UNION BALLOTS:THE TRADE union Unite is to recommend that its members in the public service reject the proposed new pay and reform deal in a forthcoming ballot.
At a meeting yesterday Unite’s public sector representatives voted overwhelmingly to reject the deal, which was agreed with Government officials in Croke Park late last month.
It is expected that Unite’s national executive will confirm the recommendation to reject the deal when it meets on Monday.
Unite Irish regional secretary Jimmy Kelly said the biggest issue that prompted rejection of the deal was the failure of the Government to reverse recent pay cuts immediately in return for co-operation with reform.
He said that his members wanted the money deducted in the recent pay cuts given back now.
Unite has about 3,000 members in the public service.
Also yesterday, the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) decided to ballot members on the deal with a recommendation to reject the agreement.
The result of the ballot of ASTI’s 18,000 members is expected next month.
Yesterday, the union’s 180-member executive voiced its vehement opposition to the deal.
The Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) is also recommending rejection of the deal in its forthcoming ballot of members.
The INTO is the only teaching union which has backed the deal and recommended acceptance by members.
The Unite and ASTI moves, which were not unexpected, follow the announcement on Thursday that the central executive of Impact, the country’s largest public service union, had rejected the pay and reform deal.
The executive of the country’s largest union Siptu, and of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) will meet early next week to consider the deal.
The executive of the Civil Public and Services Union, which represents lower-paid civil servants is expected to recommend a rejection of the deal when it meets on Monday.
Meanwhile it emerged yesterday that the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) may back the Croke Park deal. IMO general secretary George McNeice said the deal would be considered by its four committees, which cover GP, consultant, non-consultant hospital doctor and public health doctors in the coming weeks.
He said the committees would decide on whether it should be accepted or rejected.
“I think they would be unhappy with it but they would take account of the current fiscal position and probably recommend acceptance of it,” he said.
Senior trade union figures yesterday said that if the INMO voted against the deal, and assuming the ballot results of other unions were along the lines of the recommendations of their executives, that the deal would be defeated by about six votes when it is finally considered by the Public Services Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions even if Siptu backed the agreement.
Mr Kelly said that “the promise of ‘jam tomorrow’ under the deal was wholly undermined by the actions taking place in banking and insurance.
“ €1 billion was saved in public sector pay that takes money out of every business and enterprise in the country €8 billion as a minimum has gone into Anglo Irish Bank which has no long-term future benefit for anybody other than overseas bond holders.
“This is like Alice in Wonderland and the membership of Unite and other trade unions needs to stand up and inject a dose of common sense.
“Our unequivocal recommendation to members will be to reject this proposed agreement. We will ballot our members over the next two weeks and will continue our campaign of public sector action to force Government to adopt a more progressive approach to the problems we face,” Mr Kelly said.
