The chief executive of the Labour Relations Commission Kieran Mulvey has described the deal agreed by trade union leaders and Government officials in the early hours of this morning as “revolutionary”.
Under the deal, which was agreed at 3am, the Government has given a commitment that there will be no further cuts in public sector pay until 2014 at least.
The trade unions, for their part, have agreed to implement extensive reforms in work practices and conditions of employment throughout the entire public service.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr Mulvey said the agreement features a "root and branch review" of public services.
“The basis of this deal is a significant almost revolutionary transformation of all Irish public services right across the spectrum," he said. “We are now in a position to begin to restructure, re-manage, re-focus re-energise our public services on the concept of very clear delivery of services.
“There’s not going to be any further pay cuts, there’s going to be no compulsory redundancies and everybody is clear the only way pay increases can be generated out of this is out of the savings that can be achieved.
“That’s a clear recognition of the budgetary situation we’re in now and are likely to be in for another few years.”
Mr Mulvey described the talks as “one of the most significant set of negotiations” he had ever been involved in.
“If we can replicate this effort and this vision and this commitment throughout the country we will re-energise, re-focus and rebuild this country into another modern economy,” he added.
Mr Mulvey also said he had asked the unions to cease their ongoing work-to-rule action at the end of talks last night.
Impact’s general secretary Peter McCloone said the outcome of the negotiations "presents everybody in the public service with the real possibility that we can find an alternative to the industrial conflict that has dominated the landscape in recent months”.
Mr McCloone said: “Currently we are facing very serious threats to public service…and the way we have been managing that up until now has brought us into conflict.”
However, he said the agreement presents an opportunity to restore the “trust, confidence and moral that has been damaged” and allows unions to “negotiate” their way through the challenges rather than continue the conflict which is threatening to escalate. “Hopefully the Government and ourselves can find a better way to do business than has been the case over the last 18 months or so," he said.
Mr McCloone said he expects all the unions to ballot their members on the proposals over the coming days and weeks following a series of extensive consultation.
General secretary of the Civil Public and Services Union (CPSU) Blair Horan said the big challenges facing the civil service as a result of the deal are going to be redeployment and the reduction in numbers.
Mr Horan said unions went into the negotiations with an “agenda” to reverse public sector pay cuts over time and they had “achieved a platform for restoration of pay levels”.
Speaking on RTÉ's News at One he said: "It's the first time ever a public service set of negotiations has agreed to prioritise people on €35,000 and below and from my point of view that was a major achievement even if we didn't get money back this year."
Mr Horan also said he had discussed details of the deal with CPSU members in the Passport Office currently engaged in industrial action and is awaiting a detailed response from them. He said the CSPU executive will discuss the deal tomorrow ahead of a ballot of members.
Employers’ group Ibec said the deal provided an ideal opportunity for the “real reform” of public services.
The organisation insisted any future public sector pay developments must be contingent on the health of the public finances and the delivery of cost-saving reforms.
“Given the very serious challenges the country continues to face, an agreed approach is the best way forward. Cutting costs through public sector reform is crucial,” Ibec director general Danny McCoy said.
“Reform must deliver specific, measurable savings and have a firm implementation timetable. The public must have absolute confidence that what has been promised actually happens on the ground. Major reform was agreed in the past, but not enough was delivered,” he said.
The Health Service Executive described the deal as "an extremely important milestone for the future direction" of the health services.
It said the agreement, in principle, will provide a shift in the working day for health workers to an eight-to-eight daily routine. "By extending the working day in the manner agreed, more patients will be seen and greater access to community services will be provided, in line with the HSE's strategic transformation programme."
Chief executive of Chambers Ireland Ian Talbot welcomed the agreement, saying it would contribute to enhancing the competiveness of our economy.
“All sides must remain sensitive of the fact that any agreement must be based on prevailing circumstances," he said. “Assurances of no pay cuts through to 2014 must be based on economic realities through to 2014."
