Ninth Level Ireland

“The decision by the members of the country’s biggest trade union, Siptu, to vote in favour of the proposed new public sector pay deal by a large majority will come as a huge relief to the Government. The result of the ballot on the Public Service Stability Agreement 2018-2020 means that the deal is now likely to be endorsed by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) …” (more)

[Irish Times, 11 August]

“SIPTU members have voted in favour of the new public service pay deal. 76% of members voted to accept the Public Service Stability Agreement. The result means a majority of public service employees have now voted in favour of the deal. The agreement is an extension of the Lansdowne Road Agreement …” (more)

[BreakingNews.ie, 10 August]

“The Executive of the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) has today (Thursday, July 13th) voted unanimously to recommend acceptance of the proposals arising from the recent Pay Talks …” (more)

[Irish Federation of University Teachers, 13 July]

“The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) has rejected the new public service pay agreement by an overwhelming 89 to 11 per cent majority. The result is in line with the advice of the primary teacher union’s executive, which sought a rejection because the deal is not bringing about an end to two-tier pay rates …” (more)

[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 13 July]

“The country’s biggest secondary school teachers’ union looks set to recommend to its members that they reject the proposed public sector pay deal. The move means all three teachers’ unions may end up voting against the draft agreement …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 27 June]

“A new campaign is being launched today to encourage public sector workers to vote against ‘Lansdowne Road II’. The new public-sector pay deal, which will be voted on over the next two months, has so far received a mixed reaction …” (more)

[BreakingNews.ie, 23 June]

“SIPTU has recommended that its members vote in favour of a new public sector pay deal. It comes after more than 20 organisations reached a deal with the Government in recent weeks on a pay agreement to follow the Lansdowne Road deal.SITPU said the agreement – known as Lansdowne 2 – has more positive elements than negative …” (more)

[BreakingNews.ie, 22 June]

“A leading economist has claimed there is no room for more pay rises for public servants and the Government is tolerating union demands only because it is weak. Colm McCarthy notes State employees’ wages are already improving through hikes agreed under the Lansdowne Road Agreement. They also get increments, and inflation is close to zero …” (more)

[Anne-Marie Walsh, Independent, 20 May]

“Public sector workers who reject the new €880m Lansdowne Road pay agreement will miss out on pay increases contained in the deal, unions leaders are being warned. While the threat is not explicitly contained in the draft document, Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe and the Government are clear that only those who sign up to the deal can benefit from its terms, the Irish Examiner can reveal …” (more)

[Daniel McConnell, Irish Examiner, 12 June]

“The ASTI is to immediately suspend all industrial action relating to the Lansdowne Road Agreement (LRA) and Junior Certificate reform. The decision was taken by a special convention of ASTI members held in the Citywest Hotel, Dublin today …” (more)

[BreakingNews.ie, 10 June]

“Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) president Joanne Irwin has described the proposed review of two tier pay scales included in the draft public service pay deal as ‘wholly inadequate’. The pay of new entrants to teaching is a particularly thorny issue because of the large numbers recruited on lower pay scales during the recession, to cater for rising school enrolments …” (more)

[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 8 June]

“About 250,000 State employees will receive pay improvements of between 6.2% and 7.4% as part of a new three-year extension of the existing Lansdowne Road agreement. It is understood the deal, if accepted, will cost the exchequer €880 million over three years …” (more)

[Martin Wall, Irish Times, 8 June]

“The government has asked public servants to pay more for their pensions but will refund pay cuts imposed under emergency legislation in a new deal. Sources at talks on a deal to extend the Lansdowne Road Agreement said government officials said they would convert a €720m pension levy already being paid into a higher permanent contribution …” (more)

[Anne-Marie Walsh, Independent, 29 May]

“The size and cost of the public service workforce is on course to surpass the boomtime peak next year – even without new pay rises. Senior Department of Finance officials have outlined a tight budget for further wage increases that means its workers will be lucky to get a 1% pay rise next year …” (more)

[Anne-Marie Walsh, Independent, 23 May]

“Restoring pay equality for teachers would have ‘significant cost implications for the education and training sector’, the secretary general of the Department of Education warned at the start of the current exercise on public service pay …” (more)

[Katherine Donnelly and Eilish O’Regan, Independent, 12 May]

“Unite, one of the two trade unions threatening strike action in Trinity, has denounced College’s new policy on the employment of external contractors, as revealed by The University Times this week …” (more)

[Dominic McGrath, University Times, 24 March]

“A dispute that could close secondary schools will ‘come to a head quite quickly’ if the Government sacks teachers who are surplus to requirement, a union has warned. But the Department of Education refused to confirm whether it plans to use emergency legislation to make members of the ASTI redundant for refusing to sign up to the Lansdowne Road Agreement …” (more)

[Anne-Marie Walsh, Independent, 28 February]

“Thousands of secondary school teachers may lose a €1,000 pay increase due to public servants if they reject new settlement proposals. The 18,000 members of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) are currently voting on proposals aimed at resolving a series of disputes between the union and the Department of Education …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 23 January]

“The latest public pay increases have not been budgeted for and will pose a ‘significant challenge’, politicians have been told. Department of Finance secretary general Derek Moran said there are concerns about where the extra cash to fund a promised pay increase will come from …” (more)

[Elaine Loughlin and Juno McEnroe, Irish Examiner, 20 January]

“Almost 300,000 public servants are set to receive a €1,000 pay rise up to five months earlier than scheduled following talks between the public service unions and the Government. The move follows talks between the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and public service unions to address the so-called anomalies arising from November’s €50m garda pay deal …” (more)

[RTÉ News, 17 January]