Talks on a public sector pay deal were continuing late last night as Government and union officials sought to find a breakthrough that would avoid a nationwide strike on Thursday.
There was optimism on the Government side that a revised and improved pay offer of a cumulative 11 per cent increase, and more for low-paid public sector workers, would be accepted by the unions.
“The mood music is better,” said one person close to the talks on the Government side on Monday night, speaking anonymously in order to discuss sensitive issues.
Union sources were non-committal, however, saying the offer fell short of their expectations and that preparations for Thursday’s strike, including school closures and the cancellation of thousands of hospital appointments, were continuing.
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Both Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris sought to sell the improved offer to the unions on Monday, with Martin describing it as “very, very fair” and “very substantially improved”.
“It meets all the criteria that was identified earlier on in respect of the needs of a resolution of the issues,” he said.
Speaking in Brussels, Harris said the Government had made a “substantial” improvement to its offer, adding: “There needs to be more effort put in today to try to find a resolution than plan a strike.”
The Government is especially keen to avoid the stoppages on Thursday as it is hosting a large European summit as part of the EU presidency. But there is a sense that the Government side has played its cards at this stage; one senior figure warned that it was at the limits of what it could offer. The total cost of the deal is expected to be in excess of €5 billion, according to Government estimates.
Having started talks at noon on Monday, the latest engagement went on into the evening as hopes were expressed by the union side that a “pathway” to a deal might be found over the course of the night.
[ Taoiseach says 10.5% pay hike offered to public service unions ‘very fair’Opens in new window ]
Senior officials in a number of public sector unions expressed reservations about the headline figures revealed by the Government side on Sunday.
Some sources expressed concern the offer could not be guaranteed to cover inflation over the course of the agreement and said they still anticipated some improvement to the pay element.
A number of issues are still to be finalised and pensions are believed to have been seen as a potential stumbling block on Monday.
With doubts about when a deal might be reached persisting on Monday evening, Fórsa was among the unions still actively preparing for Thursday’s scheduled strike and demonstrations.
There have been some concerns that a sense of an impending deal might undermine participation in Thursday’s planned marches at eight venues around the country, including Dublin, Cork and Galway. However, Fórsa said 45,000 members, almost half the total, had signed up to rallies.
“Until we hear back from the negotiators on whether an agreement has been established,” deputy general secretary Katie Morgan told members in a communication circulated on Monday, “plans for the strike and rallies on Thursday must continue.”
Similarly, Siptu told its members it was proceeding on the basis the strike would happen unless a deal was agreed. It said work was continuing on confirming derogations for staff maintaining essential services, especially in the health sector.
