Unions need a dose of financial reality

THE silly season has arrived, and already I have a strong feeling that I must have a hearing test carried out, because clearly I am hearing things that cannot possibly be true.

For example, I thought I heard last week that the GRA were looking for another 6 days annual leave to compensate for pay cuts.

Today I thought I heard that the CPSU have voted unanimously for strike action in the event of a pay cut.

I know this cannot be true, because intelligent educated people, members of the above unions, understand the precarious position the country’s finances are in.

But I will postpone my hearing test for another few weeks, because in that period, ASTI, TUI, INTO, NURSES, PRISONER OFFICERS, IMO, IMPACT, will all have their say, and will no doubt ask “what they can do for their country in its hour of need“, and then I won’t need to do the test.

It is an insult to the hard pressed citizens of the state that they will be bombarded with the whinges and threats of relatively well paid people, whose security of tenure is copperfastened by the Croke Park agreement, and who either ignore, or care less about the fiscal position. This time the Government has the mandate to meet the threats head-on.

Joe Kennelly

Inniscarra Co. Cork