Today's threatened strike by nearly 30,000 general workers in local authorities and the health services was called off last night. Settlement proposals emerged at 8.30 p.m. after 20 hours of talks at the Labour Relations Commission.
The deferral of the strike was welcomed by the Minister for Health and Children, Mr Cowen last night, who hoped the health services would be able to return to normal within the next few days.
It had been assumed that the dispute, which had threatened essential services, would be easily resolved following the deferral of strike action by 4,500 craftworkers on Friday. The general workers, who are members of SIPTU, have an 80 per cent pay relativity with the craftworkers.
In the event it was non-pay elements of the SIPTU claim which caused the most difficulty, especially the issue of holiday leave. The craftworkers had won three extra days, bringing their entitlement to 23 days a year.
The SIPTU members also sought three extra days, but negotiating the productivity to pay for it proved tortuous. In the end it was agreed that general workers would provide more flexible rostering in return.
Even with 23 days, the manual grades in local authorities and the health services will have one of the lowest levels of leave entitlement in the public sector. The three days will be phased in by 2000.
A pay rise of £17.60p a week will also be phased in over the same period. Of this, £7.15p will be backdated to July 1st, 1997, £5.50p paid from July 1st this year and £4.95p paid from July 1st, 1999.
Like the craft unions, SIPTU has still to ballot its members on the deal. But they are expected to accept it and, in the meantime, the strike action is deferred indefinitely.
The chief executive of the LRC, Mr Kieran Mulvey, who chaired the talks, said the productivity conceded by SIPTU was genuine. It would contain costs within the sector.
The chief executive officer of the Health Employer Services Association, Mr Gerard Barry, said the agreement would mean "qualitative improvements in the delivery of health care". SIPTU's chief negotiator, Mr Matt Merrigan, said the union had achieved its main objectives. He thanked Mr Mulvey and the LRC's head of conciliation services, Mr Ray McGee, for helping to resolve the dispute.