Working Hours Although there is no general reduction in working time under the PSSA, the agreement has given officers the possibility of a permanent return to pre-Haddington Road hours on the basis of a proportional wage adjustment. Staff members were able to opt for this agreement at the beginning of the agreement (January-April 2018) and can do so for a period after the end of the agreement (January-April 2021). The agreement also contains a provision allowing the conversion of annual leave into flexible hours. The PSSA recognizes barriers to mobility in the public sector and is committed to reviewing the current rules on the inclusion of transfer and transport rights. Although these lower scales (which were worth 10% less at each point on each scale) were removed at the request of the unions under the 2013 Haddington Road agreement, “new entrants” continued to have longer pay scales than their longer colleagues, with two wage points lower at the beginning of each scale. Some grades have also seen the elimination of certain allowances for newcomers. Last updated: September 2019 Click here for the full text of the agreement. Under the agreement, there will be an overall increase of 1% of gross salary or 500 euros per year, depending on the highest amount. Disclaimer This document is a summary of the key elements of the Public Service Stability Agreement (ASSA).
The agreement itself is more comprehensive and contains more details on some issues than is reflected here. Readers are advised to refer to the final text of the full agreement for more information. Between June 2010, when the contract was signed, and at the end of 2012, nearly one billion euros were withdrawn from the public payroll. The agreement also requires management to work with unions to minimize the use of temporary workers. And it includes guarantees on the use of internships, clinical internships, work experience and work activation measures, which state that there must be an “agreement on protocols” regarding these programmes. As with all previous public service agreements, work is excluded in situations where the employer complies with the agreement. The agreement provides for a binding procedure to resolve problems that arise without any decision on trade union actions. These restrictions do not apply to matters that are not covered by the agreement.
Newcomers The term “new entrants” refers to people who started working in the public service after 2011 (and organizations related to it for wage purposes) when the government imposed, without agreement, lower pay scales for new employees.