Public pay deal will be reviewed if economy deteriorates, Government and unions insist

Résumé détaillé

Deal provides for increases of 10.75% for about 400,000 staff on the State’s payroll, phased over a 33-month period ...

The Government and unions have each insisted the public sector pay deal agreed in the early hours of Tuesday morning will be up for review in the event of a material deterioration in the economy.

The deal provides for increases of 10.75 per cent for about 400,000 staff on the State’s payroll, phased over a 33-month period to March 2029.

The deal, on which union members will vote in the coming weeks, led to a planned national strike by staff across the public service – including civil servants, teachers, doctors, nurses and local authority personnel – on Thursday being called off.

While the Government insisted the €5.2 billion pay deal is fiscally sustainable, Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers said it would seek to invoke a review clause if there was a “significant contraction” in Ireland’s economy.

For their part, unions indicated they would seek a review of the terms of the accord in the event there was a spike in inflation over its duration.

The pay deal includes a review clause which can be triggered by either side if economic conditions or inflation rates change “significantly”.

Speaking on Wednesday, Chambers said that if there was “a big inflationary spike, obviously the unions would have a legitimate reason to seek review”.

When asked, he did not say whether Government would seek a review of the deal if inflation fell in the course of the 33-month lifespan of the agreement.

However, he said the Government would seek a review “if there was a significant contraction within our economy and it’s something we couldn’t sustain or afford, which would be clear to everybody”.

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