IMPACT and other unions in Irish Water have voted in favour of a Labour Court recommendation that includes a 2.2% basic pay increase. The group of unions backed the Court’s recommendation, which was published in December, by 73% in a ballot of 463 workers.
IMPACT official Johnny Fox said the deal ends a pay freeze imposed in Irish Water’s parent company Ervia, formerly Bord Gáis, in 2013. He said the base pay increase was within the average for private sector pay increases in 2016.
“The Court has recommended that the current pay agreement be reviewed before the end of 2017. This was crucial in achieving a new agreement that is more focussed on collective bargaining, as well as benchmarking against pay in the energy and natural resources sector of the economy,” he said.
The recommendation also provides for a minimum increase of 10% upon promotion. Johnny said this aspect of the recommendation made it more attractive for members to seek career progression.
Management and unions are to undertake a review of the company’s performance-related pay model, which was suspended after attracting intense media criticism despite delivering payroll savings.
A subsequent independent review of Ervia’s pay model found there was “no evidence that a so-called richly rewarded ‘bonus culture’ is in operation.” It also found that the pay model does not encourage or enable excessively high levels of pay and that, in most cases, actual individual pay levels at Ervia are lower than typical market rates.
Coillte deal rejected
Meanwhile, IMPACT members in the state forestry company Coillte have rejected a series of restructuring and pay proposals. The ballot concluded in January.
The proposals included pay increases of 1.5%, once-off lump sum payments ranging between €2,250 and €4,500, and the introduction of an internal dispute resolution process.
IMPACT official Johnny Fox said a crucial feature of the proposals was the return to talks in June to negotiate pay increases each year up to 2020. However, there has been no contact between the unions and management since the ballot result. Johnny said the Coillte branch executive is currently considering options to achieve pay movement this year.
