Po­lit­i­cal sci­en­tists are urg­ing the Gov­ern­ment to pri­ori­tise and set­tle out­stand­ing wage dis­putes with trade unions, warn­ing that pro­longed ne­go­ti­a­tions and in­dus­tri­al un­rest could car­ry eco­nom­ic and po­lit­i­cal risks.

The is­sue comes as the Com­mu­ni­ca­tion Work­ers’ Union (CWU) con­tin­ues to press for out­stand­ing wage ne­go­ti­a­tions to be ad­dressed, while the Pub­lic Ser­vices As­so­ci­a­tion (PSA) has paused its protest ac­tion af­ter se­cur­ing a com­mit­ment from Pub­lic Util­i­ties Min­is­ter Bar­ry Padarath that Gov­ern­ment will ho­n­our its 10 per cent wage set­tle­ment promise.

The CWU is seek­ing to bring wages up to date for two out­stand­ing ne­go­ti­at­ing pe­ri­ods - 2020 to 2022 and 2023 to 2025.