Public service unions who have walked out of talks with the Government on a renegotiated Croke Park agreement have vowed to vigorously oppose any move by the Government to introduce legislation to cut the earnings of their members.
The Government’s plans to secure savings of €1 billion on its pay and pensions bill by renegotiating the current deal for its staff ran into serious difficulties last night when four trade unions left the process.
The unions who walked out were the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO), the Civil Public and Services Union (CPSU) and Unite.
Several weeks ago two organisations representing gardaí left the process which is aimed at reaching an extension to the current Croke Park agreement.
The Psychiatric Nurses Association had never become involved in the process.
Public service
Last night other unions representing workers in the public service were continuing in discussions with Government representatives.
However, the developments last night mean that unions and associations representing 80,000 public service staff are outside the talks – leaving open the prospect that the Government may have to introduce legislation to secure savings in the areas where these personnel work.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny has warned that in the absence of an agreement the Government will introduce legislation to secure the saving of €1 billion over the coming three years.
The Government wants to save €300 million this year.
The INMO and the IMO both said they would resist any move by the Government to impose cuts to their members earnings by passing new legislation. INMO general secretary Liam Doran said: “Let us be quite clear. If the Government moves to legislate then we in turn will move to mobilise with every means at our disposal to oppose the adoption of legislation that will reduce the income that a nurse or midwife receives for working at weekends or an evening which they are required to do to maintain a 24/7 service.”
Strength of feeling
The IMO’s director of industrial relations, Steve Tweed, said the Government should not underestimate the strength of feeling that workers in the health sector feel towards the proposed cuts and should not underestimate the resistance to the imposition of pay reductions on its members.
The CPSU said its representatives were left with no choice but to leave on foot of “a series of draconian proposals from Government representatives which are designed to have a huge impact on the working lives and wages of 12,000 members countrywide”.
Unite said the scale of the cuts would be hardest felt by those on low salaries.
Senior Government sources said last night that the management side would continue in the talks with other unions.
Not surprising
Government sources said the departure of the unions was regrettable but not surprising given they had had set out their positions from the start that they would not move on proposals to cut the pay bill.
The Government has proposed pay cuts for high earners – although no specific proposals had been tabled up to late last night – cuts in premium payment rates and a freezing of increments for three years.
Proposals for additional working hours were also put to the trade unions over the weekend.
