Committee Supports Groups Excluded From Equal Pay Settlement

The Assembly Committee for Finance and Personnel today agreed that the grievances of NI civil service retirees, NIO secondees and PSNI/RUC secondees and support staff, who were excluded from the 2009 NICS Equal Pay settlement, should be addressed.

The Committee made its recommendation after its meeting today. The Committee Chairperson, Conor Murphy MP MLA, said: “The Committee believes that the case has been well made for the Executive to address the grievances of civil service retirees, NIO secondees and PSNI/RUC secondees and support staff.”

“The Committee therefore calls on the Minister of Finance and Personnel to recommend that the equal pay settlement is extended to cover these cases, with the knowledge that a settlement of these grievances would also reduce the risk of further litigation and avoid additional legal costs for the Executive.”

“The Committee also believes that steps need to be taken to ensure that, in future, NICS staff are clear on all the potential implications of secondment before making any decision in this regard."

In making its decision, the Committee consulted widely with stakeholder groups. As well as hearing from the Department of Finance and Personnel, members also received oral evidence from NIPSA, PSNI representatives, the Civil Service Pensioners’ Alliance, NIPSA Retired Members and solicitors representing Civil Service retirees. Views were also sought from a range of stakeholders, which included both organisations and individuals. In addition, the Committee succeeded in obtaining estimates from the Department on the costs of including these groups in the equal pay settlement, and discovered that the £26 million set aside for DoJ/PSNI equal pay claims may no longer be available from Treasury if it is not used for that purpose in this financial year.

ENDS