Unions accept invitation to formal talks on public service pay agreement

The Public Services Committee (PSC) of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions met this morning (Tuesday, 24 November) in anticipation of an invitation to formal talks on a possible successor to the current public service pay deal, the Public Service Stability Agreement (PSSA).

The committee, which represents all ICTU-affiliated unions with members working in the civil and public service, decided that it would accept an invitation to formal negotiations if one was made. The invitation has since been received from the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Michael McGrath TD.

The committee was briefed on the progress of exploratory talks, which had been underway between the PSC officers and senior Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) officials, with the aim of establishing whether there existed a basis for formal talks to begin.

Commenting on today’s developments, INTO General Secretary John Boyle, who is a vice-chairperson of the Public Services Committee of ICTU stated that he

would be determined to resolve outstanding pay equality issues for post-2010 entrants to the teaching profession, to increase the salaries of primary school leaders who have waited far too long for the payment of their outstanding award and to secure a pay rise for all teachers, who have been so central to the continuity of learning prior to the summer and to the successful return to schooling since late August.