Public Pay Talks - see mod warning post 4293

Youre referring to the effective increase in gross wages in 2024 only. How much on average your monthly pay check will increase.

The other poster is referring to the difference between your gross salary on your point on the scale between January 1st 2024 and 2025.

It’s blatantly clear what you both mean. You are both right. How you choose to interpret the results is what’s subjective.

And deub said 1.75% is correct. What clarification are you looking for in relation to 3.53%? You said you don’t know where it is coming from?

Personally, I don’t really care what the effective increase in 2024 is. I only care about the headline figure. I’ve 30+ years to go and I’m thinking about the long term stuff not the next 12 or 24 months. Other people will have different priorities.

1.75% effective in 2024 is poor, I agree. It wouldn’t sway how I vote. If we got an improved offer of 10% or 12% with no change in the 2024 breakdown, it wouldn’t bother me.

It wouldn’t be 50% as not everyone is on the higher rate of tax.

I would like to think in the forecasts by the unions on any deal, this is outlined and taken into account. I assume they have a rule of thumb to calculate it.

Ive seen nothing to suggest it is or it isn’t factored in.

This is not the case according to IBEC.

They state the following:

"According to the Pay Trends report, 82% of respondents are planning to increase pay in 2024 with an average increase of 3.8%, while 84% of respondents increased basic pay rates in 2023, with an average increase of 4.4%, slightly higher than forecasted in last year’s survey (3.82%)."

An average increase of 3.8% in the private sector (matching the current inflation rate) in 2024 according to IBEC - over double the increase that public servants are being offered in 2024. Furthermore in other areas the government are offering increases in the Jobseekers Allowance of nearly four times greater than they are offering public sector workers. They have also legislated to increase the minimum wage by 12.3% in 2024.

Is that 3.8% on day one of the year? I assume it’s 3.8% comparing the gross salary on the 1st of January 2024 to 2025 (on average).

The IBEC report says pay increases not a 3.8% increase in the wage budget for the year. I’ll admit I have not read the entire document so will take your word.

If you want to say the public sector increase is 1.75% this year, then you have to apply the same methodology to the private sector.

Well we don't know when rises in the private sector occur. We do know that they gain extra benefits (bonuses etc....) which are not available in the public sector.

But that’s the point. The effective pay increase for the public sector is 1.75%. The 12 month increase in salary is 3.5% under the rejected deal (I don’t know how better to phrase that).

The 12 month increase in salary is 3.8% in the private sector. The only valid comparison with this number is 3.5% and the 1.75% is effectively irrelevant unless you can calculate the effective wage increase in my opinion.

I think the 1.75% outrage is justified but I don’t see the relevance of contrasting it with the IBEC figure as they have different underlying assumptions. It’s very easy to sell it when you compare it to the 6.5% we are already out of pocket.

It is a nice concept but it is only that; a concept. The reality is different.

It is not the reality but your opinion.

Let’s imagine it is the case and public pay is 3 times higher than private pay. Would you be happy if your children could only get a 2 bed house with 1hr commute from their jobs in private sector when someone with the same competences in public sector could afford buying a 4 bed house in a better location? Would you tell them it is a fair situation?

That’s not exactly the future I would like for next generations. It would just divide more people and when you see the crazy and untrue stories some anti public sector people are mentioning on this thread…

Hmmmm, not so sure I’d trust IBEC and their stats on something like this. IBEC will spin stats to suit their agenda, part of which is to lobby the Government in ways to benefit their members such as ensuring profits are as high as possible and public spending remains as low as possible.

Even their members would have motivation to under report increases in wages.

What day are the talks supposed to resume this week? Or has this not been organised yet?

One of the articles I read last week said "early next week" so maybe tomorrow