Unions warn of industrial unrest over local pay talks

Union leaders have warned employers that they will face widespread industrial unrest if they do not engage in local bargaining on pay.

The warning follows comments from employers' groups urging their members not to engage in local negotiations following the collapse of talks on a new national pay deal.

Two of the country's largest trade unions, SIPTU and Mandate, both say a failure to enter into talks at local level would raise the prospect of strike action.

Mandate also says it is not feasible to wait until the end of this month to try to rescue the national pay talks when workers urgently need pay rises to meet the rising energy and food costs.

Unions are expected to meet this week to agree a strategy to pursue pay claims with individual employers following the collapse of the national talks in the early hours of Saturday morning.