Public-sector unions were yesterday presented with the full price of the benchmarking pay rises.
A document circulated to union leaders, following several months of negotiations with Government Departments, spells out the changes in work practices required before benchmarking is paid in full.
The confidential document, seen by The Irish Times, proposes new recruitment procedures for the Civil Service as well as strong commitments on the part of unions to industrial peace.
Union sources said that some of the proposals had not been discussed before yesterday and would be a source of serious concern to members. Performance-verification procedures proposed in the document were a particular concern, one union official said.
The document is a draft of the "Programme of Modernisation and Change" which unions must sign up to before receiving benchmarking in full.
Only 25 per cent of the pay rises recommended by the benchmarking body last July were unconditional. The remainder were contingent on the unions agreeing to the modernisation programme.
One of the most significant elements of the draft is the proposal for wider open recruitment to the Civil Service. At present, only positions at executive officer level and below are available to open, public competition.
However, the document says that it has become "clearly evident" in a number of areas in the Civil Service that "skills and expertise are in short supply despite a number of initiatives to rectify the situation".
"This applies particularly to the IT (information technology) area, but also in a number of specialist (such as financial management, human resources management) and professional disciplines.
"Beginning with the IT area, open recruitment will be introduced in those areas as part of the solution to address these skills shortages and ultimately ensure delivery of a quality service to the public."
To facilitate this, a new Public Service Management (Recruitments & Appointments) Bill is to be introduced by next summer, and the existing Civil Service Appointments Commission will be replaced.
This will enable Government Departments to make appointments directly, instead of, as at present, having to make appointments through the commission.
A union source expressed concern about this proposal last night, saying that it could reduce transparency in the appointments process. Greater open competition could also curtail promotion opportunities for those on lower grades, it is claimed.
On industrial relations, a range of measures designed to restrict unions' ability to take industrial action are proposed.
The document, if agreed, would preclude strikes or other forms of industrial action by trade unions, employees or management.
It commits unions and management to agreeing voluntary codes of practice, particularly in the maintenance of essential services. These codes are to be agreed by next September. Strong commitments to improved public services, over longer time periods where appropriate, are also sought.
The standard working week of most public servants would remain unchanged, but changes to the nine-to-five working pattern might be required "in certain areas".
An extension of the scope of the Unfair Dismissals Act, to include civil servants, is also proposed, as are a "fuller range of sanctions" in "serious cases of under-performance".
