GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS are expected to set out proposals for public sector reform in areas such as health, education, local authorities, the Civil Service and in semi-State organisations over the next week.
Talks between Department of Finance representatives and trade unions on the Government’s transformation agenda for the public sector got under way yesterday.
However, union sources said that no specific proposal were put forward.
Details of the Government’s reform proposals are expected to be set out at separate talks on changes in the various parts of the public service. These talks are expected to take place over the next few days.
These talks are also likely to consider the fallout from the Government’s new early retirement, incentivised career break and expanded term-time schemes which have been introduced in a bid to reducing the State’s payroll bill.
A further plenary meeting of unions and Government officials will be briefed on progress in these sectoral talks on Wednesday of next week.
It is understood that at the meeting yesterday public sector trade unions again signalled that they would not recommend any new social partnership deal for national recovery unless there were also guarantees from the Government in relation to public sector pay and pensions, including the existing tax-free status of retirement lump sums.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen told the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) last week that the Government placed great importance on a transformation agenda for the public service.
He stated in a letter that it was the desire of Government “to conclude a robust agreement which delivered greater flexibility in the deployment of people and resources within and where necessary across public service boundaries so that we can restructure public service delivery”.
Mr Cowen also noted that it was only in the context of an agreement on public-service transformation that the concerns of trade unions could be addressed.
