ICTU Public Services Committee approves Public Service Stability Agreement

The Public Services Committee (PSC) of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) has today (Monday 18th September 2017) voted to approve the Public Service Stability Agreement (PSSA). The deal was accepted by 80% to 20% on an aggregate ballot of the PSC at a meeting in the ICTU Offices in Dublin this morning (Monday, 18th September).

Individual unions balloted their members over the summer on the terms of the agreement, which was endorsed by members of SIPTU, IMPACT, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), TEEU and civil service unions the PSEU and CPSU.

The agreement ensures that, by 2020, more than 90% of public servants will be out of ‘FEMPI’ pay provisions, and almost a quarter will have exited FEMPI pension levy payments.

The deal guarantees public servants pay restoration, job security and pension certainty through positive pay and pension levy adjustments. 73% of public sector workers will receive a boost of 7% or more to their take-home pay while preserving the value of their pensions and protecting their jobs from outsourcing over the lifetime of the agreement.

The agreement also provides a clear road map to address outstanding issues like pay for new entrants employed since 2010 and any outstanding barriers to recruitment and retention of health professionals.

The unions will immediately seek to have discussions with the Government to activate these provisions.

 Main provisions of the Public Sector Stability Agreement (PSSA):

• 1st January 2018: 1% pay adjustment
• 1st October 2018: 1% pay adjustment
• 1st January 2019: Pension levy threshold up from €28,750 to €32,000 (worth €325pa)
• 1st January 2019: 1% pay adjustment for those earning less than €30,000
• 1st September 2019: 1.75% pay adjustment
• 1st January 2020: Pension levy threshold increased to €34,500 (worth €250pa)
• 1st January 2020: 0.5% pay increase for those earning less than €32,000
• 1st October 2020: 2% pay adjustment

The proposed agreement includes a range of non-pay measures including:

• The retention of outsourcing protections
• A facility to revert to pre-Haddington Road working hours (with a commensurate pay adjustment)
• An end to pension levy payments on non-pensionable earnings, including overtime
• A process to address longer pay scales for new (post-2010) entrants
• A process to assess recruitment and retention problems in certain grades and professions
• Commitments on work-life balance arrangements, and
• A commitment not to increase NMBI, CORU, or other professional registration fees, during the lifetime of the agreement.