Ictu may end 'pointless' troika meetings

The head of the country’s largest union has said further meetings with the EU-ECB-IMF troika are "pointless, at best".

Siptu president Jack O’Connor said meetings between the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) and the troika served "no useful purpose".

"Indeed, their only motivation is quite clearly to provide some veneer of consultation. The fact of the matter is that these people are simply bagmen for the big European banks who are not interested in hearing any alternatives to their wage devaluation strategy."

"This agenda, which is impoverishing working people in Ireland and across Europe, is being driven with relentless ideological zeal and in total disregard for the overwhelming evidence that one sided austerity is not working.

"In this country, we have taken €25 billion, the equivalent of 16 per cent of GDP, out of the economy over the past four and a half years only to reduce the deficit by a mere €5 billion while inflicting misery on tens of thousands of people in the process," Jack O’Connor said.

"It is one thing to hold a view, however flawed, that short-term pain might result in long-term gain but it is quite another to insist on continuing with it when it is patently obvious that it’s not working.

"Thus far, the only result from several meetings that Congress has participated in with the Troika is the rubbishing of well thought out proposals that impede its agenda which can be summed up as 'there is no alternative'."

Union leaders met with the troika yesterday.

It also emerged yesterday that one of the key members of the troika, EU representative István Székely, has raised questions about aspects of a document drawn up by Congress regarding jobs and growth.

Mr O'Connor said he would be putting a motion before the executive council of Congress tomorrow calling for an end to any further meetings with the troika.