TAOISEACH BRIAN Cowen has said he remains open to discussions with the social partners on challenges facing the economy, following yesterday’s announcement by trade unions of balloting on industrial action.
“Obviously, the week in which we enact the legislation providing for the imposition of a pension levy is not the most conducive week for such discussions,” he said.
“However, I believe everyone who is interested in the betterment of the country and meeting the challenge we face must try to ascertain if there is a way to return to these issues in a comprehensive fashion, although not specifically on the policy initiatives we have taken, which are necessary in the circumstances in which we find ourselves.
“I remain open to discuss with the social partners the real challenges facing us in the months and years ahead. In the meantime, the Government, as it has demonstrated, will continue to take whatever decisions we believe are necessary in the circumstances. We look forward to those efforts.” More than 300,000 staff in the public sector could be involved in the unions’ one-day stoppage, proposed for the end of March.
About 50 trade unions which are affiliated to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) are to ballot members on the industrial action from next week.
If there is no engagement before March 30th, staff in companies or sectors where the terms of the national pay deal agreed last autumn have not been met will stage a one-day strike.This would more than likely mean the closure of Government departments, agencies and State services, although essential facilities such as hospitals are likely to be exempted.
The scale of participation in the private sector will depend on whether the companies have met the terms of the national agreement or negotiated alternatives and the degree of unionisation in particular firms as well as on the results of individual ballots.
Ictu says that about 70 companies have now paid the terms of the deal.
Ictu general secretary David Begg confirmed that the unions had had informal contacts with Government officials but signalled that unions were cautious about re-entering talks without indications that a deal could be reached.
Mr Begg said that it was not the Ictu’s position that the pension levy would have to be scrapped. He said its aspiration was to see it ameliorated “to make it fairer and to take the burden off the lower to middle-income category of people”.