PUBLIC service industrial action will continue next week as union leaders meet government officials in an attempt to broker a deal on pay cuts and changes to working practices.
Despite Labour Relations Commission (LRC) chief executive Kieran Mulvey yesterday announcing that next week would see the start of at least two weeks of intensive talks between Government officials and public sector unions, there will be no let-up in the low level industrial campaign.
However, a threatened escalation by union members, to include the withdrawal of labour is expected to be stalled while the talks proceed, although the CPSU, which represents lower paid civil servants is expected to implement an overtime ban from March 15.
Following a preliminary round of talks with union leaders and officials Mr Mulvey said: "There was a unanimous view to sit down over the next fortnight for a period of intensive negotiations to attempt to reach a conclusion on the outstanding issues between the unions and management representing the Government."
Mr Mulvey and LRC director of conciliation Kevin Foley will facilitate the negotiations, which are likely to get under way on Monday afternoon and proceed on a sector by sector basis.
Union leaders who attended yesterday’s preliminary talks, which concluded shortly before 3pm, included the Irish Nurses’ and Midwives Organisation spokesman Liam Doran, Impact general secretary Peter McLoone, Blair Horan of the CPSU and SIPTU’s Patricia King.
Earlier on RTÉ radioICTU general secretary David Begg said failure to reach an agreement at the latest round of talks would be "catastrophic" for the country.
The talks followed a Thursday evening invitation by Taoiseach Brain Cowen to union leaders to renew discussions which broke down acrimoniously last December. The resumption of discussion follows a low-level campaign of industrial action by public service unions which began on January 25.
Mr McLoone, the chairman of ICTU’s public sector union committee, said that no deadline had been set for the talks but Easter would be a realistic target date.
He added: "They know what we need and we know what they need so let’s see what happens in the talks."
Labour leader Eamon Gilmore welcomed the talks resumption.
He said: "The decision of the Government last December to show the unions the door and to unilaterally impose pay cuts on all public sector workers, including those on the lowest rates, has created a very poor industrial relations climate."
He added: "The unilateral pay cuts imposed by the Government are now part of the problem and must clearly also be part of any solution."
The negotiations were also supported by Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny.
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
This appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Saturday, March 13, 2010
