Siptu accepts new public service pay deal by 76%

Members of Siptu trade union have voted by a large margin to accept the new Government public sector pay deal.

The results of the ballots saw 76 per cent of members working in the public service vote to accept the deal, with 24 per cent rejecting it.

Siptu vice president Gene Mealy said that, despite the trade union’s acceptance of the new public pay deal, there is a “number of areas where important issues remain unresolved”.

“These include concerns over pay disparities for new entrants, overtime rates, recruitment and retention issues and the restoration of allowances,” Mr Mealy said.

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Siptu represents more than 70,000 staff working across various parts of the public service. The balloting of members on the new pay deal began on July 3rd, and counting concluded on Thursday in Liberty Hall, Dublin.

Pay restoration

In June, the union’s national executive recommended its membership vote to accept the new deal, which includes pay restoration measures.

The new Public Service Stability Agreement 2018-2020 is a proposed extension of the previous Lansdowne Road public sector pay agreement.

Last month, members of Impact trade union voted to accept the new pay deal by a margin of 77 per cent to 23 per cent.

An overall majority among trade union members affiliated to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) is needed to approve the Government pay agreement.

Each union carries a proportionate vote in Ictu’s public service committee’s decision based on their membership size. The committee will meet next month to vote on whether to ratify the new pay agreement. The sizeable backing for the deal among Siptu and Impact union members indicates the deal will likely be approved by Ictu.

Mr Mealy said the union “will also insist that management ensures that the employment protection measures, which are central to the proposed agreement, are implemented in the event that it is ratified at a meeting next month”.

Yet to vote

Other unions that have yet to vote on the proposed pay deal include the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO), which represents medical practitioners in the health service. The IMO is expected to ballot its members on the deal in September.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has also yet to ballot its members on the new pay deal. The delay is over a disagreement relating to the Government’s inadequate recruitment of new nurses, according to the union.

The primary school teachers' union the INTO last month voted to reject the new deal, by a majority of 89 per cent. The union's executive will discuss this month if they will refuse to be bound by the overall decision of the Ictu public sector committee, should the committee vote to accept the pay deal.