Public sector unions have said the forthcoming talks on a new national pay deal will have to deliver increases significantly above inflation in the wake of the report of the benchmarking body which recommended no rises for the vast majority of civil and public servants.
The report, which compared public service pay levels to those in the private sector, recommended pay increases for only 15 out of 109 grades which it examined.
The groups to receive increases, which range from 1 per cent to 15 per cent, are mainly concentrated at more senior levels. Rank and file nurses, teachers, gardaí, civil servants, local authority and health sector staff will get no increases.
The benchmarking report concluded, following a two-year analysis, that "there was no evidence to suggest that pay movements in the private sector in the five years since the last exercise had altered adversely the relative pay position of public servants, particularly when the value of public service pensions is taken into account".
"The examination we carried out confirmed that, in the case of the great majority of public service grades, their pay positions relative to the private sector have not been eroded," it stated.
The benchmarking body also maintained that with a small number of exceptions, there was no difficulty in the public service in relation to the recruitment and retention of staff.
The award of zero increases for most public sector grades was determined to a large degree by a decision by the body to apply a discount of 12 per cent of salary to take account of the superior value of public service pensions.
The benchmarking body said that it was clear that pension arrangements in the public service were "significantly more valuable" than those in the private sector.
The Department of Finance last night said that in the region of 11,000 staff would benefit from the benchmarking increases. About 6,500 personnel are in the 15 grades where rises were deemed appropriate following an examination by the benchmarking body. A further 4,500 are in grades which were not examined by the benchmarking body which are considered linked to those which have been recommended for increases.
The largest increase, of 15 per cent, was awarded to principal medical officers, a public health grade in the health sector. Senior nurses at director and assistant director level in some hospitals will receive 10 per cent while senior executive officers in local authorities, health service general managers/functional officers and emergency medical technicians will get 5 per cent.
The report said the full implementation of the increases would cost €50 million or an additional 0.3 per cent to the overall pay bill. The previous benchmarking exercise in 2002, which resulted in average increases of 8.9 per cent, cost €1.2 billion. The Minister for Finance, Brian Cowen, said implementation of the report would be discussed by the social partners "in the context of discussions on whatever arrangements on pay and conditions are to be put in place on the expiry of the current public service pay agreement".
The public services committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) is to meet today to consider the report. However, already many unions have reacted angrily to the findings, which were welcomed by employers' group Ibec.
Peter McLoone, the chairman of the Ictu committee, said the report presented the Government and employers with "a huge challenge going into pay talks next month".
"The forthcoming pay talks will now have to deliver pay increases significantly above inflation. The Government and employers should be under no illusion. Failure to produce an acceptable deal will create a very real risk of rejection by the workers that have hitherto been the bedrock of social partnership."