Resounding majority of SIPTU members vote to support new Public Sector Pay Agreement

SIPTU members throughout the public service have voted by a resounding majority to accept the proposed new Public Sector Pay Agreement 2024 – 2026 in a ballot counted today (Thursday, 21st March) at centres in Dublin, Cork and Galway.

Speaking at the count centre in Liberty Hall in Dublin, SIPTU Deputy General Secretary, John King, said: “More than 90% of votes cast by our members were in favour of the proposed new Public Sector Pay Agreement. This agreement would signify a marked improvement in pay for public service workers, it also safeguards against job outsourcing and the privatisation of services.

“In addition, a clause within the deal provides a mechanism to address local claims and disputes within the public service. Our members have decided that the agreement goes someway to addressing the cost of living and inflation challenges facing them. It also provides for a degree of enhancement of their terms and conditions of employment.”

He added: “SIPTU representatives will present this mandate at the ICTU Public Services Committee meeting scheduled for Monday, 25th March. The rejection or acceptance of the agreement by members of ICTU-affiliated unions in the public service will be determined by the aggregating of the results of all the ballots conducted by the individual unions. This result is expected to be known next Monday.”

Health workers in the community and voluntary sector to commence indefinite strike action

The ICTU group of unions representing health and community workers, employed in community and voluntary sector agencies funded by the HSE and other state agencies, have announced today (Monday) that indefinite strike action, in several selected employments nationwide, is to commence from Tuesday 17th October next.

The union group, led by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), said the strike action will involve thousands of health and community workers in a variety of grades and in multiple locations, bringing services to a halt.

The decision to strike follows ballots carried out by Fórsa, the INMO and SIPTU. All three unions said ballot returns showed a high level of participation in the ballot, and overwhelming support for industrial action, up to and including strikes.

Workers in the following employments will take indefinite strike action from Tuesday 17th October:
Ardeen Cheshire Ireland
Ability West
Cheshire Ireland
Cheshire Dublin
Cheshire Home Newcastle West
Co-action West Cork
Cobh Hospital
Daughters Of Charity Child and Family Service
DePaul Ireland
Don Bosco Care
Enable Ireland (nationwide, including Cork, Tralee, East Coast and Midwest regions)
Family Resource Centres
Irish Wheelchair Association
Kerry Parents and Friends Association
St. Catherines Association Ltd
St. Josephs Foundation
St. Lukes Nursing Home
Trinity Community Care
Western Care Association

The ballot for industrial action took place following the breakdown of WRC talks in July and follows years of pay disparity between these workers and their counterparts employed directly by the state.

While these agencies are largely state-funded, workers employed in a range of health professional, clinical, clerical and administrative grades, are on lesser terms and conditions than their HSE counterparts. The pay differential is in excess of 10%.

ICTU general secretary Owen Reidy said the strike action is an inevitable consequence of the failure of the Government to address a serious and growing problem with how the agencies are funded, and a recruitment and retention crisis in vital services: “Workers in the sector now have chosen to take action because the State, as the chief funding body for these services, has failed to grasp the seriousness of the staffing crisis in this sector,” he said.

SIPTU Health division official Kevin Figgis said: “The decision to strike clearly demonstrates the level of frustration our members feel at the dysfunctional way in which parts of the community healthcare system is funded.

“Our members involved in this dispute provide essential health services on behalf of the State. Should voluntary providers continue to have recruitment and retention issues, and are no longer able to provide these services, there will be an obligation on the HSE to step in and provide them directly.

“These services will need to be appropriately funded. Pay parity with the public service is necessary to ensure the provision of vital public services to vulnerable people in our communities. It’s an acknowledged fact that the current funding model is unsustainable and will need to be resolved to secure the future of these services,” he said.

Fórsa Health and Welfare official Ashley Connolly said: “This is the action of last resort, and it has been a difficult decision for these workers, but they’ve been left with no more options.

“The Government has been dragging its feet on the issue for years, while making conciliatory noises to health workers who urgently need pay improvements. Their colleagues are walking out the door for better terms elsewhere, and waiting lists for the services these agencies offer continue to grow as a result.

“There’s a yawning pay gap of more than 10%. Services cannot be sustained as long as that continues,“ she said.

INMO official Albert Murphy said: “Nurses in the community and voluntary sector provide essential services to some of the most vulnerable people in society. They have not been afforded the same level of pay increases as their colleagues in the HSE, which is exacerbating a recruitment and retention crisis in the sector.

