MEMBERS OF two of the Republic’s largest unions, Siptu and Impact, are expected to back the Croke Park deal on public service pay and reform in ballot results to be announced today.
If Siptu and Impact vote in favour, the deal is almost certain to be formally accepted at a meeting of the Public Services Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Union next Tuesday.
The executive committees of both Siptu and Impact have urged members to vote in favour of the deal negotiated between unions and the Government at Croke Park in late March.
There is an expectation in the trade union movement that members of both Siptu and Impact will back the deal.
The ratification of the deal by the public service trade union movement effectively involves a two-stage process. Initially individual unions have carried out ballots of their members on the deal. Based on these results, the unions will vote on the agreement at a meeting of the Public Services Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.
The decision of the committee will be based on a majority vote at the meeting. However, the vote of each union will be given a “weight” based on their membership levels.
Siptu and Impact are the two largest unions in the public service, representing collectively more than 130,000 staff. If they vote in favour of the agreement, it will be accepted by the committee, even though seven unions have voted to reject the accord. However, some unions such as the TUI and Irish Federation of University Teachers have signalled they will not be bound by the result of a majority vote at the Public Services Committee. Under the Croke Park deal, the Government has said there will be no further pay cuts for public service staff and no compulsory redundancies in return for co-operation with a widespread change and reform plan.