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Government signals pay flexibility in bid to woo unions
31 January 2010 By Niamh Connolly Political Correspondent
The government has signalled for the first time that it would consider reversing some element of the public service pay cuts in next year’s budget provided the savings can be secured in major reform and efficiencies.
Senior figures have made clear the government will not roll back on its budget cuts for this year.
But, a more conciliatory stance is being considered by the government about the prospect of discussing a programme of reforms that could restore some pay in 2011 or future years.
However, sources also understand that savings achieved would have to be maintained and that further savings were needed in the overall cost of running the public service in 2011 and 2012.
While the Tánaiste Mary Coughlan raised the prospect of more pay cuts in the next budget, senior sources said the government had a clear preference for reforms rather than pay cuts.
‘‘But on the matter of restoring pay, two hurdles would have to be met - reforms and improvements in productivity.
‘‘As long as the cost is held where it is, we could consider alternatives which could increase people’s pay.
‘‘If people believe there are ways to do that and achieve the same cost savings then we would be willing to look at that."
The chief executive of the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) Kieran Mulvey met with government officials last week.
He will decide within a fortnight if there is a basis for the two sides to re-engage after the collapse of social partnership talks in December.
Mulvey told this newspaper that his own intervention was in the context of 2011. He is likely to meet representatives of the Public Services Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) this week.
Peter McLoone, the general secretary of the country’s largest public sector union, Impact, said that ‘ ‘ if the government was opening the door for negotiations on the basis of reforms it would be a positive step’’.
‘‘I would be hopeful that given what happened at the end of December that if we get back to talks it wouldn’t collapse again as there was a loss of trust.
‘‘But we have to get a situation where the two sides are back talking to each other again," he said.
Meanwhile, the trade union Siptu is to begin its work-to rule tomorrow, while the lower paid civil servants in the CPSU will step up their campaign of disruption this week.
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