IMPACT and other civil service unions have lodged a claim for the return of allowances removed during the economic crisis. The claim highlights the injustice of staff hired since 2012 being paid less than colleagues who do the same work.

IMPACT national secretary Andy Pike said the loss of allowances for new entrants, in agriculture and elsewhere, was never justified.

“No employer should be allowed to exploit staff by denying them access to allowances that form part of core pay. In any case, the crisis is over and it’s high time those decisions were reviewed. If specific work continues to merit an allowance, it should be paid to all staff regardless of when they started in the job,” he said.

The claim was formally lodged at the Civil Service General Council last month. Management has two months to respond to the union claim.