The following statement was released by the Government this morning:
Social Partners reach a draft Agreement
The Government and Social Partners have reached a draft Agreement on a successor to the first module of Towards 2016. The terms of the draft Agreement are set out below.
The Taoiseach, Mr. Brian Cowen T.D, welcomed the conclusion of the draft Agreement. He commented: “A National Pay Agreement will give a sense of confidence and stability in the challenging period ahead. The negotiations were very lengthy and complex and the social partners made commendable efforts to enable the terms of a draft Agreement to be identified.
The terms of the Agreement are supported by Government given the wider economic and social benefits of a National Agreement”.
Date of Implementation and Duration
Except where otherwise agreed at local level this Agreement should come into force on the expiry of the first module of Towards 2016 in each individual employment or industry and shall last for 21 months.
PRIVATE SECTOR PAY TERMS
It is agreed by the parties that the following basic pay terms shall apply in the Private Sector:
A Pay Pause of 3 months from the expiry of the last phase of the first module under Towards 2016.
An increase of 3.5% for the next 6 months of the Agreement as it applies in each particular employment or industry; and
An increase of 2.5% for the next 12 months of the Agreement – except for those employees on an hourly basic rate of €11 per hour or less on commencement of the second phase where a 3% increase will apply.
PUBLIC SECTOR PAY TERMS
It is agreed by the parties that the following basic pay terms shall apply in the Public Sector:
A Pay Pause of 11 months from the expiry of the last phase of the first module under Towards 2016.
An increase of 3.5% for the next 9 months of the Agreement; and
An increase of 2.5% for the remainder of the Agreement – except for those earning up to and including €430.49 per week (€22,463 per annum) on commencement of the second phase where a 3% increase will apply.
The draft Agreement reached between the parties covers a range of initiatives including:
Setting up a process to develop a national framework on the employment and rights of temporary agency workers; while prohibiting their use in the case of official strikes or lock outs; Optional recourse to voluntary arbitration on change at enterprise level; Setting up a time-bound process in which the issue of employee representation and the appropriate legislative framework will be addressed; The introduction of a statutory prohibition on the victimisation of employees based on their membership or non-membership or activity on behalf of a trade union, and on incentivising non-membership of trade unions; Making provision for pensions under the Transfer of Undertakings Directive; and commitments in relation to public service modernisation, including responding to the OECD Report on the Public Service.
The terms of the draft Agreement will now be considered by the relevant councils and executives of the social partners with a view to ratification.