Talks on a new public sector pay deal will get under way at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) on Monday after a framework for the process was agreed between the sides on Saturday.
Engagement overseen by WRC chairman Kevin Foley with Irish Congress of Trade Unions general secretary Owen Reidy and Department of the Environment secretary general Oonagh Buckley produced an agreement on how to proceed with substantive talks late on Saturday.
After their conclusion, the three person steering committee said issued a statement in which they said the two sides were in a position to get negotiations going and that they should be started with discussions on pay and related matters, including the union side’s “claims on cost-of-living effects between 2021 – 2025, this year, and for the duration of any agreement”.
Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers welcomed the news of the progress made, saying the statement “provides the basis for a move into constructive dialogue”.
“This is a positive move forward and demonstrates the genuine commitment to dialogue on all sides to ensure an outcome that delivers for our people and our country. I look forward to the formal talks commencing on Monday,” he said.
However, the three person steering committee said there was “a need to rebuild trust and confidence in industrial relations in the public sector by addressing commitments made in the context of the previous agreement.”
This has been a recurring issue raised by the union side which complains that some of the commitments made by Government in that agreement have not been delivered upon.
The three person committee will not run the process itself but have said they will remain available to be help steer the two sides past any “impasse” that might arise during the talks. They said this arrangement was particular to this dispute and had been put in place because of the importance of the talks and the need to reach an agreement.
The process may still have quite some way to go with the WRC phase last time characterised by disagreement early on and a long break in the talks but both sides are likely to be relieved that a basis has been thrashed out on getting them started.
It follows Wednesday’s industrial action by more than 300,000 public and civil servants who were protesting the absence of negotiations on a successor national pay deal to the one that expired at the end of June and the ongoing impact on their wages of inflation due to rising food, fuel costs.