Irish workers face fresh austerity

Negotiations have started on an extension to the agreement on public service pay and employment in Ireland — and it already seems as if the unions will be faced with some unpalatable choices.

The initial agreement was signed in March 2010. In return for union acceptance of a previous round of public sector pay cuts of between 5% and 8%, and union cooperation in public service reorganisation, it guaranteed that, until 2014, there would be no further pay cuts for existing staff or compulsory redundancies.

However, in the negotiations that have started on an extension of the deal, the Irish government is looking for a further ¤1 billion (£800 million) savings.

Among the proposals it has made are a one-hour extension to the working day, eliminating increments, changes to premium payments for weekend work, an increase in the current 45 kilometres (28 miles) over which staff can be redeployed and increased flexibility in the assignment of duties.

Shay Cody, general secretary of the largest Irish public sector union IMPACT, said after the talks: “Management is kidding itself if it thinks we will agree a package that includes all the measures it tabled.”

He said that the unions were willing to go on talking, to achieve what he called “an acceptable and equitable package”. But in his view “this is clearly going to be very difficult indeed”.