More than 300,000 public sector workers took part in a strike on Wednesday. Alamy Stock Photo
Pay dispute
A second day of planned strike action on Wednesday has been suspended.
FORMAL TALKS ON a new public sector pay deal are due to begin at the Workplace Relations Commission today, following last week’s nationwide strike.
More than 300,000 public sector workers took part in Wednesday’s action after a dispute over the basis for negotiations on a successor to the agreement that expired in June.
A second strike planned for this Wednesday has been suspended following agreement on a framework for the talks.
Pay will be addressed at the outset, a commitment unions had sought before entering negotiations.
The framework was agreed following meetings involving Irish Congress of Trade Unions general secretary Owen Reidy, senior civil servant Oonagh Buckley, representing the government, and independent chair Kevin Foley.
In a joint statement on Saturday, they said discussions should begin with pay-related matters, including unions’ claims concerning the effects of the cost of living between 2021 and 2025, this year and for the duration of any agreement.
They also identified a “need to rebuild trust and confidence in industrial relations in the public sector by addressing commitments made in the context of the previous agreement”.
Speaking on Sunday, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said any deal must represent “value for money”.
“I’m open to an agreement that obviously is affordable, that can advance the productivity within the public service, but again that would look after, in particular, protections to low-paid workers.”
Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers welcomed the framework, saying it provided the basis for constructive dialogue at the WRC.
Under the arrangement, Reidy, Buckley and Foley will remain available to consider issues referred to them by the WRC if negotiations reach an impasse, while talks on other matters continue.
“We wish to make it clear that this special arrangement should be understood as an exceptional measure reflective of the scale of this dispute and its impact on the economy and the people who rely on public services,” the trio said in a statement.
“This measure is specific to this dispute and its unique nature and is not in any sense a template or precedent for any other dispute between these or any other parties.”
Last Wednesday’s strike was the first of its kind since 2009.