Unions have been informed by the Government that it is ready to enter exploratory discussions on public sector pay.
Officials at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform have written to members of the Public Services Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions informing them that they have been instructed to enter talks on a review of the current public sector pay deal ‘Building Momentum’.
No date for the discussions has yet been set.
Building Momentum delivered a 1% pay increase last year, with a further 1% due in October.
Unions triggered a review clause in the agreement in light of soaring inflation.
The Association of Higher Civil and Public Servants held its annual conference in Dublin today, and passed a number of motions calling for the next public sector pay deal to adequately reflect increases in the cost of living.
“The Building Momentum pay agreement, that is due to expire at the end of this year, was the first actual pay increase for our grades in 14 years,” said Ciaran Rohan, General Secretary of the Association of Higher Civil and Public Servants.
“With inflation running at an over 20-year high, the cost of living is sharply impacting on members. We trust that this will be addressed and welcome the fact that the Irish Congress of Trade Unions has been invited to attend exploratory talks on a review of the current agreement,” Mr Rohan added.
Senior civil servants also called on the Government to put measures in place to protect their privacy after recordings of conversations were leaked to the media.
Delegates said it was “unacceptable” and “egregious” that the names of civil servants had appeared in the press in relation to leaked recordings and that this had had an impact on the mental health of those involved.
The union passed a motion calling on the Government “to respond appropriately by putting in place measures to protect the privacy rights of our members in the workplace.”
Other issues debated at the conference included blended working and workload pressures.
The AHCPS called on the Government to consider introducing new legislation to underpin its ‘right to disconnect’ proposals to allow civil and public servants the opportunity to better manage their work/life balance.
“We welcome the Workplace Relations Commissions code of practice on this issue. However, the adoption of specific right to disconnect legislation should not be ruled out, particularly if the code proves unsuccessful in protecting workers against the negative effects of modern work practices,” Mr Rohan said.
