The Chair of the Public Services Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) has said any new public sector pay agreement must be directly linked to inflation in order to protect workers’ living standards, as negotiations between unions and the Government move closer to a deadline.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Saturday with Cormac Ó hEadhra, ICTU representative Kevin Callinan said public sector workers were closely watching how the State allocates resources, pointing to recent government spending in response to fuel-related protests.
“People are struggling out there and they’re struggling badly,” he said, adding that inflation had eroded wages over several years and left many workers still trying to recover lost ground.
Callinan argued that future pay agreements should include a structured mechanism tied to price movements. He said inflation had remained unpredictable, making it difficult for workers to plan financially over the duration of multi-annual agreements.
“Our experience is that the losses suffered in 2021, 2022 and into 2023 have only now been made up in headline pay terms,” he said. “It has taken that long to catch up.”
He added that union members were increasingly aware of how government priorities are set, particularly after significant public spending was deployed during recent fuel protests.
In a letter to union leaders earlier this week, Callinan raised the possibility of balloting for industrial action if a successor pay deal is not agreed before the current agreement expires at the end of the month.
Minister of State Niall Collins said public sector workers were entitled to pay increases, but insisted that any new agreement must also include reforms aimed at improving productivity and flexibility.
He said previous national agreements had contributed to economic stability and public service reform, adding that similar principles would guide future negotiations.
Sinn Féin education spokesperson Darren O’Rourke said there was growing frustration among teachers and school communities, claiming that elements of the existing agreement had not been fully implemented, particularly local bargaining provisions. He said this had damaged trust at a critical time.
Social Democrats TD Sinéad Gibney warned that uncertainty around the negotiations increased the risk of industrial action. She said unions were justified in seeking clearer commitments at an earlier stage of talks, given past disputes over implementation of agreed terms.
She added that ongoing cost-of-living pressures and perceived failures to honour previous agreements would make negotiations more difficult.
With the current deal nearing expiry, attention is now focused on whether Government and unions can reach a framework that balances inflation protection, fiscal constraints and demands for public service reform.
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