Hope for pay deal as union seeks clarification

THE Croke Park Agreement on public sector pay and reform has been given yet another boost after the country’s largest solely public service union decided to seek further clarification rather than flatly reject it.

Last week, IMPACT issued a statement saying the deal did not provide the certainty its 55,000 members required on pay, pensions and job security.

At the time, sources indicated that when the union’s leadership reconvened yesterday they would be issuing a recommendation to members to reject.

In the intervening week, other public service union heavyweights such as the Irish Nurses and Midwives’ Organisation rejected the deal, making it seem unlikely it could survive.

However, the decision by SIPTU on Tuesday to recommend acceptance of the deal to its 70,000 public service members gave it hope.

Now, IMPACT’s decision to hold off on a recommendation until it gets the clarification it sought raises the possibility that a second heavyweight union could be swung in favour.

Nonetheless, for the moment IMPACT is insisting its position remains that it cannot make a recommendation to accept the deal.

“The IMPACT central executive committee remains committed to a negotiated settlement. But the lack of clarity over certain aspects of the proposed deal remains problematic,” said a spokesman.

“The experience of last December, when the Government walked away from an agreement, has damaged confidence in the industrial relations process.

“Union officials will now seek certain clarifications and, if they are forthcoming, will bring them back to the IMPACT executive before the proposals are put to ballot.”

The spokesman said the union would now contact Kieran Mulvey, who brokered the agreement with colleagues from the Labour Relations Commission last month, to explore the best way to seek clarifications.

It is likely that any clarification process would have to involve members of the other trade unions.

IMPACT will not give details about the elements of the deal on which it wants clarity because it does not want the issues to be hammered out in the media.

It is anticipated, however, that if any further clarity is given the executive will look at whether it will recommend acceptance, rejection or will continue to make no recommendation.

Meanwhile, the president of the Public Service Executive Union, Fiona Lee has defended her executive’s decision to back the deal.

“It is the view of our negotiators and of our executive committee that these are the very best set of proposals that can be negotiated in the present circumstances or perhaps that they are the least worst set of options available. The alternative is clear. If we choose to reject these arrangements, we must be prepared to take very significant levels of strike action to try to better the terms on offer.”