Kieran Mulvey pictured in 2019, arriving to Leinster House. PA
Industrial Action
Mulvey said it is in both the government and the unions’ best interests to sit down and bash out an agreement.
HOW CAN THE impasse between the government and public sector trade unions be resolved?
The biggest public sector strike since 2009 is underway - and there will be another strike next week if the two sides can’t come to the table.
Kieran Mulvey mediated the 2010 Croke Park agreement – the public service agreement spanning 2010 to 2014 – at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) as then-Director General of the WRC.
Mulvey told The Journal this morning that both sides need to come together quickly to negotiate a deal.
Mulvey is arguably Ireland’s best-known industrial relations mediator. He chaired the talks that led to the original 2010 Croke Park agreement and its successor, the 2013 Haddington Road agreement. He was also called in to oversee talks between the Irish Aviation Authority and Airnav Ireland in 2021, and intervened in the Luas drivers’ strike in 2016.
If the row continues into rolling strikes, public support for the unions could fray, and there is also likely to be significant public frustration with the government.
Mulvey said it is in both sides’ best interests to sit down and bash out an agreement.
“Both sides obviously have their agenda,” Mulvey said.
The government is likely to be seeking an affordable pay envelope, probably allied to some workplace change to increase productivity, and the continuation of the public service reform programme.
The unions will be looking for better pay now and going forward.
“I think there is an imperative, given the timescale involved and the likelihood now of a second strike on 21 October, they have a number of days to tic-tac between them – through a third party or otherwise,” Mulvey said.
Mulvey pointed to remarks made by Chambers on Tuesday night’s RTÉ 1′s Prime Time programme, where the minister said pay could be the starting point for negotiations on a new deal between the government and unions.
His comments were met with a “semi-positive” response from unions this morning, Mulvey said, which signals an increased level of willingness for negotiations.
The level of urgency has also increased given that several months have passed since the previous deal expired in June.
Mulvey said this is “unusual” in his experience in both the public and private sectors.
“Normally before pay deals run out, both in the public and private sector, talks should commence maybe two or three months before the deal runs out to be able to put in place a follow-on agreement, if the parties wish so. In this case, the parties appear to wish so,” Mulvey said.
“So I am surprised that no progress was made by both sides in this regard.”
Mulvey said he wouldn’t want to attach blame to either side but given the big exchequer commitment involved in public sector pay, it is imperative to get a deal to provide certainty for the public finances over the next 18 months at least.
Starting talks before the last deal ran out would have also allowed unions to liaise with their members on what a deal would entail.
The government may have believed it could delay the starting point for a new pay deal by delaying pay talks until after the budget.
“I think, to some degree, that has backfired, given the strength of the union reaction at the moment,” Mulvey said.
“The union seems to be making a point that they need to cover ground lost.
“So the government probably would be looking at that well – maybe the unions would be looking for a pay round going back to the first of January of this year, because of the inflationary and fuel pressures.”
Unions are likely to push for any previous pay agreements that have not been concluded or implemented to be brought in under any new pay agreement.
Given the late stage, it appears likely that any deal will extend only to the end of 2027, and not the same 2.5 years the previous agreement covered.
“The parties have literally a number of days to get around the table and see can this be ironed out,” Mulvey said.
“First on what agenda it would be, and then get into the trenches, so to speak, on actually delivering an agreement and what is involved in that. That may take a long period, but I don’t think there’s the mood to prolong it on either side.”