Public workers to ballot for strike action
The union, which represents executive members of the civil service, will ask members affected by the levy to take two days of strike action initially to be followed by two further days of strikes in various areas.
PSEU general secretary designate Tom Geraghty said the union would exempt local social welfare offices and any other emergency services from the action so as not to affect the vulnerable in society.
Tomorrow the Public Service Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions will meet and afterwards it is expected to confirm a number of unions are to ballot for strike action over the levy and the imposition of the burden of the economic recovery on ordinary workers.
Mr Geraghty said PSEU did not want to have to resort to the strike action and remained committed to attempts by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions to resolve the situation through a return to social partnership talks with employers and Government.
A number of unions are to lobby their local TDs across the country in the coming days and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions has organised a national day of protest for February 21.
While it had been expected that this would entail marches across the country, ICTU has decided that for logistical reasons it must restrict the action to a single march in Dublin. It will start from Parnell Square at 2pm.
This morning IMPACT trade union has published in a number of newspapers eight reasons why it believes the levy must be changed.
It claims the levy places an unfair levy on public service workers, yet it would not create jobs and would not hit those who could most afford to contribute to economic recovery.
ICTU has published a 10-point plan of the issues in the economy which must be addressed if there is to be a recovery.
It wants the Government to return to the social partnership talks as soon as possible, particularly as the public service pensions levy legislation is due by March 31. ICTU has said a sustained campaign of action will follow the protest if the Government does not take the economic burden off workers.
