Cabinet mull extending Croke Park talks as teachers’ unions back strike

The Cabinet will have to decide today whether to extend a further lifeline to the Croke Park II talks following intensive negotiations.

Labour Relations Commission chief Kieran Mulvey was expected to report to Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin this morning that progress was made during the last-ditch talks with unions representing health and education workers but that hurdles remain.

A decision will now have to be taken whether to stick with the talks process with no guarantee that, even if a deal is made, union leaders would be able to sell it to their members.

The strength of feeling among workers opposed to the package was illustrated by the results of ballots concluded yesterday by two teachers’ unions.

The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland and the Teachers Union of Ireland voted 87% and 84% respectively in favour of action up to and including strike.

Their vote follows that of the Irish National Teachers Organisation, which voted 91% in favour of action on the same issue last Friday.

The Irish Federation of University Teachers, which only decided yesterday to accept the LRC’s invitation to talks, insisted it was not going back into meetings to try to salvage Croke Park II but to negotiate a substantially different arrangement.

There were similar challenges for those in parallel talks between HSE management and the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, the Irish Medical Organisation, the Psychiatric Nurses Association, and Siptu’s health division.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny insisted the Government’s goal of cutting €300m in payroll costs by 2015 remains the “clear wish” of the Cabinet.