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RTÉ AND THE RTÉ Trade Union Group (TUG) have reached agreement on a proposed 6% pay increase over two years.
The proposals will now go to a ballot of union’s members.
If approved, staff would receive a 3% increase in January, backdated to 26 December, a 1.5% increase in October 2023 and a further 1.5% in April 2024.
A non-taxable voucher of up to €1,000 would be issued in early 2023 as well as a second voucher of €500 the following January.
The vouchers will be scaled in line with the percentage of full-time hours worked by staff and divided into separate brackets, it’s understood.
Staff members working 60% or more of annual full-time hours for the year of 2022 will receive the full payment, while those working between 20 and 59% of full-time hours will receive €600.
It’s understood that RTÉ and the TUG have also agreed to implement monthly pay for all employees in 2023.
In May, unions lodged a claim for a 9.5% pay increase for staff.
Martin Mannion, an organiser with SIPTU, told The Journal that it was hoped the ballot on the pay increase could take place before the end of the year.
“It would be nice for them to know before Christmas. Even if they know they won’t be getting the extra money in their pay packet for Christmas at least they know it’s coming in the new year,” he said.
“I’m sure that there’ll be some people who won’t be happy with what we’ve achieved.
“But once we get an opportunity to explain it to them – we’re holding a number of townhall meetings and video conferencing calls - the rationale of how we got to where we are in the perspective of not having a pay deal for the previous 14 years and the financial constraints that RTÉ are under, people will understand.”
“This is a realistic increase in pay for them over the next couple of years, and hopefully going forward from it set the tone that we will be getting back to annual pay increases.”
In a joint statement, RTÉ and the TUG said the agreement sought to achieve a fair balance that recognised the pay restraint in RTÉ since 2008as well as the cost-of-living increases on staff.
The agreement also acknowledges “RTÉ’s own financial position within a highly disrupted media sector and its obligations to sustain employment, public service programming and its commitments to audiences,” according to the statement.
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We heard during the pandemic from the government how they and the state owes the front-line services for the tremendous work was being carried out by them…now let us see the government giving these workers is fireman, nurses, guards, and the army… as we see we cannot get anyone to go onto these services
@Paul Maguire: it takes a while to qualify, esp for EMT. It’s not a course you can do overnight. I’m a volunteer for the last 11 years with a org and I’m waiting to do my EMT. To staff a ambulance you need to a minimum EMT and be PHECC registered. It’s not a job a 17 year old kid can just hand in his CV to. It’s a very difficult course as been a made up patient for osces
@Alan Scott: To become a retained firefighter its a 3 week recruitment course, 2 week breathing apparatus course and 1 week fire behaviour course. After there is constant training including water rescue, emergency first responder and so on. The problem is recruitment and retention. People are leaving the service and cannot be replaced. Guaranteed income is between €8k and €10k. The government conducted a survey of the retained service and deemed it not fit for purpose. The government then did nothing to fix it. The firefighters of Ireland have constantly asked for it to be fixed until we ultimately had to go on strike to highlight the seriousness of the crisis. Whether we strike or not, the service still has to be fixed…..we are just trying to force them into doing it. People always said to me ” how can you do that job” , now that they realise the commitment involved, they ask ” why do you do that job”.
WE DO NOT WANT TO STRIKE AND CLOSE STATIONS BUT WE WILL NOT BACK DOWN
@Sean Henehan: If 50% of the stations have been closed for 9 weeks or whatever and no one has noticed would it mit just be easier and better to make the busier stations full time and close the rest? Probably not want anyone wants to hear but sounds like that’s what everyone is looking for and neither side is willing to say. Smaller stations will get screwed out of this mark my words
@Ryan Simmons: Good point Ryan but summer is generally a quieter time for incidents in the home etc, if this is still going on into the winter it will have a big effect. For example a chimney fire can become very serious if not dealt with in a timely manner. Turn out times are hugely reduced because of stations being closed
@Sean Henehan: and you have my support wholeheartedly and the entire nation
@Ryan Simmons: FFG bot!….. How about fix the terms and conditions instead of running them into the ground needlessly. Management needs to go for running a critical service into the ground. Govt needs to take a long hard look at themselves (not hard for Leo) for standing by and letting it happen…… It is an essential service, lives at stake, and it has been mismanaged. Shocking stuff, shocking but not surprising
@another one? what’s going on is the semi state sec: Easy to throw nonsense politics around if you can’t see the wood for the trees. Doesn’t matter who is in power, money talks. All parties pay lip service to whatever you want to hear. All comes down to what makes sense financially. critical service? How are children’s mental health services in your area? How are disability services in your area? Why are smaller hospitals staffed with inexperienced locums? Want me to go on? If you want to go the politics road, this is just another political football, none of them really care. Doesn’t matter who’s in power and if you think it does there’s no help for you. All that matters is what makes sense on the bottom line. Firefighters deserve more, no argument, but like anything there’s a tipping point. @Sean Henehan talks about turnout times, if the busier stations are full time that solves that problem. If you genuinely believe that any other party has anything different to offer than look at European politics for the last 100 years. It’s all the same, campaign in poetry and govern in prose.
I dont understand how they expect part time firefighters to get a second job when they are constantly on call. Who in their right mind would hire them. Maybe they should be guaranteed the option of a local council/government job when they join the fire service so they have a steady income they can rely on as well as being able to drop and go when on call?
How about a poll on public support for these brave people? I’d say it would be overwhelming in favour
have your say