Opposition criticises 'bankrupt' report

The benchmarking report that today recommended no pay increases for the vast majority of public sector workers will make talks on a new national agreement much more difficult, according to the Labour Party.

Separately, Fine Gael described the report as further evidence of the Government's 'bankrupt' approach to the public pay and called for an overhaul of benchmarking with a move towards a performance related system.

Reacting to the report published this afternoon, Labour's spokeswoman on finance Joan Burton said the Government has created a difficult situation by failing to control inflation and accepting a pay rise recommended last year by the Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Service.

"Firstly, its failure to control inflation has meant that most workers have gained little or nothing as a result of the increases allowed for in Towards 2016," said Ms Burton. "An increase of 10 per cent over 27 per cent provides no improvement in living standards for workers when annual inflation has been running at 5 per cent and which shows no sign of falling.

"While appealing to workers to display wage restraint, the government decided to accept massive increases for the Taoiseach and government Ministers, simply deferring their implementation for 12 months."

Ms Burton added that the report was particularly disappointing for teachers and nurses, who have seen it recommend increases of €60,000 for departmental secretary generals.

"If a new agreement is to be secured, it must ensure an adequate package of measures that will bring about a genuine improvement in the living standards of all workers, in both the public and private sectors," she added.

Fine Gael spokesman on finance Richard Bruton said: "The stark contrast between the pay recommendations for bosses in the public service and the ordinary rank and file exposes the bankruptcy of this Government's approach to public service pay.

"The idea that bosses should get huge increases in pay without any regard to their performance is simply an untenable approach to pay settlements in an economy whose core challenge is to raise productivity and improve competitiveness."

Mr Bruton added: "Private sector managers do get high rewards, but only when they confront strategic challenges successfully and return strong profits. Of course, profit is not the target in the public sector, but that cannot mean that we jettison performance issues from public pay policy, as this Government has done."

"A new meaning must be given to the benchmarking process," Mr Bruton added. "It should become a 'best practice' benchmarking exercise in which all public agencies would have the opportunity to identify changes that would allow them to achieve standards that represent best practice in their field."

Sinn Féin's Donegal senator Pearse Doherty has branded the report a "disgrace".

"Late last year we had the spectacle of Government ministers and senior civil servants being awarded huge pay increases at a time when the Government was hinting at the old line of tightening our belts," said Mr Doherty.

"Compare that announcement with the report published today from the Public Service Benchmarking Body which has failed lower paid public sector workers in particular.  Despite harsh economic realities Government Ministers and senior civil servants are to be  rewarded with pay increases of up to 15 per cent while other public sector workers are to receive nothing.  This is a disgrace."