'No' vote on Croke Park would have wider implications - Howlin

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin has said it is simply dishonest for trade union campaigning against the Croke Park agreement to say there are no consequences arising from a rejection of the deal.

Mr Howlin said this evening that the reality was a “No” vote would have wider implications for the Irish economy. He said unions on the “No” side were offering only uncertainty to public servants.

“ A ‘yes’ vote offers certainty and protection for public servants and a backdrop by which the State can continue its path to recovery. After all, these proposals protect the core pay of 87% of public servants in a fair and balanced set of proposals,”he siad.

Separately Medical laboratory scientists in the public service have voted to reject the proposed new Croke Park agreement.

The Medical Laboratory Scientists Association (MLSA) said its members had voted against the proposed deal by 59 per cent to 41 per cent. A total of 76 per cent of members took part in the ballot.

The association had recommended acceptance of the agreement. MLSA general secretary, Terry Casey said the result meant that the union would oppose the proposals at a meeting of public service unions affiliated to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions on Wednesday next.

He said: “The MLSA delegates on the Public Service Committee (PSC) of Congress will consequently vote against the proposals when it convenes for a special meeting in Dublin on Wednesday next."

“MLSA members will be kept appraised of all developments following the conclusion of the aggregate ballot of the trade unions represented on the PSC.”

Earlier unions opposed to the Croke Park agreement said they are to write to the public services committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions to say they will not bebound by any majority voteof its public services committee next week to ratify the proposed new Croke Park agreement.

The unions involved are the Civil Public and Services Union, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, the Irish Medical Organisation and Unite.

The move would represent a significant break from the traditional position in relation to agreements reached with the Government. In previous circumstances unions opposed to such deals have agreed to go along with the stance of the majorityon the public services committee of Congress.

The unions are also to seek an urgent meeting of the executive council of Congress.

The general secretary of the Civil Public and Services Union Eoin Ronayne said given there was likely to be significant divisions among public service unions on the Croke Park issue, there was a need for the question to be considered bythe full executive council in order to protect the unity of Congress.

The public services committee of Congress is due to consider ratification of the Croke Park II proposals at a meeting next Wednesday.

Mr Ronayne said: “This agreement is not like any other agreement that has gone before. The CPSU finds itself in a bizarre situation in that it is voting on an agreement with a provision for an 8 per cent pay cut for nurses. My members do not work inthe health service and are certainly not nurses and we have great difficulty with the concept that we are going to decide that they are going to take a pay cut.”

He said in the past the public service committee considered agreements which had benefits for workers but on this occasion unions were voting on a deal which would worsen conditions in different measures.

Mr Ronayne said this raised a question over how the public service committee should handle the process.

He said if his union rejected the proposed Croke Park agreement and there was a slim majority in favour on the overall public service committee, he could see any way his members would agree to accept it as a collective agreement that applied to them.