SIPTU VP Says Croke Park Review Confirms Importance Of Agreement

The latest review of the Croke Park Agreement has confirmed that significant reductions in pay roll and staff numbers in the public service have been achieved over the period from April 2011 to May 2012.

A total of €819 million in annualised pay roll and non- pay savings has been delivered for the second year of the four year Agreement.

SIPTU Vice-President, Patricia King, said that the significant savings have been achieved with industrial peace and that, without the Agreement, such reform and savings could not have been made.

"It is important to point out that a large proportion of the flexibility and roster changes have been made by our members at the lower pay scales. These include the general operatives and support grades in the local authorities and health service that we represent. There have also been significant savings delivered by professional grades which are also represented by SIPTU."

The report confirms that public sector workers are continuing to provide essential services despite the significant drop in staff numbers by 17,300 over the past two years and an anticipated 11,500 more by 2015.

"These savings have been made on the basis of industrial peace and could not have happened without this Agreement. It should be noted, however, that the moratorium on recruitment in the public service is having a damaging effect on the ability of our members to deliver quality services.

"The review also confirms that those workers at the lowest pay levels across the public service have contributed substantially to the reforms in work practices to date through roster changes, redeployment, the extended working day and loss of allowances. They have also suffered from the loss of regular, rostered over-time which, in the majority of cases, is calculable for pension purposes."

(CD)