McDonald accuses Government of ‘game of chicken’ with striking public sector workers

Labour leader Ivana Bacik says Jack Chambers’s comments offer hope of progress, but unions want a firm commitment to pay talks

Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald with party colleagues (left to right) Louise O'Reilly, Pearse Doherty and Mairead Farrell, speaking outside Leinster House, Dublin. Picture: Cate McCurry/the Press Association

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has accused the Government of playing a “terrible and disrespectful game of chicken” with public sector workers, urging ministers to come to the table for talks.

More than 300,000 workers are on strike across the country as the Government and unions remain at odds over public sector pay negotiations.

Unions have called for pay to be the first item discussed in any talks with the Government, rather than reforms and efficiencies.

The Government has said unions cannot come to the table with preconditions, but that pay will be a “priority” in any negotiations.

Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers told RTÉ’s Prime Time on Tuesday evening that pay could “absolutely” be a starting point in negotiations.

However, Government sources insisted that, despite the change in language, the message remained the same, and that describing pay as a “priority” demonstrated its willingness to discuss the issue.

Speaking at a picket outside Leinster House, Ms McDonald accused the Government of playing a game of “semantics” and urged ministers to hold substantive discussions with trade unions ahead of next Wednesday’s planned strikes.

“It beggars belief that [the Government has] known now for months that they needed to engage and negotiate a new pay agreement, and they have failed to do that,” she said.

“I think they have played a really terrible and disrespectful game of chicken with 300,000 workers that we all rely on. We rely on them to take care of us when we're sick. They educate our children, they run our services, and indeed they run the building and the system [in Leinster House] that we serve in here as elected representatives of the people.

“You can feel the really strong sense of public support for all of the workers. These are pay negotiations that need to happen.

“The very idea that the Government is playing a game of semantics or a game of chicken and brinkmanship with workers, and refusing to acknowledge that pay will in fact be the core item and the first item up for discussion is absolutely incomprehensible to me.” 

Ms McDonald said Taoiseach Micheál Martin “needs to intervene” and that the “phone needs to be lifted”.

She called for “clarity” that workers’ concerns about pay and the cost-of-living crisis had been heard.

She also accused the Government of demonstrating a “lack of respect” and “complete incompetence”, saying ministers needed to show they were approaching negotiations “in good faith”.

Speaking at the Government’s International AI Summit in the RDS, the Taoiseach told reporters that next week’s planned strike was “avoidable”, but that it was a “matter in the first instance (for) the trade union movement”.

Asked whether she agreed that next week’s planned industrial action was avoidable, Ms McDonald said the “whole thing was avoidable”.

“At this stage, the Taoiseach and the ministers should lay off the kind of spin and the public statements and need to very privately, with great intent, with good faith, and in goodwill, go now to the workers, to the unions,” she said.

Bacik sees ‘glimmer of hope’

Earlier, Labour leader Ivana Bacik said Mr Chambers’s comments on Prime Time offered a “glimmer of hope” that the Government would move on the issue.

“Nobody wants to be on strike for a second day,” she said.

“Nobody wanted to be out today, but they were left with no choice.

“[On Thursday] in the Dáil, the Labour Party has a motion down calling on Government again to engage meaningfully in talks, to come to the table to put pay first and foremost, and we really hope we'll see things moving on over the next two days and before the weekend.

“But this is now up to Government. The ball is in Jack Chambers' court and the Taoiseach’s court, and they need to move on this.”