FAQs – Public Sector Pay Agreement 2024-2026

Introduction

Following protracted discussions at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) agreement was reached for a new Public Service Agreement on Friday, 26th January.

SIPTU believes these set of proposals represent the best possible outcome that could be achieved and believe that they are worthy of a ballot by the membership.

Going into the negotiations in late September SIPTU had a clear set of priorities on Wages, Work and A New Way Forward. 

We believe the proposals address the key concerns of SIPTU members.

Wages – The proposals include pay increases of 10.25% over a two-and-a-half-year period.  The improvements in the pay adjustments due in 2024 – valued at 4.25% for the year with a minimum floor of payments for lower and middle earners – and will mean SIPTU members get more money in the first year than originally envisaged in the Government’s initial pay offer.

The pay provisions in each year of the agreement will also deliver more for lower paid workers in our public service.

Work – Protections against outsourcing have been maintained. 

A New Way Forward – The proposals include provision for the parties to bargain locally on issues related to specific grades, sectors within the parameters of the agreement. 

You can download a copy of our FAQ members booklet here

Your questions answered.
  1. What is the duration of the proposed Agreement?
  2. Has SIPTU taken a position on the proposed Agreement?
  3. How much is the proposal worth in cash terms?
  4. What is meant by Local Bargaining?
  5. Do the pay improvements apply to allowances?
  6. What about part-time workers, job-sharers, etc?
  7. What does the Agreement say about outsourcing?
  8. What modernisation and reform measures are in the package?
  9. Is there a ‘no strike’ clause?
  10. What does the Agreement say about public service apprenticeships?
  11. What happens if the economic and fiscal situation changes?
  12. What are the implications for public service pensioners?
  13. What happens if the proposed Agreement is rejected?
  14. What happens next?
  15. When is the ballot open?
  16. When will I be paid?
1. What is the duration of the Agreement?

If the agreement is ratified by union members in a ballot, it would cover the period from 1st January, 2024 to 30th June, 2026.

2. Has SIPTU taken a position on the proposed agreement?

Yes. SIPTU members will always ultimately decide if the union will back the any new agreement. This will be done through a national ballot of all SIPTU members in the Public Service. The National Executive Council met on (Wednesday 31st January) and unanimously recommended the proposals and urged members vote YES in the ballot.

3. How much is the proposal worth in cash terms?

The proposed pay adjustments for the period 1st January, 2024 to 30th June, 2026 are as follows:

2024

  • A general round increase in annualised basic salary for all public servants of 2.25% or €1,125, whichever is greater, from 1st January, 2024
  • A general round increase in annualised basic salary for all public servants of 1% on 1st June, 2024
  • A general round increase in annualised basic salary for all public servants of 1% or €500, whichever is greater, on 1st October, 2024.

2025

  • A general round increase in annualised basic salary for all public servants of 2% or €1,000, whichever is greater, on 1st March, 2025
  • A general round increase in annualised basic salary for all public servants of 1% on 1st August, 2025
  • The first phase of local bargaining of 1% on 1st September, 2025

2026

  • A general round increase in annualised basic salary for all public servants of 1% or €500, whichever is greater, on 1st February, 2026
  • A general round increase in annualised basic salary for all public servants of 1% on 1st June, 2026.

The pay proposals are estimated to be worth up to 17.3% for lower paid workers. This is because the flat-rate elements of the pay deal are worth more to public servants earning below €50k per annum. The benefit is greater for incomes below this level.

If the proposed Agreement is accepted, unions will not be able to lodge any ‘cost-increasing’ claims for improvements in pay or conditions during its lifetime. However, there are specific provisions for local bargaining.

4. What is meant by local bargaining?

A local bargaining clause is different to the sectoral bargaining arrangements that were included in the previous agreement Building Momentum. Local bargaining terms included in this Agreement would allow trade unions to negotiate up to an additional 3% of pay costs, inclusive of allowances, for grades, groups, or categories of employee.

Detailed arrangements for local bargaining are to be agreed by the June 30th 2024. Local negotiations could then take place between July 2024 and June 2025.  To the greatest extent possible agreements would be secured through direct negotiations.

This process will provide opportunities for specific groups, grades, and categories to deal with issues of particular concern, including structural changes, and to have those addressed through the additional 3% secured under the terms of the new agreement.

While 1% is payable in 1st September 2025, the remaining balance of 2% will be due to be implemented during the term of the next successor agreement.

5. Do the pay improvements apply to allowances?

The increases will apply to pensionable allowances.

