Tuesday, February 9, 2010 Previous editions
Thursday, October 29, 2009
SCHOOLS look set to close and other public services set to be thrown into chaos after all the public service unions agreed to ballot for a day of action on Tuesday, November 24.
If union members vote in favour of strike, the bulk of the country’s 310,000 public servants, including teachers, nurses and civil servants will down tools in protest at plans to cut the public sector pay bill by 6.5%.
The decision to press ahead with the action, which was sought by the country’s largest solely public service union, IMPACT, was made as the unions met with the Government to open formal discussions on its intention to reduce the €20 billion public sector wage bill by €1.3bn.
The unions have argued that, if that reduction were to be found purely through cuts to core pay, it would entail each member of the public service facing an average of 13.5% pay cut this year when added to the 7% cut introduced through the pension levy.
The Government has said it will not be dissuaded from saving €4bn from its exchequer spending this year and have said that, as well as axing €1.3bn from the public service wage bill, it wants to secure a further €1.3bn through social welfare cuts and the rest through other cuts in public services.
Public service unions have now issued a statement of intent, by announcing a day of action on November 24, but have made it clear they will only press ahead if the Government persists with plans to cut their members’ take-home pay.
While Taoiseach Brian Cowen and a host of his ministers have spent a number of weeks indicating pay cuts were their preferred method of making the savings, over the last few days that position has softened.
The Taoiseach has said the Government will consider reform rather than pay cuts if the end savings are the same. In that regard, public service unions were yesterday told that if they can generate alternative proposals for savings, the Government will consider them.
Union sources predicted there could be considerable "toing and froing" between the social partners for up to two weeks as proposals are put forward by unions, the Government and other social partners. It is, therefore, highly unlikely there will be any decisive action taken before the end of this week, especially as Mr Cowen will be attending the European Council in Brussels today and tomorrow.
However, while previous talks between the social partners have been drawn out for long periods, union sources are now adamant that, if nothing is agreed by mid-November, the crippling strike action will go ahead.
General secretary of the Irish Nurses Organisation Liam Doran said the opening session of talks between unions and Government had been "difficult".
Mr Doran made it clear that there could be no interference with frontline workers’ pay and allowances.
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