The ESB Officers' Association (ESBOA), which represents over 2,000 white-collar workers in the company, met management yesterday to discuss its 16.5 per cent pay claim and other outstanding issues. Earlier, ESBOA members voted by over 84 per cent for industrial action if negotiations are not successful.
The ballot comes at a critical time in talks at the ESB on a rationalisation plan, the Programme to Achieve Competitiveness and Transformation (PACT), under which 2,000 redundancies are being sought from the 8,000-strong workforce. The PACT redundancies are expected to cost £300 million.
The general secretary of the ESBOA, Mr Willie Cremins, said after the meeting that a ballot for industrial action had been held because the company had made no offer in response to the union pay claim. He said the ballot also provided a mandate for action on wider issues such as the protection of jobs and working conditions during the PACT negotiations.
He estimated talks on the ESBOA claim would take another two to three weeks.
A spokeswoman for the ESB said the company had discussed the issues with the ESBOA, but its "position on pay claims has to be seen in the light of the PPF, which rules out cost-increasing pay claims".
"It also has to be seen against the background of ongoing change, which the company has to implement in order to compete," she said.