UN pressure on Government to allow PDForra members union affiliation

PDForra, which represents enlisted members of the Army, Naval Service and Air Corps, has sought affiliation because its members are the poorest paid of all public servants. Picture: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

A United Nations body has written to the Government backing a Defence Forces representative association's claims that not allowing its members to affiliate with the union umbrella group, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu), is in breach of human rights.

The International Labour Organisation, a section of the UN, is backing a PDForra claim that its 6,500-members be allowed to affiliate with Ictu and therefore give it a voice at national pay talks.