THE GOVERNMENT has signalled its willingness to explore a three- to five-year restructuring of the public service involving reducing numbers, new reforms and productivity measures as an alternative to pay cuts.
It indicated, however, that “bridging mechanisms” would be needed next year to cover the gap before the savings would take effect.
The possibility of such a two-stage alternative to pay cuts emerged at talks yesterday between Department of Finance officials and trade unions on the Government’s plans to cut the public sector pay bill by €1.3 billion next year.
Unions are seeking an alternative to cuts in pay for the 300,000-plus staff on the State payroll.
At a press conference last night organised by the new 24/7 Alliance representing frontline public service staff, David Hughes, of the Irish Nurses Organisation, said that as part of possible scenarios department offficials had spoken of a three- to five-year plan looking at restructuring and savings. He said that the officials had said that even with such a plan they would have to address the year 2010 and that there would have to be bridging mechanisms over and above anything else.
He said Department of Finance officials had suggested that some of these bridging mechanisms could be “permanent in nature while others might lapse”.
Mr Hughes said the department officials had been very general in their comments but had indicated that as part of any restructuring, cuts in numbers would not be enough and productivities would be needed too.
“They did not specifically state any numbers or how it would be done. It was much more general than that. [There were] comments about the restructuring and reshaping of the Civil Service and [they] referred to things like a more integrated public service, greater mobility and a reduction in numbers and productivity.”
Some informed sources suggested last night that if the Government was to secure the €1.3 billion savings through job reductions alone, the payroll would have to be reduced by up to 30,000 people. A Government spokesman said that officials had held a general discussion with unions about the public sector but that no figures had been given.
The possibilities of public service restructuring over a three- to five-year period involving reductions in employment levels and productivity reforms are quite similar to the proposals put forward by the general secretary of Impact, Peter McLoone, as an alternative to pay cuts.
The Irish Times revealed yesterday that Mr McLoone had said in a confidential internal memo that any alternative to pay cuts was likely to involve a significant reduction in public service numbers over the next three to four years with the likelihood that some exceptional measures would be needed in 2010 to deal with the budgetary crisis next year.
Sources have suggested that these exceptional measures could involve cuts in non-core pay such as overtime. Chairman of the 24/7 Alliance, Des Kavanagh, said last night that if this were to happen “then we would be into a very serious situation”.