“Nurses in the sector are now facing into another winter with rising household costs, yet their salaries remain stagnant.

“The Government cannot continue to bury its head in the sand over the very real issues at the heart of this dispute. It’s hard for our members to take that while the exchequer has enjoyed record returns, and the state continues to deny vital pay improvements to thousands of workers in this vital health sector.”

SIPTU Public Administration and Community division official Karan O’Loughlin added: “Our members have opted to take action as the wage cuts, unilaterally imposed more than a decade ago, have been reversed all over the economy while our members have been left behind. It’s unacceptable.

“Government inaction and delay has only served to put these vital community services at risk and leave our members to feel as though they have no option to withdraw their labour,” she said.

SIPTU National Executive Council Statement On The WRC Proposals On The Review Of ‘Building Momentum’ Public Service Agreement

The National Executive Council (NEC) of SIPTU met on Monday, 5th September 2022, to consider the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) proposals on the review of the pay provisions of the Public Service Agreement, Building Momentum.

SIPTU, along with colleague trade unions in the Public Services Committee of the ICTU, invoked the review clause of the Agreement arising from the cost of living and inflation crisis.

The NEC, having considered the details of the proposals, decided that they should be put to a ballot of SIPTU members in the Public Service and Section 38 Agencies with a recommendation for acceptance.

The WRC proposals issued in respect of the Review, when taken with the existing measures of Building Momentum, are structured in a manner that is consistent with previous public service agreements which prioritised the position of lower and middle-income earners.

The NEC also noted the position of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform that economy-wide cost of living measures would accompany pay improvements. These measures will be addressed in Budget 2023 and through the Labour Employer Economic Forum which is to meet in September 2022.

If these proposals are accepted, it will extend the current Public Service Agreement until the end of December 2023. Negotiations on a successor Agreement for 2024 and beyond will likely take place during the Summer of 2023.

Accordingly, the SIPTU National Executive Council recommends acceptance of these proposals in a secret ballot vote to be held over the period from Monday, 12th September to Wednesday 5th October, 2022.

WRC-proposed public pay package skewed to lower paid

The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) this morning (Tuesday) proposed a public service pay package aimed at resolving differences between public service unions and Government officials following over 19 hours of talks. The ICTU Public Services Committee (PSC) subsequently met to consider the proposal at 10.00am today.

The package would see pay increases of 3% with effect from 2nd February 2022, 2% from 1st March 2023 and 1.5% or €750 (whichever is the greater) from 1st October 2023. This is in addition to 1% or €500, whichever is greater, due at the beginning of October 2022.

The minimum payment of €750 a year from next October means the package would be worth 8% to a worker earning €25,000 a year and 7% to a person on €37,500 a year.

This morning’s PSC meeting decided that individual unions should now consult members, through ballots and other means, on the package in advance of a collective decision on whether to accept or reject the package. This will take place at a further PSC meeting on Friday 7th October, where voting will be weighted to reflect the number of public servants that each union represents.

PSC chairperson Kevin Callinan said he believed the outcome of this long process was the best that could currently be achieved through negotiations.

“We’ll now be explaining this package to union members, who will have the final say in ballots. Neither side has achieved all it sought, but this package is a significant improvement on the pay terms of Building Momentum, and it is worth more to those who need it most. This underlines the importance of the unions’ decision to invoke the review clause in the current agreement.

“Over the past weeks, Minister McGrath and his Government colleagues have repeatedly promised to supplement pay measures with other cost-of-living supports through the Labour-Employer Economic Forum (LEEF) process and the forthcoming Budget. Workers will now expect delivery on that promise. A Government failure to deliver will certainly impact the ballots that will shortly get underway,” he said.

PSC secretary John King said the PSC was also recommending that planned industrial action ballots be suspended while unions consult on the WRC package.

The pay talks resumed at noon yesterday (29th August) after a ten-week hiatus during which the Government said it was reflecting on its position. Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Michael McGrath said his revised offer was final, although union negotiators held out for an improved sum for lower paid public servants.
The total 2022-2023 increases due under the WRC-proposed package would be:

1) 2nd February 2022 3%

2) 1st October 2022 1% or €500 a year (whichever is the greater). Note, this was agreed under the original Building Momentum agreement

3) 1st March 2023 2%

4) 1st October 2023 1.5% or €750 (whichever is the greater).

