20,000 council workers to get pay rises

More than 20,000 local authority workers will be told today that benchmarking pay increases due next month have been approved…

More than 20,000 local authority workers will be told today that benchmarking pay increases due next month have been approved.

Cleansing staff in Dublin City Council who took part in industrial action in November, however, will have to wait until next week before learning if they are to get the increase.

Pay rises of between 4 per cent and 13.8 per cent were recommended for local authority staff by the benchmarking body. Half of that increase, in addition to a basic rise of 3 per cent, is due to be paid on January 1st.

The workers were required to deliver agreed productivity improvements. With the possible exception of Dublin City Council, an independently-chaired, performance-verification group has found that all relevant staff have delivered the improvements.

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The only outstanding item, relating to the delivery of essential services, is due to be concluded this morning, after which the group's report will be published.

A separate benchmarking process determines the pay of the remaining third, about 2,000 craft workers and 9,000 general operatives. They are also subject to a performance-verification review which is continuing.

Cleansing staff in Dublin City Council must await a Labour Court decision, expected next week, before being told if they will get the increase. The court was asked to decide whether staff breached Sustaining Progress by staging industrial action in support of workers involved in a union-recognition dispute with Oxigen Environmental.

Chris Dooley

Chris Dooley

Chris Dooley is Foreign Editor of The Irish Times