to ensure wages do not fall further behind, while also providing a sustainable way to address recent losses. 

“We remain available for further engagement if departmental officials have something substantive to say on pay. In the meantime, unions must prepare for the possibility that there will not be an agreement for an indefinite period. A meeting of the 19 unions affiliated to the ICTU Public Services Committee is due to consider next steps later today,” he said. 

You can read the letter to branches here.

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