The overall approval of a new public sector pay deal, which will cost taxpayers 3.6 billion euro over two years, moves a step closer with members of SIPTU and the ASTI having voted overwhelmingly in favour of the deal.
90% of SIPTU members back the proposals while ASTI members voted to accept the deal by 85% with a turnout for the ballot of 55%.
Fórsa, the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO), the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) and the Prison Officers’ Association also voted to accept the proposals.
Other public sector unions and staff associations are currently in the process of balloting their members on the agreement.
Agreement was reached with the Government at the Workplace Relations Commission in January on a deal that will provide for pay increases of 10.25% and over a two-and-a-half-year period.
The proposals are worth up to 17.3% for lower-paid workers.
Deputy General Secretary John King believes the agreement delivers a significant improvement in pay for public service workers, safeguards against job outsourcing and privatisation, and offers a mechanism to address local claims and disputes.
The previous public service pay agreement, Building Momentum, expired on 31 December 2023 and the proposed new deal will run from January 2024 to June 2026.
If the agreement is ratified, the first of a series of pay increases will come in the form of a 2.25% increase backdated to 1 January.
