Decision time in sight for unions

If the overall Ictu ballot is a yes, members that voted against Croke Park II must decide if they will fight on, writes Stephen Rogers.

TWO weeks from today, trade union leaders will cast their union’s proportion of votes in the overall Ictu ballot on Croke Park II.

Whether or not each will vote yes or no during Ictu’s public services committee meeting depends on how their memberships have voted during their individual ballots.

A betting man would say the odds are on an overall yes because the two largest public service unions, Impact and Siptu, have advised their memberships to vote in favour.

However, the majority by which the Labour Relations Commission’s proposals on cost savings measures will be passed will be slim. There is a distinct possibility that unions representing up to 130,000 public service workers will not have their wishes reflected.

In Ictu ballots to date, the trend has been for most unions to toe the overall Ictu line.

However, as Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation general secretary Liam Doran put it yesterday: “This is not like any other ballot — this is not pay increases, this is pay cuts and very different levels of pay cuts.”

To date, the Teachers’ Union of Ireland has been the only Ictu affiliate to complete its ballot. With an overwhelming no vote, it is the only union which can say at this stage its membership will not be bound by the overall Ictu position if that position is yes.

“The TUI position is that it is not for the public services committee to determine working conditions for members of unions who have rejected the proposals,” said TUI president Gerard Craughwell.

However, there is a groundswell of anti-agreement feeling in other unions which could see them adopting the same stance.

The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) has said that if, as is likely, its members vote against the agreement, it will also not be bound by the overall union position.

ASTI president Gerry Breslin said: “Whatever the outcome at national level, the ASTI decision will remain. And we will decide on our own future direction based on that decision and any other decision we subsequently take.”

At this stage, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation is not being as definitive. Mr Doran said its executive has taken a decision not to be automatically bound by an overall decision. However, he said that when the overall position is established, there will be a second ballot in his union to see if there is a “preparedness” among the 40,000 nurses to accept the majority vote.

THERE is an expectation that if only one or two unions decide not to be bound by the majority, their opposition will not derail implementation to any great degree. However, if more choose to remain unbound, the implications will be much more significant.

Sources believe the position of the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation could prove crucial not only to the overall Ictu position — its votes could swing the public services committee ballot — but also to the progress of the measures.

Even in the event that the deal is passed by the Ictu ballot, if all three teaching unions are opposed its administration in education will be exceptionally difficult. Shay Cody, who is both head of the Ictu public services committee and general secretary of Impact, has warned repeatedly about the alternative if the LRC proposals are not passed.

“The Government has made it clear it intends to reduce the public service pay bill by €1bn. In the absence of an agreement, they have also made it clear that it will legislate to achieve this reduction.”

Pay cuts across the board remains the threat for disaffection. What remains to be seen is whether sufficient public servants have an appetite for the fight.