Public sector action - Recovery threatened by strikes

AS the brinkmanship around public sector industrial unrest intensifies it is important that people be absolutely clear about the consequences of their actions.

Individuals must also be clear about what is possible and what is not.

They must consider what impact industrial action will have on an economy struggling to foster any signs of a recovery, no matter how tender — and, yes, there are some.

Yesterday, the Central Statistics Office recorded a strong increase in new car sales last month compared with 2009. The CSO reported that 11,707 new cars were registered, up 33%. Cheering though this is it is still daunted by the 24,290 registered in February 2008.

Government must know that talks with public sector unions will re-open sooner or later. Today’s challenge seems to be to limit the damage that might be caused before that point is reached.

Yesterday’s announcement that schools could close for half or full days makes the situation even more fraught. Irish Congress of Trade Unions public services committee chairman Peter McLoone also announced health sector workers will strike.

Gardaí are considering action too.

In this light it is important too that we all realise the impact widespread industrial unrest would have, especially as nearly every prediction of an economic recovery is predicated on increased foreign direct investment. Closing down the country will certainly redirect those investments. Like it or no that is a certainty.

There is still time to avoid industrial chaos.

Speaking at the weekend Finance Minister Brian Lenihan was emphatic. He said the state is not in a position to pay the salaries as they were last year. “The decisions have been made ... there is no scope for restoring the reductions that have already been made,” he said.

That position, it seems, reflects our reality and unless unions can accept that that is the position for the immediate to medium future then we are in a very tight corner.

Would it be possible for the unions to implement all of the reforms and savings identified in pre-Christmas talks and if the savings are as spectacular as they imagined then it might be possible to re-open talks on restoring, at least partially, wage levels.

Simplistic as it appears this seems to be one of the few remaining options.

Mr McLoone said everything had to be on the agenda in any talks but there was “no point” going into negotiations where they knew that their members would not accept the outcome.

That is not the way negotiation works and Mr McCloone and his colleagues must be prepared to tell their members the truth no matter how unpalatable.

If that truth is that we cannot afford to restore wage levels then so be it. If they believe we still can then we are in an entirely different situation.

Yesterday, Portugal announced austerity measures to avoid a debt crisis such as the one engulfing Greece, cutting welfare benefits and government hiring as well as selling assets and raising taxes.

We might like to think we have weathered the worst of the storm but we have a lot more to do to restore the kind of stability economic recovery depends on. We simply cannot afford these strikes and Government and unions must do all they can to avert them.