Unions say strikes remain available as public sector pay talks begin

LAST UPDATE | 19 Oct

PUBLIC SECTOR UNIONS have said “all action remains available” if they do not get a satisfactory resolution in pay negotiations with the government.

Unions entered into talks with officials from the Department of Public Expenditure at the Workplace Relations Commission in Dublin on Monday.

More than 300,000 public sector workers took part in Wednesday’s action after a dispute over the basis for negotiations on a successor to the agreement that expired in June.

A second strike planned for this Wednesday has been suspended following agreement on a framework for the talks.

However, Fórsa General Secretary Kevin Callinan – who chairs the Irish Congress of Trade Unions’ Public Services Committee – said all industrial action options remain available.

As he arrived for the talks, he said public workers are “really struggling” with the cost of living.

Asked about what concessions unions were prepared to give on productivity, he said: “Any pay negotiation has a cost-of-living element and usually a productivity element – they’re separate things.

“We’re prepared to listen to what they have to say but I think if they’ve heard what members said on the picket line – so many of them said they’ve nothing more to give, that they’re really struggling with the cost of living under huge pressure and work.”

Unions had demanded that pay would be top of the agenda in the talks, with government saying it would be discussed as a priority.

Kevin Callinan said all options are available. Brian Lawless / PA

Asked if an ongoing work-to-rule action could be suspended as a goodwill gesture during the talks, Callinan said: “Look, we’ve made our gesture: We’ve suspended the strike on Wednesday.

“I think there needs to be an urgency to bring this to a conclusion and obviously, if we manage to get there, then we look at everything, all the industrial action.”

He added: “All action remains available to us if we can’t get to a resolution.”

Speaking this afternoon, Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers said there is now a “genuine opportunity” to make progress and that the government looks forward to the “intensive discussions getting underway today”. 

The framework was agreed following meetings involving Irish Congress of Trade Unions General Secretary Owen Reidy, senior civil servant Oonagh Buckley, representing the government, and independent chair Kevin Foley.

In a joint statement on Saturday, they said discussions should begin with pay-related matters, including unions’ claims concerning the effects of the cost of living between 2021 and 2025, this year and for the duration of any agreement.

They also identified a “need to rebuild trust and confidence in industrial relations in the public sector by addressing commitments made in the context of the previous agreement”.

Speaking on Sunday, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said any deal must represent “value for money”.

Unite trade union to suspend Wednesday’s strike

Trade union Unite, which represents public sector workers including local council and water service staff, has decided to suspend Wednesday’s strike following a meeting of its public sector representatives.

Tom Fitzgerald, deputy regional secretary, previously told members in a letter seen by The Journal that there is “insufficient basis” for suspending this week’s strike, explaining that the government has “still not come forward with an offer on pay”.

In a statement this evening, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Last week’s public sector strike has left the government in no doubt that union members are determined to protect their living standards during the cost-of living crisis.”

Unite said that, in addition to delivering a cost-of-living pay increase and ensuring all outstanding commitments are honoured, a new public sector deal must safeguard the right of workers to lodge sectoral claims.

Unite deputy regional secretary Tom Fitzgerald said: “Unite members were particularly angered by the Taoiseach’s ‘value for money’ remarks over the weekend.”

He added that, while this Wednesday’s strike is suspended, the “mandate for industrial action remains if talks do not result in an appropriate cost-of-living pay deal”.

With reporting by Eoghan Dalton and Press Association