Details Of Early Pay Deal Agreement Emerge

An outline agreement has been reached in the ongoing pay talks between the Irish Government, union leaders and employers.

As details emerge, the proposed new national pay deal looks set to be a 6% rise for workers over the next 21 months, followed by a final extra 0.5% rise for lower paid workers.

The proposals have yet to be officially finalised, and despite the seemingly impressive progress following a marathon 18-hour meeting, some unions are still remaining cautious.

The Construction Federation has also expressed some concerns over the document, and have met with the Taoiseach to discuss it.

If the agreement goes ahead, workers will see their 6% pay rise delivered as a 3.5% increase in the first half, followed by a 2.5% rise for the second half of the 21 month period.

Along with pay, some controversial collective bargaining rights issues were also resolved.

The proposals involve the issue of collective bargaining rights in non-union companies being considered in a new talks process of limited time duration.

The Government would also introduce legislation, possibly by the end of the year, to ban victimisation of trade union members and prohibit employers from offering inducements to staff to leave unions.

There would also be reforms for students from outside the European Economic Area working in Ireland.

Despite the initial movement on the pay deal, it could be some time before the small type is finalised on the initial deal.

(DW)