The prospect of a wave of public sector strikes in the autumn has come a step closer following a decision by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisations (INMO) to ballot its members on industrial action over pay.
The move follows a similar announcement by teachers’ unions earlier this month and, with further ballots expected over the coming weeks, senior Government figures say they fear an “autumn of discontent” on the industrial relations front if a pay settlement is not reached with the public sector unions.
Sources say a fresh pay offer is likely to be made in the coming weeks once talks on resume, but there is some pessimism that the Government proposal will be significant enough to head off the threat of strikes.
Unions have rejected an offer of an additional 5 per cent between now and the end of next year, in addition to the 1 per cent public servants are due in October under the existing public pay agreement. They have made clear that an offer much closer to the current rate of inflation, which is running at more than 9 per cent, will be required to avoid industrial unrest.
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But privately the Minister for Public Expenditure Michael McGrath and the Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe have warned colleagues that inflation-busting pay rises for public servants would derail the budgetary arithmetic and create a need for unpopular measures elsewhere.
INMO general secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said the decision to ballot on potential strike action was not “taken lightly”. She said the Government’s “refusal” to take action on the increasing cost of living facing workers had left the union with “little choice”.
“Talks have been suspended since June 17th while inflation has reached a high of 9.1 per cent, fuel continues to remain extremely expensive, rents continue to rise and childcare costs equal that of a second mortgage,” she said. “The current offer on the table will do very little to bridge the gap between the real pay of nurses and midwives and cost of living increases.”
Ms Ní Sheaghdha called for the Government to come forward to the pay talks with a “realistic” proposal.
“Nurses and midwives are facing another difficult winter, the commitment shown since February 2020 when this pandemic hit should of itself have led to a realistic pay offer by Government last June,” she said.
The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO), which represents primary school teachers, as well as the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) and the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI), have already indicated that they will be balloting members on potential industrial action.
Speaking in recent weeks, Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan said there had been a “sizeable gap” between the two negotiating parties earlier in the summer when the public sector pay talks first broke down.
After months of talks, the Government offered a 2.5 per cent pay increase this year and a further 2.5 per cent next year, on top of a 2 per cent pay increase for public servants this year. Officials said this would have amounted to 7 per cent over two years, costing the Exchequer an additional €1.2 billion on the public sector pay bill.
As ministers and senior officials return from holidays to embark on an intense period of budgetary negotiations, there is growing concern in the Department of Finance that “one-off” measures planned for the budget will actually become embedded in annual expenditure.
