The Taoiseach has hinted that the next round of benchmarking pay awards for public servants will not be as generous as increases received last time round in 2002.
In what he described as a keynote address to a seminar on workplace innovation, Mr. Ahern warned that in preparing for negotiations on the next national pay agreement, expectations must be kept in line with the realities.
He said benchmarking had provided a better framework for dealing with public sector pay. Mr Ahern said he did not know what level of pay increase the benchmarking body would come up with this time, but admitted that there was a 'sense' that the next round of benchmarking due to be published shortly would not be as generous as the last round in 2002.
He said benchmarking was a process based on examining comparable roles in the public and private sectors - but that people felt the awards in 2002 averaging 8.9% were very high.
He said this was because at that time, private sector pay had experienced a significant 'bounce' - a phenomenon which has not been repeated since then.
Mr Ahern was asked whether he feared that if benchmarking yielded negligible increases for public servants, that the change and modernisation agenda in the public service would grind to a halt.
Mr Ahern said it was hugely important that the change agenda was maintained to keep the country strong - particularly in light of competitive threats from China, India and the Far East.
Mr Ahern also called on employers and employees to work together to build innovative dynamic workplaces capable of adapting to change.
