The National Executive of Fórsa, Ireland’s largest civil and public service union, met today (Tuesday) and decided overwhelmingly to recommend acceptance of the proposed new public service agreement. The proposals in Building Momentum will be put to a ballot of the union’s members early in the New Year. Fórsa represents almost 80,000 civil and public servants.
The ICTU Public Services Committee (PSC) will accept or reject the agreement on the basis of a weighted aggregate of the outcomes of individual union ballots. Earlier today, the PSC said it would announce the aggregate outcome on Monday 15th February 2021.
Earlier today, the PSC said it would announce the aggregate outcome on Monday 15th February 2021.
Covid restrictions on travel and assembly, together with the impending holiday period and increased remote working, led the PSC to agree a longer balloting period than usual.
As chair of the PSC, Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan led the union negotiating team in talks that agreed the proposals in the early hours of last Friday morning (11th December). He said the outcome represented a positive short-term package, negotiated against a difficult background, to build on the momentum of recent pay restoration and public service flexibility and service quality.
The proposals are substantially weighted towards lower-income civil and public servants, and they represent solid progress on the three priorities we outlined at the outset of the talks.
“The proposals are substantially weighted towards lower-income civil and public servants, and they represent solid progress on the three priorities we outlined at the outset of the talks. These were a mechanism to address issues outstanding from the Haddington Road agreement, including additional working time, a separate mechanism to address sectoral issues, and a realistic and acceptable approach to pay.”
The measures proposed in Building Momentum are explained in Fórsa’s FAQ document, which is available HERE.
The full text of the proposed agreement is available HERE.