Unions have rejected a Government attempt to commence talks on a new public pay agreement and avoid the scheduled strike by more 300,000 public and civil workers on Wednesday.
In a letter sent to the officers of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) public services committee, Jack Chambers invited the unions to attend talks at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) on Wednesday in an effort to avoid the disruption to health and other services as well as the closure of all schools.
The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform again described the provision of €1.2 billion for public sector pay in the budget as “significant” and suggested an agreement couldstill be reached if talks were held.
Chambers told the union leaders in the letter that “pay issues can and should be discussed as a priority alongside other matters as part of the pay talks”. This has been a key sticking point in getting talks started so far.
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In a response sent less than an hour after the proposal had been received, however, Ictu public services committee chair and Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan said the union side “cannot see how it represents any change in your stated position”.
There is no reference to the suggested meeting at the WRC but, he said “we believe that the Government needs to respond to the seriousness of the situation by acknowledging that the specific pay issues that we have identified will be addressed in any talks that may be arranged”.
The unions have indicated they will seek increases to address what they say was an earlier gap between pay rises and inflation of between 5 and 7 per cent in addition to a settlement for the second half of this year and an undertaking that their members’ wages will not be undermined by the cost of living increasing over the term of any deal.
The €1.2 billion, they contended, is not nearly enough to address those demands.
“Accordingly,” Callinan told Chambers, “we regret to say that your letter doesn’t provide a basis for the strike action scheduled for Wednesday to be postponed.”
