Any pay deal reached with public service trade unions in talks which begin on Monday will have to include productivity elements, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said.
The Taoiseach delivered the blunt message yesterday ahead of talks commencing at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) following a framework agreement reached between both sides over the weekend. This resulted in further industrial action originally planned for this Wednesday being called off.
The Taoiseach declined to discuss suggestions that the €1.2 billion allocated to pay for a new deal in the recent budget could be increased by dipping into a €1.6 billion contingency fund.
“We’re not going to go into what may transpire over the course of the negotiations ... Nothing is decided, no precise figures have even been mentioned yet,” he said at an event in Co Kildare.
The potentially tough talks are set to start with an attempt to deal with the trade union side’s claims in relation to cost-of-living pressures. This included demands that measures be taken to address a shortfall of between 5 and 7 per cent on increases received by most workers since 2021, when taking into account inflation during the period.
The order had previously been a sticking point between the two sides but engagement on Saturday chaired by WRC chairman Kevin Foley led to progress.
Asked what he thought of suggestions in the media that another €400 million could be added to the €1.2 billion earmarked for addressing pay next year, Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan said: “I have no comment on the figures floated in Sunday’s papers other than they appear to be deliberately used to try to get people to forget that the Government was talking about €2 billion a few weeks ago.”
Speaking at the Fianna Fáil Wolfe Tone commemoration at Bodenstown, Co Kildare, on Sunday, Micheál Martin rejected suggestions by Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary that he would “buckle” and “roll over” to the public sector trade unions, and insisted that productivity increases would be part of any new pay deal with the unions.
“Obviously there has to be value for money, there has to be productivity and all of that, and that has always been our position. As someone who is experienced in politics, that’s my approach.”
Martin declined to be drawn on whether he would be open to a lower percentage increase for higher-paid public servants with a higher percentage increase for lower-paid workers, rather than an across the board percentage increase.
“I’m open to an agreement that is affordable, that can advance productivity within the public service, that would look after low-paid workers – but again, let’s allow the negotiations to start. It’s not for me to be getting into the details or precise preferences about the shape of any agreement.”
Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers, meanwhile, welcomed the agreement reached on Saturday evening regarding a basis for proceeding with the talks.
Callinan, who will lead the union side’s negotiating team, said on Sunday evening: “The Minister told me that the Government had listened to the people on picket lines last Wednesday. We’ll now test whether they have understood and back it up in practice.”
The Government side will be represented in the talks by officials from the Department of Public Expenditure. Unions have had a strained relationship with the department in recent times, suggesting that the talks process could prove difficult.
Senior Government sources expect tough negotiations and say they hope the process can wrap up in a matter of weeks, but are prepared for it to last longer.
One union, Unite, voted against deferring a second day of strike action this Wednesday when the Public Services Committee of Ictu met on Friday, arguing that the Government position had not shifted far enough to enter talks. Unite is due to consult its shop stewards on Monday on how it should proceed.
It appeared to remain possible that the union, which represents about 4,000 public sector workers, could push ahead with its strike if it receives support from its members.
Attempts to contact the union for clarification on Sunday were unsuccessful.