Siptu postpones ballot for industrial action due to Government’s talks offer

The country’s largest trade union, Siptu, has deferred plans to ballot its 60,000 members in the public service for industrial action over pay on foot of the Government’s new offer for talks.

“The Minister has confirmed that these discussions will conclude before the end of January and that negotiations on a successor collective agreement will follow shortly thereafter,” said Siptu vice president Gene Mealy on Tuesday evening.

“In light of this invitation and commitment, the national officers of Siptu have decided to defer the proposed ballot of union members in the public service for industrial action which was planned to commence in the coming days.”

The Government’s new plans for talks on pay were also welcomed by the public service committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.

The employers’ group Ibec said it supported the move by the Government to pursue a new collective pay agreement framework for the public sector.

However, Ibec said any new arrangement “must reflect the needs of business and the wider economy, not just public sector workers, and must include taxation reform and new investment in infrastructure and public services”.

“It is in everyone’s interest to have a coordinated approach to pay determination and competing demands for resources,” said Ibec CEO Danny McCoy. “The economy has improved faster than envisaged, but new uncertainties have emerged; not least the risks that Brexit presents.

“Government must address the underlying issues driving pay demands, such as housing and childcare costs, rather than using the blunt and expensive instrument of accelerated compensation to off set very specific cost of living expenses. At a headline level, there is currently no inflation in the economy. Targeting specific cost of living factors at source is the best way to protect competitiveness.”