The Government has moved to avert Wednesday’s planned strike by more than 300,000 public and civil service workers by inviting the union leadership to attend talks at the Workplace Relations Commission.
In a letter to the officers of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions’ (Ictu) public services committee on Tuesday, Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers reiterated the Government’s desire to avoid the industrial action on the basis of the huge disruption it would cause to services. Schools are set to close and thousands of hospital and other healthcare appointments are due to be deferred.
Chambers again described the provision of €1.2 billion for public sector pay in the budget as “significant” and suggested an agreement couldstill be reached if talks were held.
Chambers told the union leaders in the letter pay “can and should be discussed as a priority alongside other matters as part of the pay talks”. This has been a key sticking point in getting talks started up so far.
It is not yet clear whether the unions will feel this is enough to engage before the proposed strike. Union leaders Kevin Callinan and Phil Ní Sheaghdha both said on Monday morning they would consider the wording of any approach by the Government carefully before making a decision.
More to follow