Local authority workers at the Impact Local Government Division conference in Letterkenny are calling for an acceleration of public service pay recovery.
The union’s national secretary Peter Nolan warned against ‘special deals’ for some groups, and said workers would not vote for an outcome that only “gives with one hand and takes away with another.”
Mr Nolan said lower paid staff must also benefit from any pay increases, including those on incomes too low to be still covered by FEMPI measures. And he said it would be unacceptable for any group to get higher pay awards than the rest, in any extension to the Lansdowne Road agreement.
“Public servants were all dragged into FEMPI together and we expect and deserve to get out of it together. The Government and its negotiators must resist the temptation to interpret the responsible majority of public servants, who abide by agreements and negotiate in good faith, as indifferent or weak. A large number of public service groups and professions – including many that earn far less than those who can routinely grab the headlines – could make a rational case for ‘special treatment.’ So, if special favours are conceded to any group in the forthcoming talks, other claims will certainly emerge,” he said.
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