The Government has signalled again to unions that it wants to see some State employees contribute more towards their superannuation benefits in tandem with the elimination of the existing pension levy.
Government representatives held talks with public service unions and representative bodies on the issue of pay on Monday morning but sources said no specific proposals were put forward.
The pension levy was introduced under emergency legislation in 2009 and currently generates more than €600 million per year.
It is understood that the Government wants to retain some of this money and will seek, in essence, to convert the existing pension levy into permanent higher superannuation contributions for some categories of State workers.
Meanwhile, the country’s largest union Siptu said the “elephant in the room” at the current talks on a new public service accord was the €4,000 special pay deal” which gardaí received last November.
Siptu also argued that pay restoration for State employees should not be linked to additional productivity requirements.
The union said it would not move a millimetre on the Government’s demand to relax current restrictions on the out-sourcing of public services.
Negotiations between Government representatives and unions and staff associations on a revised public service agreement entered their second week on Monday.
It is understood that officials if the Department of Public Expenditure set out a history of pay developments for 300,000 State employees over the last decade.
The Department of Public Expenditure is also understood to have repeated that there will be limited scope for manoeuvre on pay next year with a only fiscal space of €200 million available.
However, officials are understood to have signalled that the Government wanted to bring most State workers out from the ambit of the financial emergency legislation that underpinned cut backs over the last decade or so as part of a new agreement.
Sources said there was also an acknowledgement that there would have to be a pay round for staff earning less than €28,000 who are currently already out of the financial emergency legislation.
