Securing pay increases greater than inflation, robust protections against outsourcing and defending directly employed public service jobs must be key priorities in the forthcoming public sector pay negotiations, SIPTU’s Kevin Figgis has said.
The Public Sector Pay talks are negotiations between the Government and public service trade unions that determine working conditions, salary increases and local bargaining terms for hundreds of thousands of workers.
SIPTU Health Divisional Organiser, Kevin Figgis, warned that across the public service there has been a significant and deeply concerning increase in the use of outsourced arrangements, with existing commitments to direct employment being steadily weakened and, in many cases, disregarded altogether.
This growing dependence on privatised labour models is a direct consequence of successive Government failures to properly fund, resource and invest in directly delivered public services, he added.
The Public Sector Pay agreements are generally negotiated every three years. The current deal with the Government began in January 2024 and will expire on 30th June.
The Public Sector Pay talks must deliver real pay increases which tackle the cost-of-living crisis many working families are struggling to manage, Figgis said, adding that they must also address the urgent need to defend the very concept of public service employment and to protect directly employed workers from the growing threat of outsourcing and privatisation.
“For too long, the Government has failed to properly fund and resource our public services, choosing instead to allow the creeping expansion of outsourced arrangements. Within the health service we have seen a greater use of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) and private sector delivery models to provide public services. This approach undermines accountability, weakens employment standards, and creates a race to the bottom on pay, conditions, and service quality,” he said.
“SIPTU will demand stronger, enforceable protections against outsourcing in the next public sector agreement. Existing commitments to direct employment must be reinforced and honoured. Public services should be delivered by public servants, employed directly, properly supported, and available to the communities they serve.”
Figgis also warned that the increasing emergence of artificial intelligence must not become another mechanism for undermining secure employment or eroding workers’ rights.
“Technological change and innovation must be used to support workers and improve service delivery, not to facilitate job displacement, deskilling, or the replacement of skilled public servants. Workers and their unions must have a meaningful role in shaping how artificial intelligence is introduced and governed across the public service,” Figgis said.
He added: “SIPTU will strongly oppose any attempt to use outsourcing, privatised labour, or technological advancements, such as AI, as a substitute for proper workforce planning and long-term investment in our public services.”
Figgis said the upcoming negotiations provide an opportunity to secure a renewed commitment to directly provided public services and to protect workers against policies that threaten both employment standards and service quality. “Our members are proud public servants,” he said. “They deserve not only fair pay, but security, dignity, and the assurance that Government is committed to strengthening, not hollowing out, the public services on which communities depend.”