Fórsa chief sees ‘pathway to talks’ if Government puts pay at centre of negotiations

Fórsa, the INMO and Siptu say the Government must offer a credible response to pay concerns to avert further industrial action

There may be a “pathway to talks” if the Government is serious about putting pay at the centre of negotiations, a union leader has said.

Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan said the Coalition needed to take a different approach and that a “meaningful response” to cost-of-living concerns was the only way to resolve the dispute.

He called on the Taoiseach to intervene directly, proposing the appointment of an independent “honest broker” to help resolve the pay dispute.

Mr Callinan suggested the process could involve representatives from the unions and the Government who are “removed from the immediacy” of the strike.

“If that's possible, we'll work with it. If it doesn't happen, we're going to have another strike next week and beyond,” Mr Callinan said.

He said union leaders would respond to “anything that is reasonable” from the Government, but added that politicians needed to address the concerns of union members.

Responding to comments from public expenditure minister Jack Chambers that pay could be the starting point for negotiations, Mr Callinan said this could provide a basis for talks if the Government was sincere.

"We've been very clear in our response to the Government that cost of living is paramount here, but there's another issue as well. It's the breach of trust and the lack of confidence in the industrial relations process," he said.

(left to right) Deputy General Secretary of SIPTU Adrian Kane, Kevin Callinan Forsa's Senior General Secretary and INMO General Secretary Phil Ni Sheaghdha speak to the media during a public sector workers 24-hour strike over delays in agreeing a new public sector pay deal at Mater Hospital, Dublin. Picture: Brian Lawless/the Press Association

Asked how trust could be restored, Mr Callinan, chair of the ICTU Public Services Committee, said workers needed to see a different approach from the Government.

"You see today that people are struggling with the cost of living. They want a real, meaningful response to that, and that's the only way this dispute is going to be resolved."

Mr Callinan said he had “no idea” when talks would begin, adding that it was now up to the Government to respond.

“If the minister [Jack Chambers] is serious, if he's sincere, then I think there may be a pathway to talks,” he said.

Unions say cost-of-living concerns must be addressed

Phil Ní Sheaghdha, general secretary of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), said workers on picket lines believed the Government's efforts had come “too little, too late”.

“They're very, very concerned about the cost of living. They're concerned that it's portrayed that they're not serious about taking industrial action,” Ms Ní Sheaghdha said.

She said INMO members never take industrial action “lightly”, adding that the “ball is in the Government’s court”.

(left to right) Deputy General Secretary of SIPTU Adrian Kane, INMO General Secretary Phil Ni Sheaghdha, Kevin Callinan Forsa's Senior General Secretary and Irish National Teachers' Organisation General Secretary John Boyle join public sector workers, including nurses, doctors, teachers and civil servants, during a 24-hour strike over delays in agreeing a new public sector pay deal at Mater Hospital, Dublin. Picture: Brian Lawless/the Press Association

Adrian Kane, deputy general secretary of Siptu, told the Irish Examiner that Mr Chambers’s comments on Tuesday night were “helpful”, after the minister said pay could be the starting point for negotiations.

However, Mr Kane said that if the proposal had been made in June, unions and workers “may not be here today”.

“I think there still needs to be a good bit more development on the Government side in terms of a comprehensive response to the things that we've been looking for,” he said.

He said this would need to include pay for 2026 and measures to address the cost-of-living crisis facing workers.