At this year's conference public service union Impact discussed various elements of a new pay strategy in both public and private sectors. In the public sector a combination of increased pensions contributions and pay cuts has meant on average a 14% fall in pay. The union will be looking to start clawing this back with a pay claim that it will submit when public finances are back on track. A key debate will be whether this claim will be for a flat-rate increase to help the lower paid.
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Union debates pay strategy
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Debate over public sector pay
The IMPACT public services union says that an official report makes a misleading comparison between public sector and private sector pay. It points out that recent high increases for many public sector workers resulted from a comprehensive comparison of public sector and private sector pay rates in a benchmarking exercise that what was part of the national pay negotiations. The union also argues that general public/private comparisons cannot be made without taking account of the differences in occupations, skill levels and age across each sector. [Read more at >IMPACT->http://www.impact.ie
ILO report calls for strategy to boost pay
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