THE COUNTRY’S LARGEST trade union has recommended that its members vote to accept the revised ‘Haddington Road’ pay deal.

SIPTU’s national executive says the revised deal, published in full this afternoon, offers certainty that could not be achieved if the proposals were rejected.

In a statement, the executive said the proposals allowed savings to be made through “progressive measures” like replacing agency staff with direct recruits, and also soothed concerns in relation to premium pay and overtime rates.

The union also welcomed the inclusion of specific dates when temporary pay cuts for workers earning between €65,000 and €100,000 will be reversed.

“Acceptance of these new terms would preserve the provisions of the original Croke Park Agreement affording protection against compulsory redundancy, redeployment in excess of 45km and the potential for outsourcing,” it said.

“They would also maintain the entitlement of Public Service workers to a say in the reform process.  Meanwhile, they would guarantee security of income throughout a continuing period of economic uncertainty.”

The union will now ballot its members – who account for about a quarter of all public workers – over the next four weeks, and said it would hold a further ballot for industrial and strike action if the proposals were rejected and pay cuts were introduced unilaterally.

The support for the deal will be good news for the government, and follows the support of the INTO – the fourth biggest public union – which has recommended that primary school teachers also accept the proposals.

SIPTU members narrowly rejected the original ‘Croke Park 2′ proposals, despite a similar recommendation from the union executive to support it.

read: Here’s what’s contained in the new ‘Haddington Road’ public pay deal