THE GENERAL secretary of the trade union representing lower-paid civil servants has said he expects its executive to back calls for a one-day public service strike proposed for next month in protest at possible cuts in pay.
Blair Horan of the Civil Public and Services Union (CPSU) said his executive would consider proposals for the strike put forward by the largest public sector union, Impact, for November 24th when it meets next week. However, he expected that the executive would support the strike proposal.
He said the CPSU had taken action against the pension levy earlier this year as it believed the Government would not stop there and would come back looking for more.
Mr Horan said that other unions were coming around to the way of thinking of the CPSU, which represents about 13,000 members.
On Thursday the central executive committee of Impact decided to propose a public service-wide 24-hour strike for November 24th.
This proposal is to be discussed at a meeting with other unions next Wednesday.
The general secretary of the Public Service Executive Union (PSEU), Tom Geraghty, said yesterday his union was currently balloting members for a mandate for a series of strikes if there was any threat to pay, pensions or job security.
The PSEU represents mid-ranking staff in the Civil Service.
Separately, the union representing higher civil and public servants, the AHCPS, is to ballot members next week for a mandate to join in any Civil Service-wide one-day strike.
The Government indicated to union leaders on Tuesday that it wanted to cut the public sector pay bill by €1.3 billion next year.
On Thursday, Impact general secretary Peter McLoone said he believed further stoppages would become inevitable unless the Government withdrew the threat of a second public service pay cut in less than a year.
He said unions were being forced into strike action by the Government’s refusal to consider alternatives to pay cuts.
“There has been a massive shift in opinion among public servants since the imposition of the so-called pension levy last March.
“Every public servant has already suffered a 7.5 per cent pay cut this year, yet the Government is clearly determined to come back again and again to slash their family incomes.
“Our members don’t want strikes or the disruption they will bring, but the Government’s refusal to consider alternatives means strikes now seem inevitable as public servants seek to defend what they have left.”
On Wednesday Impact said that 86 per cent of members had backed strike action in a ballot.
On Thursday unions representing about 100,000 public sector staff who provide services on a round-the-clock basis, including nurses, prison officers and firefighters, said they would be balloting members for industrial action in the event of the Government introducing further cuts in pay and services.