Fórsa has been in discussions with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) over an anomaly that has arisen regarding increases in the value of certain allowances in the civil and public services.

 

Unions had assumed that increases paid under the Public Service Stability Agreement (PSSA) would automatically apply to the allowances, as well as core pay. But it has emerged that management believed the allowances need not be adjusted until the end of the deal in 2020.

 

DPER has argued that there’s not enough money to make adjustments in 2018, as the public service pay bill has already been budgeted. Fórsa is, therefore, pressing to have the full adjustment for the 2018-2020 period paid next year.

 

Although this would mean a delay in 2018 adjustment, this solution would preserve the overall monetary value of the adjustment over the lifetime of the deal. No agreement has yet been reached and the discussions are continuing.