The decision of the trade unions to vote in favour of the new public sector pay agreement comes as no surprise. The increases may be modest enough, but coming at a time when the economy is facing major challenges and there are some 470,000 people on the Pandemic Unemployment Payment, the deal is generous. It involves a one per cent rise in October next year and the same in October 2022. Some lower-paid workers will get slightly more and a further 1 per cent is being set aside to meet sectoral demands. A sum of €150 million is being factored in to deal with negotiations on extra hours introduced under the Haddington Road deal in 2013. That’s a surprise, as previous governments had argued these changes were permanent.
Minister for Public Expenditure Michael McGrath argues that the deal will give stability up to the end of next year. This may be the case, but the cost of €906 million over three years is not insignificant. And the deal comes at a time when some one million private-sector jobs are now supported by various State payments.
Politically, the deal will not attract flak from the Opposition benches. It may also get limited attention more generally, though this could change if budget policy is forced to tighten in any way as we come out of the pandemic. The public will have no difficulty with many front-line employees getting rises. But they may take a different view in relation to other public servants. And in current circumstances ministers and TDs, due a pay restoration increase in the summer, would be well advised to forego the rise, as McGrath has said he would do.
Few would begrudge front-line workers these modest increases. But there is a wider policy issue, too. Public sector pay and recruitment is now sharply on the rise again. The 345,000 employees involved have employment security, unlike many in the private sector. It is vital that the extra resources deliver value to the public in the years ahead. And this is in no way to downplay the extraordinary work of many over the past year and the huge dividend this has delivered to society.