‘Legitimate’ trade union action coming if pay disputes are not settled – Labour
The Government’s ‘act of fiction’ budget will spark a massive withdrawal of labour, according to Ged Nash.
Ireland will see trade union action on a scale not witnessed since 2009 if the Government does not address ongoing public sector pay disputes in the coming budget, according to Labour’s Ged Nash.
Speaking on Tuesday, ahead of a sitting of Dáil Éireann, he said the budget announcements of the last three years have been “works of fiction”, and warned this year’s might be no different.
“This budget will be a work of fiction if it does not accommodate a sum of money to allow for a deal on public sector pay and reform to be negotiated”, the Labour Party’s spokesperson on finance said.
“At this point in time, the Minister for Public Expenditure (Jack Chambers) has ducked and dived, and has abrogated his responsibilities to those who work for the state, to try to sit down and discuss in a meaningful way, the successor agreement to the public sector pay deal that expired last June.
“Every month that passes by saves the Minister for Public Expenditure 100 million euro in terms of expenditure, and that happens to be about the cost of keeping the excise goods going for another period of time.
“So that’s a convenient position for the minister to be in politically.”
Public sector unions have accused the Government of failing to make a meaningful offer on pay and are planning to take strike action on October 14.
The action will extend to a withdrawal of labour if the issue is not addressed, according to Mr Nash.
“He (Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers) will have a real political problem come October 14, when the public sector unions en masse decide to withdraw their labour as they are entitled to do and go on a national strike.
“And in my view, it is no coincidence that the last time we had this kind of militant and legitimate industrial action across the public service was the last time that Fianna Fáil were in government when they destroyed the country.
“Fianna Fáil lost their touch when it comes to the public service. They’re no longer interested in being a party that represents the interests of the public sector more generally.
“And the minister himself tells us all of the time – I’m tired listening to him – that he wants to drive reform and efficiency in delivering infrastructure, but at the same time he won’t sit down and talk to the public sector unions.”