Quinn warns of teacher pay cuts if deal fails to deliver [IrishTimes]
- Published: 12 April 2011
PAY CUTS for teachers and other public servants have not been ruled out if the Croke Park agreement fails to deliver real savings, Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn has signalled.
Asked about the possibility of pay cuts – raised over the weekend by Minister for Communications Pat Rabbitte – Mr Quinn said everyone realised tangible savings must be achieved under the deal.
He said discussions with the teachers’ unions ahead of the Easter conferences would be focusing on the necessity of Croke Park.
He was happy to co-operate with constructive proposals to achieve the necessary additional productivity and savings. But everyone realised what needed to be done.
The Croke Park deal promises no pay cuts and redundancies until 2014 in return for modernisation measures and productivity gains.
The Cabinet met last night to consider how savings might be achieved in each department.
Last week a Department of Finance briefing document expressed alarm at the slow pace of savings in the department. To date the agreement has managed to yield savings of €39 million. The briefing pointed out this represents less than half of 1 per cent of total education spending.
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