Next 48 hours crucial if strike to be averted
Saturday November 28 2009
THE fate of the proposed second national public sector strike will be determined during the next 48 hours of talks in Government buildings.
Union leaders met with government representatives yesterday for several hours of discussions about short-term methods of cutting the €20bn public pay bill by €1.3bn next year -- and long-term methods of achieving even more savings. The negotiations are due to continue today and tomorrow. But both union and government sources acknowledged that there needs to be a breakthrough by tomorrow night, if next Thursday's planned strike is to be averted.
"There is a very small window of opportunity," one union source said.
The first national public sector strike earlier this week led to the closure of schools, health clinics and government departments -- although strike action was called off in flood-affected areas.
Cut
A Department of Finance spokesman said that while the €1.3bn reduction in the public sector pay bill was still required, the Government was willing to negotiate the means of achieving it. That could see the Government modify plans for a 6.85pc pay cut to the wages of all public sector workers.
Some of the options on the table include achieving short-term savings by getting some of the state's 300,000 public sector workers to take unpaid leave next year.
Another option is to reduce the level of overtime hours worked, which could involve lengthening the working day or rearranging rosters.
But a government source said there was no mood for a radical shift in its approach and that there was no question of the prospect of a second public sector strike affecting its stance.
The negotiations yesterday were divided into four sectors: health, education, local government and the civil service.
Most of the discussions were focused on longer-term public sector reforms, which would not be introduced until at least 2011. These include the issue of redeployment, which could see nurses in a hospital with over-capacity transferring to another hospital with staff shortages.
But there are worries among union negotiators that this could lead to workers having to travel distances of 60km or more to work.
Unions are also warning the Government that any cost-cutting measures must take account of the potential impact on services. One example they have given is that high levels of unpaid leave in the health service have the potential to shut down hospitals.
- Michael Brennan Political Correspondent
Irish Independent
