How over 150,000 public sector staff to work fewer hours under €180m proposal

Nurses and clerical and administrative staff in the civil service, health, education, and local authorities are set to benefit most if the Government backs a new recommendation from an expert group.

It is understood that the Government is likely to accept the proposal.

However, Government sources said last night that it was still a “confidential process” but talks had wrapped up on civil service hours.

One senior source suggested unions had “jumped the gun” in disclosing details, but there was no denial of the contents.

It was stressed that no Government approval or announcement is imminent and it might be some time before the matter goes to Cabinet.

The independent group, chaired by the former chairperson of the Workplace Relations Commission, Kieran Mulvey, has recommended that extra unpaid hours introduced almost a decade ago be reversed from July 1.

If adopted, the move will have a big impact on nurses.

They are now working a 39-hour week but would return to a 37-and-a-half-hour week.

The report will recommend that a minimum 35-hour working week is rolled out across the public sector.

Sources said there were some State employees who had previously worked just 32 or 32-and-a-half hours a week.

It is understood that the recommendations sent to Public Expenditure Minister Michael McGrath say a partial or incremental approach to unwinding the hours would cause “unavoidable operational and organisational” challenges.

It notes that an “orderly return” to the public finances had been achieved without any serious disruption to service and a continued commitment to industrial peace, and these achievements should not be underestimated.

Under the proposals, public sector workers whose hours increased to 39 hours during the economic crash would return to a previous working week of between 35 and 37 hours.

Those on a 37-hour week now would revert to a 35-hour week. However, those whose working week was already 39 hours when the additional hours were rolled out will not be affected, as their hours did not change.

The independent body has not issued its final report but it is expected to say the cost will be in the region of €170m or €180m over the six months from July 1 to the end of the year. This is higher than the €150m fund that the Government put aside to pay for the independent body’s recommendations.

The Government committed to set aside the fund to pay for the implementation of its recommendations under the current Building Momentum public sector pay deal.

A Department of Public Expenditure and Reform spokesperson said Minister Michael McGrath received correspondence from the chairperson of the independent body, including recommendations and conclusions.

“The minister has not yet received the full report,” she said. “The minister looks forward to receiving the full report from the body in the coming weeks. The Government, continuing to prioritise service delivery, will respond to all of the body’s recommendations at that point.”

The recommendations say they conclude the restoration of pay for public servants following the financial crisis.

Sources said the proposal is seen as a way to ease pressure from frontline workers for a Covid ‘bonus’.

This was heightened as senior highly paid civil servants and retirees are due to get full restoration of their pay and pensions from July 1.

Dealing with the long-running dispute over the hours will help clear the way for the Government and unions to negotiate a new public service agreement this summer.

Sources said there will also be some savings from the introduction of a 35-hour week.

The report had been due by the end of last year, and unions were under intense pressure to deliver a reversal of the hours from members, with some groups pushing for it to happen from February.

The cost of the measures estimated by the independent body are well below the €645m full-year cost previously estimated by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. It said this was equal to hiring more than 10,000 extra full-time workers.

The department argued that the additional hours brought average weekly hours in line with the private sector. It said reversing the hours would push up pay, pension and overtime costs.

However, unions have disagreed with its estimates.

Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan said he was confident that the return to “pre-austerity arrangements” could be achieved without “excessive costs” or damage to the quality of public services.

“It has never been correct to assume that increased working time equals increased productivity,” he said.

Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation president Karen McGowan said nurses and midwives will be watching the handling of the recommendation by Government closely.

“As higher earners in the public service are due to receive pay restoration in July 2022, it is only right additional hours worked by nurses and midwives are restored to pre-2013 levels in tandem,” she said.