Pay and Working Conditions

Pay Claims

Pay is negotiated by different types of claims;

1. Comparability claim
2. Relativity claim
3. Productivity claim
4. Cost of living claim

---

5. Comparability claim: a demand for a pay rise based on what similar workers receive. Example: Dunnes and Lidl cashiers.

6. Relativity claim: a demand for pay to maintain a wage relationship between different job categories. Example: Pilots ask for a pay rise, after baggage handlers receive a pay rise.

7. Productivity claim: a demand for higher pay based on increased output, efficiency or an increase of responsibilities. Example: Factory workers at Colgate seek a raise when their output of toothbrushes increases.

8. Cost of living claim: a demand for higher pay to keep up with rising prices. It is harder to survive on their previous wage due to inflation.

---

Pay Bargaining

---

Pay can be negotiated in three different ways;

9. Individual pay bargaining
10. Local pay bargaining
11. Collective bargaining
12. National pay bargaining

---

13. Individual pay bargaining: When each employee meets with the employer individually and negotiates their own pay and conditions
14. Local pay bargaining: where pay is changed in an individual firm. This can be done individually or collectively among employees
15. Collective bargaining: When employers negotiate with a group of employers, usually through a Trade Union shop steward.
16. National pay bargaining : usually negotiated between the main social partners (e.g. the government, IBEC and ICTU.) Social partnership is where these partners agree on national pay and conditions