A new inflation-busting pay deal has been agreed by around 1,800 civil servants.

The three-year package, ratified by Bermuda Public Service Union members at a meeting yesterday, offers a rise of 4.5 percent in the first year and 4 percent in the second. The third year will be decided nearer the time.

The deal had originally been rejected by the membership last month, but union president Armell Thomas said that a push for a better deal had failed and it was decided to accept what was on offer.

?We went back to the table as we were asked by the membership to see if we could get a little bit more but the Government was not moving,? he explained yesterday.

The pay rise is above inflation, now standing at 2.8 percent, although the Government will start taking out one percent more in pension contributions from April 1.