Ms Patricia King:

In that scenario we would find that most of the money under FEMPI changes would be due to the highest paid public servants. That is a fact of mathematics rather than something anyone has invented. Those who would benefit least financially from the unwinding of FEMPI would be low-paid workers, because the lowest paid are no longer in the restoration category, they are in the pay increase area. For those on the lowest pay, the Lansdowne Road agreement actually meant post restoration and an increase of pay.

The ICTU position is that we want FEMPI to be unwound, most particularly as it is entirely inappropriate as an instrument to deal with pay for public servants. That is our position on the matter and we have set it out. However, we acknowledge that financially, if it were to happen tomorrow, the higher paid would benefit more. A great deal of money would go to certain people in pay increases and this would skew the public service pay bill to the higher paid. That is a difficulty.