Public sector pay deal: What’s in it for me?

A planned public sector strike for Thursday has been called off after the Government and trade unions agreed a deal in the early hours of the morning.

Talks at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) concluded at 3.30am as a new national pay agreement was secured.

The new agreement will see pay increases of at least 10.75 per cent for more than 400,000 workers by the end of March 2029.

So what does the deal mean?

• 2026

An across-the-board pay rise for all eligible staff of 2 per cent of annual salary or €1,200, whichever is greater, backdated to September 1st, 2026

• 2027

An increase of 1 per cent on April 1st, 2027

An increase of 1 per cent or €600, whichever is greater, on August 1st

An increase of 1.5 per cent or €900, whichever is greater, on November 1st

• 2028

An increase of 1 per cent on March 1st, 2028

An increase of 1 per cent or €600, whichever is greater, on June 1st

An increase of 1 per cent on October 1st

• 2029

‘Local bargaining’ or 1 per cent increase on March 1st, 2029

A general round increase of 1.25 per cent or €750, whichever is greater, on March 2nd

End of agreement on March 31st.

The local bargaining element is a mechanism for addressing outstanding issues in individual sectors. This can involve money not being used to the benefit of all staff equally.

The draft agreement runs for 33 months and the total cost amounts to €5.2 billion, from July 1st, 2026, to March 31st, 2029. The costs will be spread across five budgets.

The pay measures in the agreement are weighted towards those on lower incomes.

Those on the lowest incomes will receive up to 18.3 per cent over the lifetime of this agreement, inclusive of the local bargaining provision, and a minimum cumulative increase of 11.3 per cent.

The proposed agreement provides for 10.75 per cent over 33 months.

This is composed of general round increases of 9.75 per cent and a 1 per cent payment for the next phase of local bargaining.

The proposed agreement includes 1 per cent provision for local bargaining, which will be implemented from March 1st, 2029.

Starting pay for a cleaner would receive a benefit of 18.3 per cent over the course of the agreement, while starting pay for a special needs assistant would increase by 17.2 per cent.

For a general operative or healthcare assistant, this would provide increases to starting pay of 15.4 per cent.

Garda starting pay would increase by 14.6 per cent, while enhanced nurse starting pay would receive a cumulative benefit of 13.3 per cent.

For a primary teacher or secondary teacher, starting pay would increase by 13.1 per cent and 12.8 per cent.

Starting pay for a clerical officer in the Civil Service would receive an increase of 17.1 per cent over the agreement.

The draft deal will be considered by national executives of the 19 public services unions over the coming days. Many of them are due to meet on Wednesday.

Each executive will ballot their members on whether to accept the agreement while almost certainly suspending all industrial action.

An overall result of the ballots is expected during the second week of December. If agreed, the first increases would likely come in January.