Management in the Civil Service should be given the flexibility to pay staff above the usual entry rates, where necessary, in order to attract suitably qualified staff, the country’s largest public service trade union has said. The Fórsa trade union’s Civil Service divisional conference in Killarney was told on Thursday that the Civil Service was struggling to recruit staff in many areas because salaries were not keeping pace with those available in comparable private sector employment. “Some civil service bodies have even struggled to hire cleaners in recent months,” he said. Meanwhile, the conference instructed the union to pursue the rolling back of additional working hours imposed on staff during the economic crash. As part of the Haddington Road agreement in 2013, many staff across the public service saw their working week increased by two hours and 15 minutes.

Source: The Irish Times April 19, 2018 19:18 UTC