Further down Ireland’s Haddington Road

The Irish government has been successful in its attempt to get a majority of unions to sign agreements cutting the pay of higher paid public servants, introducing an unpaid increase in hours and delaying increments for public sector workers.

The revised package was set out in the Haddington Road agreement, after earlier proposals had been rejected in a ballot of union members (see Workplace Report, June 2013, page 8).

Brendan Howlin, the minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, said that the vast majority of unions/associations representing public servants had accepted the terms of the agreement and that others were considering their approach in the context of their internal procedures and processes.

Among those who have signed agreements is the CPSU, representing lower paid civil servants. Its membership voted to back the deal, despite a recommendation from the union’s executive to reject it. General secretary Eoin Ronayne said the vote “reflects the impossible position many members were put in”, which threatened deeper pay cuts through legislation if no agreement was reached.

www.lrc.ie/documents/2013/Haddington-Road-Agreement.pdf