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Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Michael McGrath, TD, has today (Tuesday, 15 December 2020), obtained Government approval for the proposed terms of an Agreement reached at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), between public service unions and officials of his Department representing the Government. The terms of the proposed Agreement have a pay bill cost of €906m spread over three budgetary years.

In welcoming the approval of Government, Minister McGrath noted that the terms of the proposed Agreement were the outcome of a difficult and complex negotiation process – further complicated by the logistical challenges presented by the COVID safety measures. The Minister commented “I would like to thank the Director General and staff of the Workplace Relations Commission for their assistance in co-ordinating this logistically difficult process".

Minister McGrath continued: “2020 has seen the Irish public service step up to the challenge of the COVID-19 crisis and deliver a world-class response.

“This Agreement acknowledges this contribution and provides for affordable pay adjustments weighted toward those on lower incomes. Significantly, from the Exchequer perspective, these pay adjustments are phased with implementation commencing later in 2021.

“The Agreement sets out a reform agenda that seeks to embed the agility demonstrated during COVID into enhanced public service delivery in the future".

The Minister noted that this collective agreement seeks to move beyond the FEMPI era and, to provide a new basis for managing public pay and industrial relations in a sustainable and balanced way. The Agreement includes a number of measures to deal with residual issues from that period but it also differs from its recent predecessors in certain respects.

The Minister explained “The introduction of a sectoral bargaining aspect is a new development and provides a mechanism to deal with historical and sector-specific issues in a way which would not be possible with regular pay increases only".

The Minister concluded “As public servants engage in ballots in the coming weeks on whether to accept these proposals, I hope they will consider all of these elements, which offer security and reward for their continued commitment to serving our citizens.”