ICTU’s private sector committee has set a target of 3.4% for private sector pay settlements in 2019. The committee also said it wants to secure additional benefits and continue to address ‘legacy issues’ in private sector employments.
 
The 3.4% target is up from a 3.1% ambition it set for this year. Unions say the target takes account of expected inflation in regard to personal consumption, as well as increases in the cost of housing and other necessities.

Additional benefits like improved annual leave, bonus payments, pensions and vouchers, have also been an increasingly common feature of agreements in recent years.

Head of Forsa’s Services and Enterprises Division Angela Kirk, who is a member of the ICTU committee, said the union had reached a number of agreements in the private sector and commercial semi-state bodies this year. These include a 3% basic salary increase in Dublin Airport Authority in a three-year agreement covering 2017-2019.

Angela added that Aer Lingus non-pilot grades agreed an 8.5% deal, to be paid over 39 months from April 2017, with scope for further increases linked to productivity.