Cabinet given 2 weeks to agree to pay talks

Government must begin new public sector pay negotiations by January or face a “free for all” of industrial action and strikes, unions have warned.

Public sector unions have given the Government two weeks to agree to a new round of talks before individual sectors begin to peel away from the Lansdowne Raod Agreement with ballots, walk-outs and protests.

But speaking to the Irish Examiner, Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Paschal Donohoe remained adamant that a collective agreement is the only logical way of proceeding.