Trade unions plan stoppages and days of protest

PUBLIC and private sector trade unions are to organise widespread work stoppages and national days of protest throughout the coming weeks in a bid to stop government putting the weight of the economic recovery on the shoulders of ordinary workers.

Public sector unions will ask the executive council of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) this morning to organise a national day of protest in the next two weeks. Unions in the public and private sectors will also discuss forms of industrial action which would bolster their campaign.

Unions are angry at the Government’s attempts to recoup €2bn in exchequer savings by introducing a public service pension levy while failing to seek any contribution to the economic recovery by other sections of society and failing to address rising unemployment.