Public service talks ongoing
by Bernard Harbor
 
In a letter to Fórsa branches last week, Kevin confirmed that press reports that the Government side wants a pay freeze in 2021 were correct, but that this position has not been accepted by the union side.
In a letter to Fórsa branches last week, Kevin confirmed that press reports that the Government side wants a pay freeze in 2021 were correct, but that this position has not been accepted by the union side.

Negotiations on a possible successor to the Public Service Stability Agreement (PSSA) will resume this morning (Friday 4th December) after a spat over the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform’s (DPER) handling of the talks.

 

Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan said yesterday that DPER’s conduct around the talks, and the absence of movement on issues raised by ICTU-affiliated unions, had posed questions about whether progress towards a new agreement was possible.

 

Kevin leads the negotiations on behalf of ICTU’s Public Services Committee (PSC) – made up of unions representing over 90% of public servants – which met yesterday. He told the meeting that the process was now “extremely fragile.”

 

The ICTU negotiators then met the DPER team throughout Thursday afternoon, and agreed to resume talks this morning.

 

Kevin said ICTU-affiliated unions are united in their approach to the negotiation, and on their objectives in the talks.

 

The unions have said any successor to the PSSA must include a mechanism to address issues still outstanding from the Haddington Road agreement, including the additional working time introduced under that deal. They also want a separate mechanism to address sectoral issues, and a realistic and acceptable approach to pay.

 

The PSSA, which has been in place since January 2018, expires at the end of this month. Formal negotiations on a successor began last week, with the assistance of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).

 

As well as the union agenda, the talks are looking at two issues – modernisation and reform measures and dispute resolution – which were tabled by the employer side. Both of these items have featured in every previous public service agreement.

 

On modernisation, Fórsa has argued that any agreement should acknowledge the commitment, flexibility, hard work and agility that staff across the civil and public service have demonstrated during the Covid crisis, and build on this momentum to meet the challenges ahead.

 

The initial DPER proposals were leaked to the media yesterday, prompting ICTU to reassert that unions would not accept measures like increased outsourcing, five-over-seven day working patterns, or certain other ‘modernisation’ measures raised by the employer representatives.

 

In a letter to Fórsa branches last week, Kevin confirmed that press reports that the Government side wants a pay freeze in 2021 were correct, but that this position has not been accepted by the union side.

 

Instead, Fórsa and other unions are seeking a realistic and acceptable approach to public service pay. Kevin told last month’s Fórsa national conference that this did not rule out pay improvements over the lifetime of what’s expected to be a two-year agreement, if one can be reached.

 

 “While everyone understands that the current economic and fiscal position is extremely difficult, all the projections point to a rapid economic and fiscal bounce-back once the Covid situation stabilises. I believe we have cause to hope that will start to happen in the coming months,” he said.

There has been no detailed discussion of pay during the talks so far.

 

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