Chief executive of employer’s group Ibec says “there’s more than just public sector workers as stakeholders in the economy”.
He was responding to calls by Siptu president Jack O’Connor for the Government to convene new talks on public pay by the beginning of February, setting a a deadline of next Thursday for confirmation that such talks would go ahead.
Siptu is to ballot its members in the public service for strike action unless the Government agrees to early talks on a new pay deal.
Mr McCoy said it was “a bit harsh” of Siptu to give the Government a one-week “ultimatum” .
Mr McCoy said that while it is not unreasonable for Siptu to seek pay restoration, this needs to be considered “in the totality” of how the economy is doing.
“Jack O’Connor’s request is not unreasonable in terms of economy but what is unreasonable is making ultimatums to the government because the government is holding its end of these agreements right now,” he told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland.
“There should be discussions but in a wider context , there’s more than just public sector workers as stake holders in the economy,” he said. “We’ve limited resources, we’ve need for investment, we’ve need for tax cuts and we also have a need for public sector pay to be appropriate.”
He said while bringing forward the talks was not a bad idea “it shouldn’t be with a precondition that pay restoration is going to be automatic.”
"Risks associated with Brexit and the election of Donald Trump in the United States need to be factored into any agreements made with workers."
He also said the Government has limited resources, needs to continue investments and should only restore pay in an orderly manner.
“The Public Sector Pay Commission needs to compare pay and conditions in the public sector with those in the private sector,” he told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland.
Mr McCoy added while it may be inevitable to bring forward pay restoration, unions should not “leapfrog” ahead with individual actions.
“It is important that the agreements that the government has with its own employees that they continue for the whole of the public sector and the whole of society as well ,” he said.
