Insdustrial unrest: Time for Dál to get back to business

THERE are scores of reasons for members of the 32nd Dáil to stop faffing about and form a government. The need to get back to a fair, orderly, and sustainable process of income recovery is one .

Continued uncertainty and instability caused by the absence of a government could easily morph into nervousness among employers and investors. This, in turn, could halt the modest wage growth that many workers —private and public — have begun to experience after years of pay cuts and income suppression.

Right now we effectively have no government response to headline industrial disputes in transport; rows that threaten to undermine a thoughtful and jobs-focused trade union strategy that has delivered sustainable private sector pay rises over the last couple of years.