Unions prepare for strike action

PUBLIC sector unions have said social partnership is dead and told their members to prepare themselves for strikes.

Union leaders said they were not prepared to accept what they see as a 14% pay cut in the space of less than a year for workers on low to middle incomes.

“We know the Minister for Finance has been working hard now for the best part of a year to put an end to that [social partnership] and he has certainly put an end to it today,” said Irish Congress of Trade Unions president Jack O’Connor. “Budget 2010 must rank as the most callous, unjust and uncaring budget introduced by any Minister for Finance since the 1930s in this country. It represents a merciless attack on working people and the most vulnerable in our community while the wealthy in our society escape virtually untouched. This is a budget for the 5% who own 40% of national wealth in a blatantly obvious way.”

He said the “sheer cynicism” of the budget was evident by the reduction in unemployment assistance to people under 24 years.

“This is clearly designed to encourage our young people to leave the country,” he said.

IMPACT general secretary Peter McLoone said public service workers “must now mobilise to protect their incomes”.

“The entire public service workforce has now been alienated both by the Government’s actions and the way in which it has acted,” he said. “By opting for a permanent pay cut the Government’s knee-jerk reaction – driven by short-term political expediency – has left Ireland and its citizens with absolutely no plan or framework to protect and develop public services during the recession and beyond.”

Irish Nurses Organisation general secretary Liam Doran said yesterday’s budget would result in a cumulative 14% pay reduction on public servants who are on low and medium incomes will result in grave hardship and the simple reality that they will not be able to meet their living expenses.

Teachers’ Union of Ireland general secretary Peter MacMenamin said the Government appeared hell-bent on demoralising state workers “by way of a thousand cuts”.

“This Government has effectively declared war on the public service,” he said. “Needless to say, any transformation agenda is dead in the water in the current climate.”

Incoming general secretary of the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation Sheila Nunan said public servants did not cause the country’s economic collapse.

“But now they are being asked to stump up for debts of bankers, speculators and developers whose recklessness and greed is at the heart of the crisis,” she said.

“The average sergeant and inspector will be €170 a week poorer,” said Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors general secretary Joe Dirwan. “It is totally disgraceful to treat dedicated public servants, who do a difficult and sometimes dangerous job, in this callous way.”