Government plans to improve services to the public and guarantee industrial peace within Departments were published yesterday.
They were immediately criticised by Fine Gael's finance spokesman, Mr Richard Bruton, who said they were heavy on aspirations but light on targets.
The plans set out goals which Departments will be required to meet if staff are to qualify for further payments due under the benchmarking process.
The majority of the commitments set out, however, are of a general nature, such as promises to promote equal opportunities for staff, and involve no productivity concessions by workers.
Many of the targets that do impact on working conditions, such as more flexible working hours, are subject to further negotiations with unions.
Increased productivity and flexibility by public servants were to be a condition for payment of 75 per cent of the benchmarking awards, worth an average of 8.9 per cent each in pay rises.
The first 25 per cent, backdated to December 2001, has already been paid, and the next instalment of 50 per cent is due next January. Overall, the increases will add €1.1 billion to the public sector pay bill.
The plans published yesterday, one for each Department, will be monitored by verification groups made up of management, union and independent members.
Departments have set themselves a number of common goals, ranging from enhancing their websites to the publication of customer charters.
An expansion of the number of Civil Service posts to be subject to open recruitment is another key across-the-board commitment. Unions are committed to maintaining a stable industrial relations environment.
Mr Bruton claimed the plans were a reflection of the "flawed nature of the benchmarking process".
He called on the Government to put a clear value on the efficiency savings it believed would be secured before further benchmarking payments were made.
"The public deserves specific service delivery targets that are plain for any independent observer to see. The plans are very heavy on aspirations, on reviews, on monitoring, on discussions and on analysis, but are very light on specific targets and commitments which will have a real and tangible benefit for consumers of public services," Mr Bruton said.
Many of the actions set out by the Departments were ongoing.
"It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that this is another elaborate, extensive and expensive exercise in justifying the benchmarking increases, long after the deal on them has been done."
