Vol. 503 No. 3
76 Mr. McGrath asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the agreement reached by the teachers' unions to pursue a new pay claim; the discussions, if any, he has had with the Department of Education and Science on the way in which this pay claim should be handled; the policy of the Government on pay claims which fall outside the scope of Partnership 2000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10032/99]
I am aware of the motions which were adopted at the recent annual conferences of the teacher unions about a salary increase for teachers.
The Government's position in relation to public service pay is well known – pay developments in the public service have to respect the terms of the pay agreements negotiated with the social partners as part of the national programmes.
In February 1997, the three teacher unions concluded a local bargaining settlement under the terms of the PCW which involved concessions on pensions, early retirement, allowances and pay. Teachers, therefore, have no unfinished business under the PCW.
Teachers are entitled to pursue a local bargaining increase under the terms of the Partnership 2000 pay agreement. This provides for an increase of up to 2 per cent, payable from a date not earlier than 1 July 1999, subject to verified progress to a satisfactory level on implementation of the modernisation programme in the public service.
The Government has made it clear that there can be no question of re-opening existing PCW
local bargaining settlements or departing from the 2 per cent limit on local bargaining increases in Partnership 2000.
