Unions at the ESB have been urged by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions not to implement a strike threat until further attempts have been made to resolve their dispute with the company. Chris Dooley, Industry and Employment Correspondent.
The ESB group of unions, which represents 8,000 workers, is to meet on Friday to decide its next move in a dispute over a range of issues, including a pay claim.
Officials of the group met yesterday and decided to seek clarifications from the company in advance of Friday's meeting.
One union, the ESB Officers' Association, which represents about a quarter of the company's staff, has already served notice of strike, to take effect from July 12th.
It and other unions voted in May by a five-to-one majority to take industrial action in the event of structural or organisational change being imposed on workers without agreement. Negotiations with the company subsequently broke down on June 10th.
At their meeting yesterday, union officials were informed of a letter to the group of unions from the general secretary of the ICTU, Mr David Begg. He said he had raised the issues that were of concern to the unions with the secretary general of the Department of the Taoiseach, Mr Dermot McCarthy. However, there had not been sufficient time to explore the problem in detail because of the national pay talks, which concluded 11 days ago.
Since then the Government had been focused on the final stages of the EU presidency and "in practice it will not be possible to get any attention for anything else until early July", said Mr Begg. He would take up the matter again on behalf of the unions at that stage, he added.
"Needless to say, Congress would expect that, in an industry as critical as the ESB, industrial peace will be maintained until all avenues to explore a solution to the issues in contention have been exhausted."
An ESB union source said Mr Begg's letter would "undoubtedly receive consideration" at Friday's meeting.
An ESB spokesman said the company would meet the unions in the coming days to address the clarifications being sought.
The group of unions has sought an 18.5 per cent pay increase over the next three years, as well as a 20 per cent stake in the company for workers. It has since made clear it is prepared to modify the pay demand, however, in light of a €510 million deficit in the company's pension fund.
The pension fund has now become a major stumbling block, with management and unions failing to agree on how the shortfall should be addressed.
The Minister for Communications, Mr Dermot Ahern, was urged yesterday by the Labour Party spokesman, Mr Tommy Broughan TD, to try to resolve the dispute.
Mr Ahern, it is understood, believes the pay issue is a matter between the unions and the ESB. His officials have told the unions, at meetings in January and March, that his Department does not support their claim for an increase in the workers' existing 5 per cent stake in the company.
The Minister says he has no plans to privatise the company and, in the absence of such a move, there would be no justification in giving away part of an asset owned by the taxpayer.
Unions argue that the case for giving workers a stake in an enterprise applies to State companies as much as to those in the private sector, and it is "anti-partnership" for Mr Ahern to claim otherwise.
The Green Party's energy spokesman, Mr Eamon Ryan TD, said unions seemed "to want to have it all" in their demand for both an 18 per cent pay rise and 20 per cent stake in the company.
"Perhaps they have been encouraged into taking that position by the lack of any clear strategy from the Government with regard to the future development of the ESB."