A strike threat to emergency services in hospitals and local authorities today has been averted. The chairman of the Labour Court, Ms Evelyn Owens, has invited the craft unions and the employers to talks next Wednesday.
The secretary of the craft group, Mr Finbarr Maguire of the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union, said after leaving the meeting with Ms Owens yesterday evening that the unions were deferring action pending the Labour Court's findings. But he warned that the strike could go ahead if the dispute over a pay claim for an extra £27.69 a week was not resolved.
The chief executive of the Health Employer Services Association, Mr Gerard Barry, welcomed the court's intervention and the decision of the unions to defer strike action.
If the dispute had gone ahead there would have been no emergency cover by maintenance craft workers for hospitals, water, sewerage and other essential services. Ms Owens intervened at the request of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.
There was disagreement within the craft group about tactics. It is understood that the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union wanted to provide a significant level of emergency cover.
A strong attack on the refusal of the unions to exhaust negotiation procedures before going on strike by the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, in the Dail on Wednesday sent a clear signal that the Government would take a tough line in the dispute.