Trade unions have begun working on plans for a second national strike in the public service to take place before the budget next month
The chairman of the public services committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, Peter McLoone, said this evening the Government had shown “no visible desire” to avoid strike action.
Thousands of teachers, nurses, civil servants and other staff on the State payroll are scheduled to hold a one-day stoppage on November 24th in protest at Government proposals to cut pay levels.
Mr McLoone said he believes this strike was now “inevitable”
The Ictu committee met this afternoon to discuss plans for the strike. It also discussed the progress of talks with the Government on an alternative plan to generate €1.3 billion in savings without resorting to pay cuts. Senior union leaders will meet on Thursday to finalise the details of the second day of strike action.
Meanwhile, senior civil servants today backed next week's strike. Members of the Association of Higher Civil and Public Servants voted by 60 per cent to 40 per cent in favour of taking part in the industrial action. The association voted by a similar margin against taking industrial action last March.
Unite, which represents 60,000 workers nationwide, said this evening an overwhelming majority of its 6,000 members who work in the public sector have voted in favour of industrial action. The union mainly represents craft workers in local authorities as well in the health and education sectors.
Irish regional secretary Jimmy Kelly said in each of the areas it represents members had responded with between an 80 and 95 per cent vote in favour of industrial action.
“Unite will stand shoulder to shoulder with other trade unions as we make this Government aware of the strength and depth of feeling against the wrong headed policies which it is attempting to force on the Irish people and which will only lengthen the current economic crisis in which we find ourselves.”
“The economy needs stimulus, not strangling. It is possible to fund this without even reaching the EU average of debt levels but we are being led instead down a path that will lead to ruin and hardship”, he said.
