Public sector deal - Union ballot is a relief

EVERY right-thinking person, regardless of who they might blame for the country’s economic woes, will welcome the decision by public sector workers belonging to the major SIPTU and IMPACT unions to back the Croke Park pay and reform deal.

Effectively, yesterday’s crucial vote tips the balance and clears the way for ratification of the controversial package next Tuesday.

Everybody has a right to protest but there can be little doubt that a rash of industrial unrest at this critical time would be damaging to the reputation of Ireland Inc across the world. With further swingeing cuts looming in the next budget, it is vital that the Government aims at those who can most afford it rather than target vulnerable people on the fringes of society and workers struggling to make ends meet on low pay.

Meanwhile, it would be a travesty if relatively well-off union members, including secondary and vocational teachers on generous pay and long holidays, were to flout the terms of the Croke Park accord for their own selfish interests.