6. What about part-time workers, job-sharers, etc?

If the proposed Agreement is accepted, pay adjustments will be delivered through revised pay scales. Part-time workers and others who don’t work full-time hours will get pro-rata adjustments based on the number of hours they work.

7. What about outsourcing?

Strong protections against outsourcing are a red line for SIPTU and underpin this agreement. The protections are consistent with other public service pay agreements dating back to 2010. All public service bodies are required to engage with unions and representative associations in the development of any service delivery plan and must consult prior to the outsourcing of any service.

The new agreement reaffirms the employer’s commitment to the use of direct labour “where consistent with efficient and effective public service delivery.”

Crucially, employers are forbidden to include the totality of labour costs in any business case.

This is a substantial safeguard because discarding the labour cost provision would effectively mean many business cases would support outsourcing and lead to the privatisation of public services – on the basis of minimum wage and rock-bottom workers’ rights – regardless of the impact on service quality and worker protections.  

8. What modernisation and reform measures are in the package?

The agreement reaffirms the provisions of previous agreements on the continuing transformation of public services and continues to provide a framework to enable the sustained transformation of public services.

The agreement also acknowledges a leading role for the public service in embracing and adapting to developments in digitalisation, and commits unions and the employer to a process of consultation and engagement, with a view to achieving the Government’s target of making 90% of applicable public services accessible online by 2030.

9. Is there a ‘no strike’ clause?

Every public service agreement has included restrictions on industrial and strike action, and this agreement is no exception where the parties are acting in accordance with the provision of agreement. The agreement sets out a simplified dispute resolution process, compared to the previous Building Momentum agreement, including an ‘industrial peace’ clause.

10. What does the agreement say about public service apprenticeships?

The agreement outlines commitments to expand the range of available apprenticeship schemes, and the implementation of the Public Service Apprenticeship Plan (2023), which sets a target of at least 750 annual registrations across all public service organisations by 2025. This includes specific targets for craft apprenticeships.

11. What happens if the economic and fiscal situation changes?

Like the previous agreement, Building Momentum, the proposed new Agreement contains the same provision to review its terms “where the underlying assumptions of the agreement need to be revisited.” This provision, for example, enabled unions to seek review of Building Momentum in 2022 because of high and sustained inflation, which was not anticipated when that agreement was negotiated in 2020.

12. What are the implications for public service pensioners?

The negotiators secured a commitment that the pay increases would be applied to public service pensions for the duration of the Agreement. In the main, this means that pension payments will be adjusted in line with pay adjustments for serving staff.

Pensions are adjusted in line with inflation (the Consumer Price Index, or CPI) in the case of the single public service pension scheme, which applies to all civil and public servants who entered public service employment on or after 1st January, 2013. This means that the pensions of members of this scheme are not affected by pay movements, including those in the proposed agreement.

13. What happens if the proposed agreement is rejected?

The Building Momentum agreement expired on 31st December 2023. If the new agreement proposals are rejected, there will continue to be no public service agreement in place. The absence of an agreement means that existing protections, which restrict management’s ability to impose workplace changes without consultation or agreement, are no longer in place.

Union negotiators advised affiliate unions last week that the pay terms of the new agreement, valued at 10.25% over 2.5 years, represented the “absolute maximum achievable” through negotiations at this time, and the outcome of a challenging negotiations process. Union negotiators don’t believe it would be possible to agree a better outcome at this time.

In the event of a rejection of the proposals, consideration would need to be given to a campaign of industrial action aimed at securing better terms.

14. What happens next?

The 19 affiliate unions will commence preparations for their ballots once the terms of the new agreement have been considered by each union’s national executive.

The ICTU Public Services Committee (PSC) will meet on Monday, 25th March to aggregate the results of all ballots. The PSC will then accept or reject the package based on aggregated union ballot results.

The PSC represents all 19 ICTU-affiliated unions with members in the civil and public service. It decides through a weighted aggregate of the outcomes of all the union ballots, which means the voting strength of each union is determined by the number of members it has in the civil and public service, meaning your voice and vote as a SIPTU member is essential.

15. When is the ballot open?

Balloting arrangements for workplace ballots will begin Monday 12th February and will close on Wednesday 20th March. To obtain a postal ballot a member must make a request in writing, by email or online to the returning officer.

16. When will I be paid?

Should the ballot be ratified by the PSC and 19 ICTU-affiliated unions then SIPTU will push for the employer to begin making payments as soon as possible. 

Have a question?

If you have a question about the proposed agreement, please send it by email to publicserviceballot@siptu.ie and we will get back to you.

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