Civil and public servants likely to vote for candidates who support pay increases - union research

Civil and public servants are likely to vote for candidates who support pay increases for them, according to research conducted for the Forsa union.

The cost of living and their own wages are the most important issues that will influence the vote of Forsa members, coming ahead of health, housing, climate change and childcare, according to the research, which has been seen by The Irish Times.

Over half of all respondents to the Forsa survey (53 per cent) say that pay improvements will be the “very important” in deciding how to vote at the next election, with a further 33 per cent saying the issue will be “important” – a total of 86 per cent for whom pay will be a central issue. Almost all want pay increases to at least match inflation.

Forsa members say they are more likely to vote for candidates “with a record of supporting improvements in pay for public servants”, with 76 per cent of respondents either likely or very likely to do so.

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Just under two thirds of Forsa members (63 per cent) say they would vote for a party or candidates who promise higher than inflation pay increases for workers, “even if you haven’t voted for them before”.

Six out of ten (60 per cent) respondents say they would not vote for candidates that refuse to promise inflation-busting pay increases, even if they have previously voted for those candidates or parties.

The respondents to the Forsa survey also favour a four-day week, large-scale public house-building, increased health investment.

[ Public service union members want future pay deal to match inflation - survey ]

The results are drawn from over 20,000 completed surveys among Forsa members, drawn by research firm Amarach. Almost three quarters (75 per cent) of the respondents were female, with 43 per cent over 50. A third (33 per cent) work in the civil service, and quarter each in education and health/welfare.

Forsa, which has over 80,000 members, is the largest public sector trade union. The survey comes as public sector trade unions prepare for negotiations on a new public sector pay deal with the Government, likely to take place over the summer and in the early autumn.

With big budget surpluses predicted for this year and into the future, and a general election on the medium-term horizon, the unions are in a strong position to push for hefty pay increases. But the Government will be wary of further stoking inflationary pressures in the economy, and is also under pressure to increase expenditure in areas which benefit all voters, such as tax cuts and public services.