11th December 2020
Closing of pay inequality chapter and provision of money for sectoral issues welcomed
Representatives of public service unions, including INTO General Secretary John Boyle, and employers have agreed proposals for a two-year agreement to succeed the Public Service Stability Agreement (PSSA), which expires at the end of this month.
If ratified, the package would run from 1 January 2021 until 31 December 2022. There is a weighting in the general pay round towards those on lower scale points with uplifts of €500 or 1%, whichever is greater, each year.
INTO General Secretary John Boyle has briefed members of the Central Executive Committee today on the details of the proposed deal. The Executive is to meet again on Monday to decide on putting the agreement to a ballot of members.
The main features of the proposals include:
Pay Equality
New entrant teachers who have been recruited since 1 January 2011, after progressing to point 11 of the teaching salary scale will, on their next increment date, move to point 13. This resolves the outstanding issue where entrants in the 2011 to 2014 cohorts were to have continuing losses compared to a pre-2011 comparator.
New entrant teachers recruited since 1 January 2011, who have already reached point 12 or higher on the teaching salary scale, will on their next increment date after the commencement of the Agreement, move one point further than they would under normal incremental progression.
Pay
A general round increase worth 1% of gross pay or €500 a year, whichever is the greater, on 1st October 2021.
A second general round increase worth 1% of gross pay or €500 a year, whichever is the greater on 1st October 2022.
Provision for the equivalent of a 1% increase in annualised basic salaries through a ‘sectoral bargaining fund’ (see below) on 1st February 2022.
Sectoral bargaining
The establishment of a ‘sectoral bargaining fund,’ initially worth 1% of basic pensionable pay during the lifetime of the agreement, is intended to deal with outstanding adjudications, recommendations, awards and claims, with the option for groups to use the available allocation as a sectoral pay round. One of the outstanding adjudications that INTO would intend to progress to implementation from February 2022 is the 2007 award to primary school leaders.
The proposals outline how the ‘sectoral bargaining fund’ would operate, including an implementation process and compliance with “the maintenance of industrial peace.”
Speaking after this morning’s meeting, INTO General Secretary, John Boyle said the proposals will now be studied by members of the Central Executive Committee and plans will be set in motion to both inform members and conduct a ballot.
A copy of ‘Building Momentum, A new public service agreement (2021 – 2022)’ is available here.