Pay deal at risk after TUI rejects proposals

STRONG opposition has emerged among trade unionists to the public sector pay deal proposal which was endorsed by union leaders and government officials on Tuesday.

The executive committee of the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) last night decided to reject the proposals and will recommend their rejection to its annual congress which takes place in Clare next week.

A TUI spokesman said that overall the deal was found to be unacceptable by the union executive.

At a four-hour meeting of the Civil Public and Services Union (CPSU) executive yesterday it was also decided the union could not endorse the agreement.

The CPSU leadership will meet again on April 12 to set a date for balloting members and debate what recommendation to make to members.

CPSU general secretary Blair Horan said it had been a “very long and very angry meeting” where strong opposition had been expressed towards the agreement reached on public sector pay and reform between the Government and trade union leaders.

The CPSU executive did vote to lift the ban on overtime by its members. The overtime ban has been directly impacting on services at the Passport Office.

The largest public sector union Impact said they will not call off their industrial action until an executive meeting next week. While a SIPTU spokesman said a decision would be made shortly.

The TUI Dublin City Branch has organised a press conference to be attended by trade union activists from SIPTU, teaching and nursing unions in Dublin this afternoon.

TUI activist Helen Mahony said there was “wide- spread opposition” to the deal.

She said: “This deal represents the destruction of the conditions of workers, massive job losses and absolutely no gains.

“The pay cuts remain, the pension levy remains, cuts to the public service, including increased class sizes and the cap on student numbers in further education, remain. A four-year pay freeze is in force with the threat of a pay cut if the government deems it necessary.”

She said there was also extreme anger over the bank bailout among trade unionists and that public services were being cut so money could be handed over to Anglo Irish Bank – “the leadership of the traded union do not seem to have raised that at all in the talks, are they living in a parallel universe?” Ms Mahony added.

The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland will hold a special meeting of its 180-member central executive committee on Friday, April 9, to consider whether to make a recommendation to its 18,000 members in relation to the deal.

The INTO is also to ballot its 30,000 members.