BUILDING MOMENTUM - A new public service agreement, 2021-2022

Reference document - Click to open Pay scales 2008 - TUI News.docx

Pay

The following pay adjustments will apply over the period of this Agreement:

  • 1 October 2021. A general round increase in annualised basic salary for all public servants of 1% or €500, whichever is greater.
  • 1 February 2022. The equivalent of a 1% increase in annualised basic salaries to be used as a Sectoral Bargaining Fund.
  • 1 October 2022. A general round increase in annualised basic salary for all public servants of 1% or €500, whichever is greater.

Where an individual is due an amount of pay restoration by July 2021 under Section 19 or by July 2022 under Section 20 of the Public Service Pay Pensions Act 2017, they will not benefit from the general round increase in that year. Where the amount of restoration is less than the general round increase the individual will be eligible to be paid the balance on the date of the general round increase.

A Sectoral Bargaining Fund

1.    A Sectoral Bargaining Fund will be established to be allocated within sectors under this Agreement. The purpose of the Sectoral Bargaining Fund process is to deal with outstanding adjudications, commitments, recommendations, awards and claims within the terms of the Fund and within the Exchequer funding limit in place.

2.    1% of basic pay will be allocated to this Fund.

3.    Grade or sector based pay claims and outstanding adjudications and awards will have to be resolved within this process.

4.    Each Sectoral Bargaining Unit or union/ representative association will have the option of using some or all of the Sectoral Bargaining Fund to address claims in the alternative, to elect for the funds involved to be used as a sectoral pay round.

5.    No sectoral or grade-based claims for improvement to pay and conditions will be considered for processing outside of this Sectoral Bargaining Fund process over the lifetime of this Agreement.

6.    Where a Sectoral Bargaining Unit opts to use the Fund to deliver a sectoral pay round, the union(s)/representative association(s) encompassed by that Sectoral Bargaining Unit are agreed that in so doing, they may not pursue any grade or pay or pay related claims relating to that sector for the duration of this Agreement.

Extract from Letter to Alliance of Public Servants from Eoin Dormer Dept. of Public Expenditure and Reform

“An equitable approach must be adopted for the various public service pensioner cohorts who are not only differentiated by amount of pension in payment (determined by grade and service) as heretofore but also by date of retirement (in particular pre and post end February 2012).

  • Accordingly for those who retired or will retire post end-February 2012, to the extent that they retired on reduced salaries, they will receive pension increases in line with the pay increases due to their peers in employment.
  • When alignment is achieved between pre and post end-February 2012 pensioners, pay increases will continue to benefit pensions in payment”.

RMA understanding of Agreement

The percentage pay increases on basic salary on 1 Oct. 2021 and 1 Oct. 2022 will benefit public sector retirees in the usual parity arrangement.

The increase of 1% in basic salary on 1 Feb. 2022 goes into a newly set up fund called “A Sectoral Bargaining Fund”. How that fund is used will determine if any benefit accrues to retirees.

  • If it is used to increase basic salary – sector retirees will benefit from the part used to increase basic salary.
  • If it is used “to deal with outstanding adjudications, commitments, recommendations, awards and claims” with a sector then retirees from that sector will not benefit.
  • Pre end of February 2012 retirees.  When the salary due to their serving peers in employment exceeds the salary that their pension is based on, pay increases will continue to benefit pension payments.
  • Post March 1 2012 retirees. (Those who retired on pensions based on reduced salaries) They will receive pension increases in line with the pay increases due to their peers in employment.

Appendix 1

Public Service Pay and Pensions Act 2017 Chapter 5, Section 19  (http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2017/act/34/enacted/en/print#sec19)

Public servants falling within certain pay range: provision to complete restoration of their pay

  1. (1) In this section, references to—

(a) the relevant restoration enjoyed by a public servant are references to the restoration of amounts to the public servant, by way of the annualised amount of his or her basic salary, that results from the operation of the preceding provisions of this Part, and

(b) the relevant date are references to— (i) in the case of a covered public servant, 1 October 2020, and (ii) in the case of a non-covered public servant, 1 July 2021.

(2) Subject to subsection (3) and section 21, this section shall apply to a public servant in a case in which the relevant restoration enjoyed by the public servant is such that the annualised amount of his or her basic salary, on the relevant date, is not more than €150,000.

(3) However, where the relevant restoration enjoyed by a public servant is such that the annualised amount of his or her basic salary, on the relevant date, is equal to or exceeds the amount at which it stood immediately before the enactment of section 2 of the No. 2 Act of 2009, then this section shall not apply to the public servant. 14 [2017.] Public Service Pay and Pensions Act 2017. [No. 34.]PT.2 S.19

(4) Where this section applies to a public servant, the Minister shall, by order, provide that, on and from —

(a) in the case of a covered public servant, a date specified in the order, or

(b) in the case of a non-covered public servant, 1 July 2021, the annualised amount of the public servant’s basic salary shall stand at the amount at which it stood immediately before the enactment of section 2 of the No. 2 Act of 2009.

(5) The date specified in an order under subsection (4) with respect to the matter referred to in paragraph (a) of that subsection shall be a date that falls after 1 October 2020 but does not fall later than 1 July 2021.

Section 20 of the Public Service Pay Pensions Act 2017

Public servants falling within certain pay range not covered by section 19: provision to complete restoration of their pay

  1. (1) In this section, references to the relevant restoration enjoyed by a public servant and the relevant date shall be construed in accordance with section 19(1).

(2) Subject to subsection (3) and section 21, this section shall apply to a public servant in a case in which the relevant restoration enjoyed by the public servant is such that the annualised amount of his or her basic salary, on the relevant date, is more than €150,000.

(3) However where the relevant restoration enjoyed by a public servant is such that the annualised amount of his or her basic salary, on the relevant date, is equal to or exceeds the amount at which it stood immediately before the enactment of section 2 of the No. 2 Act of 2009, then this section shall not apply to the public servant.

(4) Where this section applies to a public servant, the Minister shall, by order, provide that, on and from a date specified in the order, the annualised amount of the public servant’s basic salary shall stand at the amount at which it stood immediately before the enactment of section 2 of the No. 2 Act of 2009; with respect to a covered public servant and a non-covered public servant a different day may be specified in such an order on which the annualised amount of his or her basic salary is to stand at the foregoing amount.

(5) The date specified in an order under subsection (4) with respect to— (a) the matter referred to in that subsection as it relates to a covered public servant, shall be a date that falls after 1 October 2020 but does not fall later than 1 July 2022, and (b) the matter referred to in that subsection as it relates to a non-covered public servant, shall be a date that falls after 1 July 2021 but does not fall later than 1 July 2022.