THE EMPLOYERS group Ibec has called on the Government, the main Opposition parties and the social partners to come together to agree a national recovery plan for the economy.
Speaking yesterday, Ibec director general Turlough O’Sullivan said that measures to address the current economic crisis could not be postponed any further. He said that the main Opposition parties had indicated that they were in favour of seeking a consensus on the actions to be taken and that they should be taken at their word.
“Ibec believes that Government has the responsibility to put an outline plan on the table now for immediate consideration by the Oireachtas and the social partners. Ibec is prepared to support firm and fair decisions that will be seen to address the difficulties and share pain equitably. We are also prepared to engage positively with the Government and Opposition on measures that will restore confidence and put our economy back on a sound footing,” he said.
“The time for action is now. Any further delay is simply not acceptable,” he said.
However, Mr O’Sullivan also said that the national pay deal – which Ibec has urged should be suspended – was now not relevant given the economic downturn.
Meanwhile, a number of trade unions are preparing to begin balloting members in support of an overall Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) proposal for a social solidarity pact on economic recovery. Ictu has offered to negotiate a three-year stability agreement with the Government based on the principles set out in its own 10-point programme for economic recovery. Such a plan would not only include pay but also taxation, competitiveness, the pensions crisis in the private sector and the controversial pension levy for staff in the public service.
Ictu-affiliated unions are to ballot from next week on industrial action. In the absence of any new engagement with the Government, Ictu is planning a one-day strike on March 30th which would affect the public sector and significant parts of the private sector where employers have not paid the national wage deal agreed last year or negotiated an alternative. This one-day strike would be the first move in a campaign of industrial action.
The country’s largest public sector union, Impact, said that it intended to serve preliminary notice of this industrial action on Government departments, local authorities and health service management next week.
Impact also said that it would be seeking talks “to ensure that essential and emergency cover is in place during the proposed one-day strike”.
Meanwhile, Siptu, the countrys largest union, said that its members in local authorities were to begin a series of protests against the public service pension levy with a march to Leitrim County Council headquarters in Carrick on Shannon on Monday.
A second protest will be held in Swords, Co Dublin, on Monday, March 9th.