Leo Varadkar: Don’t reward unions that strike

Public sector unions who “have power and can strike” should not be rewarded with pay increases, one minister has said.

As a stand-off intensifies between the Government and public sector representatives, Taoiseach Enda Kenny has warned of the rise of a hard-left threat and a more militant element within some unions.

Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar said it would be unacceptable to cut services in order to increase pay.

He said the Government still has a “limited pot”, meaning that “people can’t get what they want right now”.

Mr Varadkar was adamant that those “who have power and can strike” shouldn’t be rewarded purely because they are the ones that “shout the loudest”.

Mr Kenny has made Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin aware of his concerns around an increasing militancy within public sector unions. They met in Government Buildings to discuss the future of the Lansdowne Road agreement.

Public sector unions have given the Government two weeks to agree to a new round of pay talks to replace that deal, which they feel is outdated and does not reflect the economic recovery.

Mr Varadkar said the country is still borrowing €13m every day and resources are limited.

“I am a doctor by profession, I was a member of the IMO, one of the unions that is now about to ballot, and I don’t think that doctors and nurses would want a pay increase at the expense of services either,” said Mr Varadkar.

He said that the public does not want the Government to “repeat the mistakes of the past” and lose control of public spending.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Marian Finucane Show, Mr Varadkar said the €40m needed to fund the Labour Court recommendation for gardaí would still have to be found, but “flexibility is limited”.

Fianna Fáil’s John Lahart admitted that “there are very frustrated elements in some of the unions”.

“A harder line has been developing in some of the unions, probably borne out of frustration,” he said.

A Siptu spokesman said the union had no comment to make on the reported remarks made by Mr Kenny during the private meeting with Fianna Fáil.

Separately, Mr Martin has described Brexit as a “slow-motion crash”, accusing Britain of “backward-looking nationalism” over the decision to leave the EU.

Speaking at the commemoration of Sean Moylan, Mr Martin said: “In the five months since the UK’s Brexit vote, the only things which are clear are that their policy is a shambles and that it is already causing real damage on this island.”

“Britain has taken the route of a backward-looking nationalism, suspicious of outsiders, and committed to the historically false idea that you don’t need strong international bodies to secure lasting co-operation and prosperity between nations.”