These are in addition to Building Momentum increases of 1% or €500 a year (whichever is greater in October 2021, plus a sectoral bargaining fund worth 1% of annualised basic pay from 1st February 2022.

John King also said that the Union would holding a meeting of its National Executive Council as part of a process to commence consultations with members immediately, in advance of commencing a ballot vote for acceptance or rejection of the proposal’s.

Public service pay campaign to include industrial action ballots

Public service union negotiators have today (Friday) recommended a coordinated union campaign on public service pay, supported by industrial action ballots, to address the impact of soaring inflation on low and middle earners. They also said they were no longer prepared to discuss an extension of the Building Momentum agreement, to cover pay in 2023, until improved terms for 2021-2022 are agreed.

In a letter to members of ICTU’s Public Services Committee (PSC), the PSC’s lead negotiators said they had now concluded that the Government was breaching the current public service pay agreement by failing to conclude a review of the Building Momentum pay terms. The review clause was triggered over four months ago.

Their letter to PSC affiliates, who collectively represent over 90% of Ireland’s public servants, said:
“The PSC invoked the Building Momentum review clause on 11th March, when inflation was 5.6%. We did this with the objective of significantly improving the pay element of the agreement, taking account of higher-than-expected inflation in both 2021 and 2022.

“The Government eventually responded in May, when inflation had reached 7%. Subsequent talks in the Workplace Relations Commission ended without agreement on 17th June, by which time inflation had hit 7.8%.

“Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) officials subsequently told the WRC that the Government needed more time to reflect on its position and four weeks later – with inflation at 9.1% – they are still reflecting. Meanwhile, the Dáíl has gone into recess and will not resume until 14th September, less than two weeks before the Budget.

“The Government administration is now effectively winding down until mid-September, leaving low and middle-income public servants with the prospect of another two months of uncertainty. In our view, the Government’s attitude towards its staff is bordering on contempt.

“Given its continued foot-dragging, it seems clear that the Government does not intend to conclude the review of Building Momentum.

“On this basis, we have told the WRC that we are no longer in a position to continue discussions on an extension of Building Momentum, to cover pay in 2023, until the review of Building Momentum is satisfactorily concluded. If there is no extension in place before the current agreement expires at the end of December, we will have to submit pay claims for next year.

“We are also recommending a coordinated union campaign, supported by industrial action ballots, to achieve a credible pay offer for 2021-2022 for public servants who, in common with workers across the economy, are bearing the full brunt of large and sustained increases in the cost of home heating, fuel, food, housing, childcare, and many other essentials. We recommend that unions begin practical arrangements for balloting, to begin next month, pending a meeting of the Public Services Committee to coordinate the campaign.

“You will recall that the pay talks ended without agreement in mid-June after the Government offered an additional increase of just 2.5% for the 2021-2022 period of the current agreement. This is clearly inadequate when inflation now seems likely to be over 10% in that period.”

The unions say their members are increasingly frustrated at the delay in the process, coupled with mixed messages coming from the most senior Government sources.

While the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has talked down prospects of an improved Government offer, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar last month said the Government was prepared to make “a further offer.” This week, Taoiseach Micheál Martin told the Dáil that the Government wanted to reach a public service pay agreement prior to the Budget, which would include “parallel” measures to ease cost-of-living pressures.

The ICTU PSC officers are Kevin Callinan (chair) John King (secretary), Phil Ni Sheaghdha (vice chair) and John Boyle (vice chair).

Public Service Pay Update – Talks at WRC conclude with no agreement

Negotiations on public service pay have concluded in the early hours of Friday (June 17th) without agreement at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).

SIPTU Deputy General Secretary, John King, has said “it was very disappointing that it was not possible to close out on a review of the Public Service Agreement, Building Momentum, despite lengthy talks taking place at the WRC with officials from the government department for Public Expenditure.”

“Public service Unions are disappointed that, despite an element of positive engagement during the day, the reality is that the government side were not in a position to move into a space where agreement could be concluded.”

SIPTU and the ICTU public service unions had invoked the review clause of the agreement given the impact of inflation and increases in the costs of living on the value of workers’ wages; and the fact that these developments had completely eroded the benefit of modest the modest increases contained in Building Momentum.

The WRC requested both sides reflect on their position and public service Unions remain available for further engagement should the WRC invite the parties to further discussions.