Unions to call off protest day - but no Budget deal
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Wednesday March 25 2009
UNIONS will today dramatically call off a national strike for next Monday in return for a restart of failed pay talks with Government and employers.
But the unions will not get any major concessions in return from the Government ahead of the emergency budget in a fortnight.
The eleventh-hour invitation into a fresh round of social partnership negotiations will allow unions to save face after a public backlash against their plans and some embarrassing votes against the action by key unions.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen intervened yesterday to avert work stoppages that would have shut down large sections of the public and private sector, including schools, airports and dole offices.
Although no formal decision had been made last night, sources indicated that the decision not to go ahead with the day of protest would be ratified today.
While the unions are now back at the negotiation table, the time left for them to influence where the Government will find the €6bn required in tax hikes, cutbacks and borrowing is limited. The Cabinet is expected to sign off on the budget by Saturday week, and ministers are already half way through their series of intense pre-budget meetings.
Nonetheless, the unions will get the chance to directly lobby the Government on contentious issues such as pay, the pension levy, income tax and social welfare payments, in an effort to protect those on low incomes.
If a deal is reached, it will supersede the pay agreement hammered out last September, which provided for a 6pc pay rise over 21 months.
In an emotive letter to the leader of the trade union movement, David Begg, Mr Cowen urged unions to engage "as a matter of urgency" with the social partners to broker a new national agreement.
The Taoiseach set a strict pre-condition that unions first lifted the threat of action against employers who refused to pay the national wage agreement.
Sources last night revealed unions should be back at talks before the end of the week. Mr Cowen expects them to respond to his invitation within 24 hours and to wrap up talks before the budget, on April 7.
It is understood that ICTU's general purposes committee decided during an emergency meeting yesterday to recommend that its senior officials accept Mr Cowen's invitation.
Its national executive council will make a final decision when it meets in Dublin this morning. Mr Begg described the Taoiseach's move as a "welcome development".
Privately, union sources admitted they were relieved and the invitation was a "Godsend".
The leadership of the biggest public sector union, Impact, which has 60,000 members, was highly embarrassed when it failed to get a required two-thirds mandate for industrial action.
Congress' campaign suffered another blow last night when 60pc of the Association of Higher Civil and Public Servants' members also rejected strike action.
The danger of a low turnout at pickets on the first day of strikes on Monday also loomed after the country's biggest union, SIPTU, revealed yesterday that 90pc of employers where it had members were compliant with the wage agreement.
In addition, sources revealed a minority of Unite and SIPTU members had voted against industrial action at individual employers.
Impact general secretary Peter McLoone denied that Mr Cowen's letter had let unions "off the hook" and pointed out that his union still had a majority in favour of strike action.
However, he admitted that the vote was a "setback".
He welcomed the government invitation but also described a letter at the weekend from IBEC director general Turlough O'Sullivan offering new talks if the strike threat was lifted as "helpful".
"The pity about the letter from Turlough was that it didn't come sooner," he said.
IBEC leader Turlough O'Sullivan welcomed the Taoiseach's invitation to enter talks but said the ICTU day of action should be cancelled immediately.
- Anne-Marie Walsh and Aine Kerr
