Public sector workers on lowest wage to see 18.3% pay hike in 5.2bn euro deal

Irish public sector workers on the lowest incomes will receive a pay increase up to 18.3% as trade unions and Government agree a 5.2 billion euro deal that will see salary hikes for workers over the next two-and-a-half-years.

The public sector strike which had been planned to take place on Thursday has been suspended after trade unions agreed a new draft pay deal with the Government.

Following talks which concluded in the early hours of Wednesday, the proposals will deliver public sector pay increases of 10.75% over two years and nine months in a deal that will run to March 2029.

The new pay agreement will be reviewed by the unions representing the public sector unions over the coming days.

Unions will then ballot their members on whether to accept the deal.

Under the agreement, the starting salary for gardaí will increase by 5,722 euro from 39,194 euro per year to 44,916 euro per year.

Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers said that the starting pay for a cleaner will increase by 18.3% over the course of the agreement, special needs assistants (SNAs) will rise by 17.2%, a general operative or a healthcare assistant will see an increase of 15.4%.

An enhanced nurse starting pay will increase by 13.3%; primary or secondary teachers will see salary increases of 13% or 12.8%; while clerical officers will receive an increase of 17.1%.

Mr Chambers said: “Those on the lowest incomes will receive up to 18.3% over the lifetime of this agreement, inclusive of the local bargaining provision, with minimum benefit for public servants over the life term of the proposed agreement cumulatively at 11.3%.

“I think that reflects the prioritisation of both Government and trade unions towards low-middle income workers, in particular, who are faced with pressures from the cost of living.”

Mr Chambers said the total cost amounts to 5.2 billion euro which is spread over 2026 and ends in 2030 in terms of the expenditure implications.

He added: “This is a real balance. I think we all want to see priority given to low-middle income workers in the public service who have cost pressures and we have heard that issue.

“But just in terms of the wider issues, we’re absolutely clear that this is sustainable and affordable for the public finances.

“We haven’t changed our medium-term fiscal and structural plan. I haven’t changed how we agreed and settled the budget for 2027, and we’re still left with a contingency in 2027 to manage other expenditure pressures, which ultimately emerge in any given year.”

The Fianna Fáil minister also said that if there was a “significant contraction” within the Irish economy, the agreement allows for the Government to seek a review of the pay increases.

He added: “We know if there was an inflationary spike, obviously the unions would have a legitimate reason to to seek a review.

“I think the context in which the economic parameters change would be if there was a significant contraction within our economy, and something we couldn’t sustain or afford, which would be clear to everybody, I think it’s in that context which we’d seek a review.

“I think the Government needs that protection as well.

“Right now, the medium-term projections from the Department of Finance are strong.

“But, obviously, if the economic circumstances change and predictions change, then the review is something that both sides have and that’s the responsible approach, and the approach that’s understood on all sides in the context of the uncertain economic environment in which the world is in.

“But the Irish economy over the last 10 years, over multiple shocks, has shown itself to be continually resilient. This is a fair deal in the context of the medium-term plans which we set out.”

The planned industrial action would have taken place on the same day as the European Political Community (EPC) summit on Thursday.

In a statement, the public services committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions said a draft agreement had been reached.

It said: “The new agreement was negotiated following the expiration of the last public service pay agreement at the end of June.

“It follows work-to-rule action across public services since 30th September, public service-wide strike action on Wednesday 14th October, and a planned public service strike for Thursday 12th November.

“The public services committee has recommended that unions suspend the strike action and other industrial action to allow affiliates to consider the document and arrange ballots.”

Kevin Callinan, general secretary of Fórsa, said the deal will not be accepted in a “landslide”.

Asked what will happen if the agreement is rejected by union members, Mr Callinan told RTÉ’s David McCullagh show: “I think if the deal is rejected, you have a situation where you go back to individual unions to address that situation.

“I think one thing I can say with pretty much confidence, I don’t think this deal is going to be accepted in a landslide.

“There are a lot of issues out there, but I think what we have done as a trade union movement is we’ve brought people together. I think they’ve seen their collective power.

“They can see that if you actually come together and do something about trade unions, you can make a difference, and that’s a message not just for public service. That’s a message for all workers.”

He added that many public servants think the Government is “out of touch”.

“I think the real message I’d like to deliver this morning is that it’s going to require more than a pay offer from the Government to repair, I suppose, the relationship between public servants and the Government,” he added.

“It’s very clear to me that many, many public servants have felt that the Government was out of touch with their daily reality in terms of not just cost of living, but, obviously, like every other worker, people are struggling with the cost of living.

“But one of the things that came really loud and clear on the picket lines was just how much people were under pressure at work, struggling with resourcing deficits in some cases, and increased demand.”

The deal includes a number of pay terms:

September 1 2026 – a pay adjustment of 2% or a minimum payment of 1,200 euro, whichever is the greater.

April 1 2027 – a pay adjustment of 1%.

August 1 2027 – a pay adjustment of 1% or a minimum payment of 600 euro, whichever is the greater.

November 1 2027 – a pay adjustment of 1.5% or a minimum payment of 900 euro, whichever is the greater.

March 1 2028 – a pay adjustment of 1%.

June 1 2028 – a pay adjustment of 1% or a minimum payment of 600 euro, whichever is the greater.

October 1 2028 – a pay adjustment of 1%.

March 1 2029 – implementation of the second phase of ‘local bargaining’ of 1%.

March 2 2029 – a pay adjustment of 1.25% or a minimum payment of 750 euro, whichever is the greater.

The final phase of “local bargaining” will be implemented during the lifetime of the successor agreement to this agreement.

The agreement ends on March 31 2029.

Trade unions will meet over the coming days to analyse the agreement ahead of an expected national ballot.