Public servants to strike over pay cut plans

THE bulk of the country’s 310,000 public servants, including teachers and nurses, are planning a 24-hour strike in the last week of November in protest at Government plans to cut 6.5% off the public sector pay bill.

The Cabinet is also planning to reduce the social welfare bill by €1.3 billion.

The balance of €1.4bn needed to make up the €4bn the Government has targeted to save in the December budget will come from cuts to Government services.

It has emerged that at the social partnership talks at Government Buildings on Tuesday night, Taoiseach Brian Cowen said the Government intended to reduce the €20bn public wage bill by €1.3bn.

If €1.3bn were to be cut from core pay that would entail each member of the public service facing an average of 13.5% pay cuts this year when added to the 7% pension levy. Public service unions are balloting members on strike action and have earmarked November 24 as the date for a 24-hour strike ahead of the budget. Yesterday, IMPACT became the first to ballot in favour of industrial unrest if there are any cuts to its members’ pay. The union’s 55,000 members voted 86% in favour of action.

IMPACT general secretary Peter McLoone said strikes seemed inevitable given the Government’s preference to cut pay.

Restating his intention to cut pay as well as social welfare, Mr Cowen told the Dáil “one must look at every area of expenditure, including the social welfare budget and public sector pay and pension bill if one is to make the corrections that are necessary”.

Also yesterday, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions confirmed it is organising rallies in Cork, Limerick, Waterford, Sligo, Galway, Dublin, Tullamore and Dundalk on November 6 in protest at the Government’s economic recovery efforts. Ahead of that, 1.9m homes around the country will receive letters detailing ICTU’s alternative proposals for economic recovery including an extension of the period for economic recovery from 2013, as proposed by the Government, to 2017. ICTU is also proposing higher taxation for those who can afford it.

However, Finance Minister Brian Lenihan rejected those proposals. “The reality is that Ireland is now borrowing 12% of our annual wealth. If we change nothing next year that will increase to 14% or 15%.”

He also said there will be no new taxes in the budget, apart from a carbon tax.

Meanwhile, ICTU General Secretary David Begg has been scathing in his criticism of the Government’s initiative to restore public finances by 2013.

Mr Begg said the proposed measures amounted to a “brutal action”.