FOR the second time in less than a week, Government ministers have been criticised for claiming there is a major rift between public and private sector workers.
Yesterday when asked about impending strikes and protest action by trade union members, the first of which is this Friday, Tánaiste Mary Coughlan said people’s preferred option was that there would not be industrial unrest.
"We can appreciate that everyone is under a lot of pressure and what we’re seeing is a differential between the public and the private sector which I think is hurtful. It would be best if everyone came together for the betterment of Irish society."
That came after her fellow cabinet minister John Gormley said there was "a type of civil war" between workers in the public and private sectors.
SIPTU president Jack O’Connor, who has members in both sectors said the Government was trying to divide working people as part of its campaign to make all low and middle income earners bear the full weight of economic recovery.
He said the Government was determined to maintain a regime in which people earning €200,000 a year are expected to pay the same percentage of tax as those earning the average industrial wage.
Mr O’Connor and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions have made no secret of the fact they want a new tax band to be introduced for high earners. It was one of the main points in ICTU’s 10-point plan for economic recovery which it relaunched yesterday under its new "Get Up Stand Up" campaign. That plan will be put to Government once again in talks on an economic recovery which continue this afternoon.
At yesterday’s launch, ICTU general secretary David Begg said the people who are "best able to make the contribution" to economic recovery should be the people who are seen to do it.
He said congress wanted to see a new tax band, at least over 54% and closer to 60% being introduced for high earners.
The 10-point plan calls on the Government for a national recovery bond, a €1bn investment in job protection and stimulation, protections for people who fall into mortgage arrears, private sector pension protection and a strong warning about the deflationary impact of cutting wages.
However, much more to the fore this time round is the attempt by ICTU to persuade the Government to extend the time frame for economic recovery from 2013 to 2017 in order to alleviate the pain felt by the public and stop the economy falling into a deflationary spiral.
"The (Government’s) intention is to restore public borrowing to a level of 3% of GDP by 2013," said Mr Begg. "This is highly unrealistic and potentially catastrophic. We have proposed elongating the period until 2017."
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
This appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Tuesday, November 03, 2009
