LAST UPDATE | 18 Oct

FORMAL NEGOTIATIONS AIMED at creating a new pay deal for public sector workers are set to begin on Monday at the Workplace Relations Commission.

The development in the public pay dispute follows meetings on Saturday between government and union representatives to develop a framework for the negotiations.

Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) General Secretary Owen Reidy, representing unions, and Department of Climate General Secretary Oonagh Buckley, representing the government, met yesterday alongside Workplace Relations Commission chairperson Kevin Foley.

The trio announced on Saturday evening that discussions should start at the WRC on Monday.

Public sector workers across the country held a massive strike on Wednesday to call for a new public pay deal after the previous agreement expired earlier this year.

The government had been open to talks in the lead-up to the strike, but unions were keen to get a commitment from the government first that any talks would deal with the issue of pay ‘upfront’ from the outset.

Now, the joint statement from Reidy, Buckley and Foley says that the discussions at the WRC “should commence with pay related matters, including the trade unions’ claims on cost-of-living effects between 2021 –2025, this year, and for the duration of any agreement”.

They said there is a “need to rebuild trust and confidence in industrial relations in the public sector by addressing commitments made in the context of the previous agreement”.

Thousands of workers around the country took part in the strike on Wednesday. Leah Farrell / © RollingNews.ie Leah Farrell / © RollingNews.ie / © RollingNews.ie

In their statement, they said that in the event of an impasse being reached on any particular matter during the negotiations, they will “remain available to consider any such issue at the request of the WRC and to put forward a means of resolution which should be accepted by the parties” while negotiations on other matters continue at the WRC.

“We wish to make it clear that this special arrangement should be understood as an exceptional measure reflective of the scale of this dispute and its impact on the economy and the people who rely on public services. This measure is specific to this dispute and its unique nature and is not in any sense a template or precedent for any other dispute between these or any other parties.”

Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers has welcomed the development.

Related Reads

How did we get here? 500 words on the disputes that led to Ireland's biggest strike in a generation

He said the statement from Reidy, Buckley and Foley “provides the basis for a move into constructive dialogue at the Workplace Relations Commission to start on Monday”.

“This is a positive move forward and demonstrates the genuine commitment to dialogue on all sides to ensure an outcome that delivers for our people and our country,” the minister said.

“I look forward to the formal talks commencing on Monday.”

Wednesday’s public sector strike was the first of its kind in Ireland since 2009.

Plans for a second strike that had been scheduled for next week were called off on Friday as work began to create a basis for formal negotiations.