SIPTU supports a recommendation by the independent body set up to examine additional working hours for public servants - that working time in the civil and public service be restored to pre-austerity levels, from July 1, 2022.
"This recommendation has been made by the independent body, chaired by the former Director General of the Workplace Relations Commission, Kieran Mulvey, which was established to examine this issue as a key commitment in the public service agreement, Building Momentum.
"Given that many of the other austerity measures imposed under the earlier Haddington Road Agreement have now ended, such as restrictions on overtime and premium payments and temporary pay cuts to senior public servants, it is timely that this matter is brought to an amicable resolution.
"This recommendation, if accepted by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Michael McGrath, will be welcomed by those public servants affected. They are mainly women and lower paid workers who have had a deepfelt annoyance and frustration over the imposition of unpaid working time."
He added: "Restoration of working hours to their pre-2013 levels, subject to a 35-hour working week, will remove a longstanding and debilitating drain on morale and productivity across the civil and public service," SIPTU Deputy General Secretary, John King, said.
