Unions consider new strike after public sector pay talks adjourned without deal

TALKS AIMED AT resolving the public sector pay dispute have failed to reach an agreement and unions raised the prospect of a further day of national strike action.

Hundreds of thousands of public sector workers participated in a nationwide strike in October.

A planned repeat was suspended to facilitate talks with the Department of Public Expenditure but is now back on the table.

The Public Services Committee (PSC) of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions is to meet on Monday to consider the next nationwide strike for Wednesday 11 November.

On Friday, the general secretary of Ireland’s largest public sector union Fórsa said talks at the Workplace Relations Commission – which began on Monday 19 October – had at times been “heated”.

As talks were adjourned shortly before midnight on Friday, a union spokesperson said: “Despite lengthy negotiations, we have reached an impasse.

“It does not appear possible, at this time, to negotiate an agreement that unions could confidently put to members in a ballot.

“We will reconvene with the affiliate unions of the Irish Congress of Trade Union’s Public Services Committee on Monday morning to update them on the negotiations, and to discuss our next steps.

“We also wish to thank the officials of the Workplace Relations Commission for their efforts.”

The last strike forced the closure of schools, the rescheduling of thousands of non-emergency hospital appointments, and the cancellation of driving tests and most court hearings.

The public sector workers – including nurses, doctors, teachers and civil servants – launched the national strike after first engaging in work-to-rule action.

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

In a statement today, a spokesperson for the Department of Employment said: “Having engaged in intensive talks for 10 days under the auspices of the WRC, the commission is of the view that certain matters have reached an impasse and is requesting that the Government Appointed Group consider those issues and put forward a means of resolution.

“All other matters under discussion shall remain with the WRC.”

They added that, as talks have yet to conclude, discussions will remain confidential.